How To Make Curry Sauce

This Curry House Style Base Curry Sauce Will Get You The Results Youre Looking For

Visit the kitchen of any busy curry house and you are almost certain to see a large saucepan of curry sauce/gravy simmering away on the stove. This sauce is used as a base for most of the restaurants curries.

Each restaurant has their own special recipe but they are usually quite similar. The base sauce makes it possible for chefs to cook, plate and serve many different curries quickly and easily.

This smooth base curry sauce is just one of the things that give British Indian restaurant style curries their distinctive flavour and texture that is loved by so many.

Large batches of curry sauce are made daily at Indian restaurants around the UK.

How To Make Curry Base Sauce From Scratch

Ever since I mastered this curry base sauce, Ive been cooking more and more curries. I find it really fun mastering the classic BIR curry base sauce.

Naturally, when you master this base sauce, youll soon discover that all your curry recipes taste incredible and authentic. Therell be no more need to go out to a restaurant to have a gourmet-style curry prepared in an authentic way.

You too can do the same in the comfort of your own kitchen and enjoy your own fakeaway.

At least, I think its safe to say that youll never purchase curry sauce out of a jar. Ever again! Basically, this concept is the same for all curries around the world.

For example, if you master your Thai curry sauce and know exactly the difference between red curry vs green curry, then youll never buy the jar stuff.

Youll always want to make curry sauce or curry paste from scratch because you know it doesnt taste the same at all!

Curry Sauce Vs Curry Paste

Curry pastes are just a combination of freshly ground curry powders, ginger, garlic, herbs and salt. Add all to a food processor or blender and youve got an easy homemade, thick curry pastes . Use your curry paste right away or make a large batch, pack into ice cube trays and freeze in zipper-top bags. These pop right out and can be thrown right in the pan without thawing for ease of use.

Curry pastes can then be used to as a rub or marinade on vegetables & meat or will form the base of a homemade curry sauce .

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Step 1 Break A Basic Curry Sauce Into 3 Cooking Elements

In order to make cooking an Indian curry as easy for you, all you need to do is break up the cooking elements within a recipe into 3 parts. Which are:

1.Aromatics The holy trinity of most Indian dishes that is the use of onions, ginger and garlic.

2. Spices One of the main ingredients that differentiate Indian cuisine from most other cuisines is the addition of spices. A basic Indian curry will have a minimum of 2- 5 spices.

3. The Base Sauce Since curry essentially means Gravy, having a sauce is almost a must for it to be an Indian curry.

You can choose any water-based ingredient to lend body to the curry. This could be tomatoes, coconut milk, yoghurt, water, cream etc.

These 3 cooking elements are integral to any basic curry recipe.

What we now need is to know how to bring these different elements together in a pot with a balance of flavour and taste.

Anyone Can Make This Curry Paste

And thats that, my curry loving friends! Who even knew that this could be so do-able?

When I first made curry officially from scratch for that dinner club beef and potato yellow curry, I thought to myself: this is awesome and also I dont think I will make it again because it takes so long. It was a three hour process , and for me, thats just not going to happen.

But you guys my love for curry runs deep. And after making it completely from scratch and realizing HOW GOOD IT CAN REALLY BE, I couldnt not at least try to make it again, and maybe make it a little easier.

And now? Look at us being all We Make My Own Yellow Curry Paste! I plan to make a batch of this easier, time-saver, extremely yummy curry paste once every few months to keep feeding my yellow curry habits.

Yel-low-curry! Yel-low-curry! Yel-low-curry!

I dont know, we might be sort of obsessed.

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Simmer Your Curry To Make It Thick

If you’ve followed my guidance and have made a curry from scratch, you will have noticed something.

The longer you cook a curry, the thicker it gets.

The reason for this is evaporation. The liquid elements of your curry sauce turn into steam and float away . The solids are left behind in the pan. Less liquid plus more solids should equal a thicker curry sauce.

This is the simplest solution and is really effective.

So why not use it all the time?

Well, let’s say you’ve made a King Prawn Pathia, and it’s turned a little watery. From a taste point of view, you can’t boil the life out of it If you cook prawns for too long, they start to shrink and turn really rubbery.

If you notice early enough, then you can thicken your curry sauce before adding certain ingredients. But if you have only noticed just before serving, then you’ll need another suggestion

How To Make Curry

• 2 teaspoons finely grated ginger root
• 1/2 to 2 tablespoons of garam masala, yellow curry powder or a combo of both.
• 2 cups broth , plus more to thin the sauce if necessary
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can of diced tomatoes
• 1-2 dried chilies, or 1 fresh jalapeno or serrano chili, halved
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream, coconut milk or full-fat Greek yogurt
• Cooked rice of your choice, for serving
• Minced fresh herbs, such as Thai basil, mint and cilantro , for garnish
• Chopped nuts , for garnish
• Fried shallots , for garnish

A quick note about the ingredients: Curry is infinitely variable based on your tastes, so youll notice a lot of options in the ingredients list! Dont let it overwhelm you. After youve made this recipe once, youll be ready to make it your own.

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What To Put In Coconut Curry

This is where things get fun. You can literally put anything in this Easy Coconut Curry Sauce and its going to taste great. Here are some ideas:

• Lentils, pumpkin, spinach and cashews . Terrific combination my friends go bonkers over

• Chicken, fish or prawns sear before starting recipe, then add them back in later

• Sweet potato, normal potato, zucchini, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, squash

• Other legumes chickpeas are sensational, and any other type of beans.

Ive included a guide in the recipe notes for when to add different ingredients. For proteins, its well worth searing them before starting the recipe, then just add them back in later once the sauce is done.

30 minutes. Thats how far away you are from a homemade-from-scratch Coconut Curry.

The flavour is not quite as in-your-face punchy like with Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala, but its still got quite an intense Indian-style curry flavour.

But then again, you havent had to marinate overnight and youve used half the spices.

But no one would ever say this is lacking in taste. No one has ever accused me of making bland food and I intend to keep it that way!! Nagi x

PS If youre after a milder, more creamy style Western curry, try this Everyday Chicken Curry a 5 ingredients from scratch curry sauce.

Curry Sauce Without Carbohydrates

Flour is often used to make the sauce. This ingredient is easy to replace. You can do this by using almond flour.

In addition, you can use the light variant of the coconut milk in the above recipes or replace it completely with stock. Even then you get delicious curry sauce.

So look at the above ingredients and replace them with almond flour and stock or plain water.

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Curry Is The Ultimate One

For a long time, I thought curry was a dish I couldnt master at home. Its so full-flavored at Indian restaurants, I assumed there was some kind of secret to its success! As it turns out, learning how to make curry at home is not only easy, its so easy to pull off that its become my go-to weeknight meal. It only requires one pot, and the prep is super minimal.

Check out our easy-to-follow steps to create restaurant-quality curry.

Coconut Curry Sauce Spices

The spices in the coconut curry sauce are:

• curry powder

• paprika

• garam masala*

Curry powder is the base for this Easy Coconut Curry, but its too bland if you dont add other spices. I experimented with various combinations and tried to cut down on the number of spices but it just wasnt the same. So theyre all staying in!

What is garam masala?

Garam masala is a crucial spice mix in Indian cooking and smells like a potent curry powder. It really makes a difference in simple curry sauces, so be sure not to skip it! Here in Australia, youll find it at all the major supermarkets nowadays, and it costs no more than other spices.

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Pub Style Curry Sauce

RECIPE OVERVIEW

This curry sauce is a delicious option for a chicken curry or as a side with chips.

Preparation time:

Add all ingredients Select All

• 1 – Chicken Stock Cube

Method

• Pauline Harte , 24 Sep 18

  Love it. Just like chip shop curry. So easy to make.

• Belinda Spruce, 29 Jan 17

  4 stars ratingI love this meal great hot and then cold on a wrap for lunch the next day! I would really recommend this!

Making The Coconut Curry Sauce

Theres nothing tricky about the coconut curry sauce:

• Sauté onion, garlic and ginger

• Add Spices and cook this brings out the flavour of the spices, making them bloom

• Add coconut milk, tomato passata plus chicken or vegetable broth/stock

• Simmer to bring the flavours together

And there you have your curry sauce. And this is where you can unleash your wild side and let the creative juices flow. Or, as the case may be, rummage in your pantry and squabble around in the fridge and use whatever you can find.

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How To Make Curry Sauce Thicker By Adding Flour And Fat

A roux is a really clever way to thicken a sauce.

Here’s the traditional way to make a roux.

Heat a tablespoon of butter to a pan and heat over medium until it is melted. Then add a tablespoon of white flour. Stir until it makes a paste, and cook until it sizzles and smells a little ‘biscuity’.

Once the paste reaches this stage, spoon it into your curry sauce and stir well. You should notice that the curry sauce thickens up all of a sudden.

If you can’t be bothered with the faff of using yet another pan, there is an even easier way to make this concept work. Take a spoon full of cold butter in a cup and add a spoonful of white flour. Using a fork, mash the two together until you have a flour and butter paste. Shape it into a sausage in your hand and drop it into the middle of your curry saucepan. It should actually do a similar job to the technique described above.

Garam Masala Or Curry Powder

Purchase 3oz. Garam Masala Here

Purchase 1.7oz Curry Powder Here

More Spices You Never Knew You Needed

You have your choice when it comes to the spices used in curry. Garam masala is a warmer Indian spice blend that includes cinnamon, cloves and plenty of black pepper. Curry powder comes in many different forms, but it usually uses turmeric as its base. This spice belongs to the ginger family and adds a beautiful, golden yellow hue to the dish.

Feel free to experiment with these blends, and even use them both to create the perfect spice profile for your curry. No matter which you choose, we recommend planning ahead to give the spices time to blend. A rest of a few hours does absolute wonders for saucy and spicy dishes like curry and chili. Check out these other recipes using garam masala.

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Bonus Step Patience Pays

Put on some music, get a glass of wine or a drink, keep a bowl of nibbles and be ready to get stuck in for some time.

Cooking Indian food, if a newbie or for some variation does involve time investment.

It may not be as quick as cooking pasta.

It is a stage-wise cooking process, which helps to release the flavours of the components. You will need to wait for each stage to take its time to progress.

This in no way means that you will be stuck for hours in the kitchen.

The average time to cook an Indian curry is normally 40-50 minutes. Including the prep time.

But there are few tricks to reduce the cooking time by 20 minutes which I share in another post.

Similar to the time it takes to make a lasagna or even baking a cake.

Make the experience fun and enjoyable, maybe learn a few Bollywood steps while stirring, sort or clean those cupboards that you never got to !!

Let us now apply all the tips and tricks to make an Indian curry at home in this basic simple chicken curry recipe below.

Tips On How To Make Mcdonalds Curry Sauce

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Step 3 Cook Each Element Well

Now that you know that any Indian dish can be divided into 3 components, its time to start cooking them.

For an Indian dish to taste as authentic, it is essential that you cook the aromatics especially onions well until it loses the raw smell.

The idea is to cook the onions until it reaches to a beautiful golden brown in colour. This may take anything from 8- 10 minutes.

This goes back to the last tip where the right amount of oil will help to make cooking onions easier and faster.

Well cooked onions will not only impact the overall taste of the dish but also act as a thickening agent for your curry

Mcdonalds Curry Sauce Fried Noodles

• 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 160 ml condensed milk

• 4 eggs pinch of salt

• 1 stalk spring onion

• 2 packets of instant noodles

• 1 stalk coriander leaves

• 1 chili padi

• salt

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So Much To Love About This Curry Paste

Todays recipe is a lot of things.

• Scary. At least a tiny bit scary. Because for those who havent made it before, or didnt grow up with it it can seem intimidating to make from scratch. And it also just looks intimidating. I mean its a straight up YELLOW PASTE.
• Exciting, though, because I love curry and I know you love curry, and as curry lovers, how exciting is it to think about us making delicious Thai yellow curry paste truly from scratch? Its exciting.
• Delicious. Seriously, a good yellow curry is a gift from heaven. Which is why we need to start with the paste and then expand from there into a full yellow curry recipe. For example I have this existing recipe for Thai Yellow Curry with Beef and Potatoes and I will be sharing another even easier recipe for Thai Yellow Chicken Curry tomorrow . The bite of heat, the punch of color, the comforting, creamy texture of the coconut milk simmered to slow yellow curry perfection wow. Its almost just too much.

My list is still going. This recipe is also:

• Smart. Whats going to happen here is that youre going to spend 45 minutes making this yellow curry paste and after you put in the time to make this yellow curry paste, you will be giving yourself the gift of 4+ batches of homemade curry ready to go at a moments notice because this stuff can FREEZE, baby. Awyeah. Homemade Thai yellow curry on demand is a very, very good thing.