Onion masala- curry base sauce

This is the foundation for most of tasty curries served in British Indian restaurants. . Indian gravies need to cook for some time in order to develop their flavour, so preparing a proper Indian dish can be really time-consuming. For that reason all restaurants and take-away businesses usually rely on this secret recipe.  Instead of preparing everything from the beginning they will use a ladle or two of “base sauce” and add extra ingredients to customise the dish. It allows the restaurant to produce curries in no time at all. This can be used with any meat, poultry or vegetables you want. The substance, flavour and texture of the sauce only rely upon fresh and natural ingredients: onions, ginger and garlic. There are many recipes for the curry gravy, but unlike its plain variants this sauce is also very tasty on its own. Onion masala can be prepared in greater amount and easily frozen to be used when you need it. (Recipe by Chef Clary Wilson)

Ingredients:

500g onions- peeled and sliced

100g canned tomatoes

½ bell pepper or chilli pepper- chopped

1 Tbsp fresh coriander- chopped

½ tsp turmeric

½ tsp garam masala

½ tsp tandoori masala

1 Tbsp Kasoori Methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

½ tsp ginger powder or 1” piece fresh root ginger- peeled and finely chopped

½ tsp garlic powder or 3 garlic cloves- finely chopped

600ml water

Salt to taste

Method:

Place all the ingredients in a heavy based pan and boil on medium heat for about 40 minutes, until onions soften and absorb flavours. Take off the heat and cool down to the room temperature. Place the mixture in a blender and blend until smooth. Your base sauce is ready. Now it can be portioned into airtight containers and stored in the freezer until needed. Otherwise you can place it back in the pan, adding more ingredients to prepare a delicious curry of your choice.

TIPS:

If you want your sauce to have more flavour and aroma use fresh ginger and garlic instead of the powder.

Capsicum present in bell peppers or chillies is responsible for spiciness of your sauce, so you can adjust it to your own preference. Bell peppers won’t be as hot as red or large green chillies, while finger chillies will add the extra kick to the basic recipe.

Obviously you can prepare more sauce by simply multiplying the ingredients, but there are some special considerations. Salt and any of the stronger spices (such as black pepper, chilli and garam masala) need to be added judiciously or else they may dominate the base sauce. It’s best to tread carefully with these items and adjust the flavours before serving the finished dish.