How to Make Restaurant Style Curry Sauce For Use in Many Different Curry Recipes
This is an easy and delicious restaurant style curry sauce!
Large scale production at home.
Almost every Indian curry house has it’s own curry sauce recipe. These curry sauces are made in large batches and used as a base ingredient for many different curries. My original large scale sauce is now only in my ebook. It is great for when you want to make a lot of curries in one go or if you just want to have a nice homemade base sauce on hand to make fantastic curries quickly and easily.
This is a scaled down version which will work perfectly well for those of you who want to make an Indian takeaway style curry for four people.
This restaurant style curry sauce should be looked at as you would a stock. It is quite bland but when you add different spices to it you can make your favourite curries very fast.
Over the years I have tried many different recipes for curry sauce and most of them are quite similar. This curry sauce is the one I use most often when asked to cook restaurant style curries.
My original curry sauce base is still available in my new ebook!
On Sale Now!
My ebook is available now
for Kindle, iPad, iPhone, Android, Mac and PC right here.
| How to Make Restaurant Style Curry Sauce For Use in Many Different Curry Recipes |
|
- 3 tennis ball sized cooking onions – finely sliced
- 50ml vegetable oil or ghee
- 3 cloves of garlic – smashed in their skins
- 1 inch piece of ginger – finely sliced
- 1 inch carrot – peeled and chopped
- 1/4 cup shredded cabbage (optional)
- 1/4 red bell pepper – diced
- water
- 2 tomatoes – finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 1 pinch turmeric
- 1 teaspoon cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon ground fenugreek seeds
- 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
- Salt and pepper to taste ( I usually leave this out and simply add it to the final dish)
- Place the ginger and garlic with a drop of the water in a blender and pulverize to a smooth paste. Set aside.
- Now pour the oil/ghee into a large heavy bottomed saucepan and heat until bubbling.
- Throw in the sliced onions, bell pepper, carrot and cabbage and cook slowly over a medium heat in the oil.
- Allow the vegetables to fry – stirring occasionally for about 20 minutes. You want to brown the vegetable lightly but not burn them.
- When the onions are translucent and soft, add the ginger and garlic mixture the rest of the spices except for the turmeric.
- Finally, add the tomatoes and just enough water to cover the vegetables.
- Bring to a boil and then place the lid on the pan and turn the temperature down to low.
- Simmer for about 15 minutes. As you do this, a froth will rise to the top. This is okay. No need to skim.
- After 15 minutes, remove the mixture from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- For a smoother sauce, popular in many Indian takeaways, simply blend for about two minutes. It is perfectly good unblended though.
- Once your sauce is to your liking, melt the ghee in a frying pan. Add the turmeric powder. It will darken as it cooks. You want to brown it for about a minute.
- Now add the turmeric/ghee mixture to the sauce and bring to a simmer again. Once it is bubbling away, turn down the heat and simmer for a further 15 minutes. Stop simmering if the sauce becomes too thick.
- Use immediately or store in the fridge for up to four days.
This curry sauce recipe makes enough for use with any of my restaurant style curries for four.
I made this restaurant style curry and it looks exactly like the picture.
Now I’m wondering what Herbs spices to add to it to make it suitable for what other dishes, as It’s only a base.
Cheers,
John.
Hi John – I have posted a couple of lamb and chicken restaurant style curries which you will find in those sections. They use the restaurant style curry base. In the coming weeks I will be posting a lot of new restaurant curries from vindaloo to Rogan josh. I just posted a restaurant style chicken korma. Be sure to stop back by and give them all a try. Thanks for your interest. Dan
Hi Dan
Please could you add a Chicken Jalfrezi & Chicken Masala receipe for this base sauce?
Regards
Dean
Hi Dean
Thanks for your request. I have a really good Jalfrezi recipe for you which you will find here. It is a traditional Jalfrezi like what would have been served during the days of the Raj. I’m still working on a restaurant style jalfrezi which I will be publishing in the next couple of weeks.
I also have a restaurant style chicken tikka masala recipe which is really nice. You will find it here.
Let me know what you think. Hope you like them!
Dan
Hello Dan,
Ive been looking for a good base curry for a while.
Great website you have.
I’m going to try your prawn madras, vindaloo currys.
As they’re my favourites.
I was wondering though.If you have any advice or
recipe on how taking the base to a Jaipuri sauce.
Thanks again
Ally.
Hi Dan,
I’ve been on the BIR trail for more years than I care to remember – it’s become an obsession, but still eludes me. That’s part of the obsession I guess?!
I will try your base and onion paste but I have a couple of questions…will the addition of cinnamon powder work in your base? It seems to crop up in lots of BIR bases as one of the taste ‘secrets’. Also, you don’t use Dhania leaves/stalks – I always assumed this was essential?!
The final mystery surrounds Jaggery Goor. Used normally in Asian sweets, but seems to have that toffee/caramel smell and flavour my local Punjabi restaurant produces in their savoury dishes. Any thoughts please?
Thanks!
Martin
Hi, i have made the curry listed and find it very peppery. Is it tablespoons or tea spoons that should be used?
Hi Steve
Thanks for stopping by.
I do use tablespoons but please don’t think of my recipes as being carved in stone! You should amend them to your own tastes. Use teaspoons or even omit the chilli powder all together.
The most important thing is that you use the freshest ingredients you can find.
Thanks
Dan
Hi
Are the water quantities correct for this? I seem to have around 750ml left over? Otherwise some great recipes, keep up the good work!
Hi Keith
I always have some left over which I either put in the fridge or freeze for another time. The sauce freezes very well.
Dan
I meant the water to add during cooking – it says 3 pts but you only describe adding half a pint to the gingr/garlic paste and then about 2 cups/ 500ml to the cooking onion/veg mix?
I see now.
You’re right thanks. It really doesn’t make much difference though I will go fix it. To be honest, I don’t work to exact measures. Instead I go by look and taste but this needs to be fixed.
Thank you Keith for bringing this to my attention.
Dan
Many thanks – I can go ahead with my mass cook-in!
Used this as a base and added my own touch! Great inspiration!
Thank you JD! Great to hear.
Dan
I’ve been looking for this recipe and now I’ve found it! I made it last night and WOW everyone loved it. My hubby is delighted I’ve finally found a recipe that actually tastes like the restaurant sauce. The only change I made was adding some fried chilli powder and garam masala (I’d fried them in a tbsp of ghee) and added at the end. I’ve managed to keep half it back and now wonder how long it will stay in the freezer before everyone is begging me to make another!
Thank you for this, I’m going to have a go at your tandoori chicken and naan and pilau rice tomorrow.
Good luck with your healthy eating too x
Thank you very much Yvonne for your nice words. Feedback like this makes it all worthwhile.
I’m really glad you liked the recipe. Please keep in touch. I hope you’re trying my stovetop naans. My son makes them all the time and loves them. I’ve got a video on my site to show you how they look when finished.
Dan
Hi followed steps until it says add rest of spices, added all spices but then you say add turmeric with the ghee as well as the tablespoon thats been added in ad all spices cheers
Hi Andy
Thank you for bringing that to my attention. All fixed now. To be honest, I’ve been leaving the last step (The ghee/turmeric step) out lately. I hope it still all went well for you.
Hi Dan, I’m going to make this sauce over the weekend. I was wondering if I have to use Ghee? Will oil be ok? If so, would you suggest vegetable oil? Thanks, Jo
Hi Jo
You don’t have to use ghee. Vegetable oil will do the job just fine. In fact I often make the sauce without ghee. Good luck with it. Hope you like the recipe.
Dan
Hi, i really like the recipe
You said that this would be enough to make 8 curries
So you use 400ml in one curry?
Hi Rose
I usually use 400 to 700ml of sauce per curry. It really depends on how many curries you are making. I you look at the restaurant recipes section of my blog, you’ll see how much I use when making just one.
There really is no rule. The sauce is so good that you should just add it as you like. Then just adjust your seasoning and you’ve got a great BIR curry at home.
Please let me know if you have any further questions. Thank you.
Dan
Wow,that is an interesting take on Indian curries.I love the texture and the color!:-)
Making the curry sauce in advance is so much better.Once you have done it,the actual cooking of a dish is almost a joke!
Hi Fahad
Thank you very much for stopping by. I really like the sauce and it does make everything a lot easier. I have cooked ten different curries for ten different people using it. Did it all in minutes.
Thanks
Dan
Made restaurant style curry base and hubby said, “tastes just like restaurant curry sauce”, which means – excellent. Thanks so much for posting. I’m a brit. living in Minnesota and they so do not make curries like back home. Really loving your website.
Is it okay to mix restaurant rogan josh with some of the other spices from your recipe for rogan josh to impress? I wanat to add the cardamom and curry leaves to your restaurant recipe, what do you think?
Hi Kit
Thank you very much for that. I’m really glad you like my recipes.
To be honest, you can’t really go wrong if you are using top quality fresh ingredients. If you were to add curry leaves and cardamom to the recipe, I think it would taste really good and probably better. I love curry leaves.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting and please let me know if you ever have questions about my recipes.
Dan
A couple questions. How long do you think these would stay good in the freezer. Also, what is the sie of those tins. I want to make this and am quite excited to give it a try. Thanks Dan!
Hi Steve – Thanks for stopping by. I have never kept the sauces in the freezer for more than a month because I’m always using them. I see no reason why they would last for much longer – up to six months. The tins all hold 3 cups (750ml) of sauce. That is the perfect amount for most of my restaurant style curries.
Good luck with it all and be sure to ask if you have any questions. I’ve made this recipes hundreds of times now.
Dan
Made this to the letter and it turned out great. Made Tikka Masala to start with. In France at the moment so can’t get Ghee but substituted with Vegetable Oil.
Have enough left for another 6 curries.
Amazing change of texture and colour from pre-blend to blended. Looked like vegetable soup, now looks like curry (using 300W hand blender only). Thanks for the tip of scooping out and doing this in batches. I’m sure that’s the most efficient way and didn’t make a mess either
Cheers!
J
Only made half the quantity as wanted to try it first…wish I’d done the whole lot! Made your chicken jalfrezi using it and it was absolutely delicious, my son took the rest and made your korma for his girlfriend which they raved about. Gonna make a full batch this week and have a bash at your tikka masala, mmm so looking forward to it!
Hi Andi
I’m really glad you like the recipes. Thanks for letting me know. The tikka masala is a real favourite around my house. Good luck with it.
Dan
Can you please confirm quantity and how many final dishes this will make? Have made bir a long time ago following bruce edwards I think(?)
Also, can your recipes be double up as I would like to make a madras for 12 people!
Thanks
Hi Daz
My recipe should make enough for about six curries for four people. It depends on how many you are making and how much sauce you prefer in each. You can double up the recipes for more people. I generally recommend using my recipes as a guide and add less or more sauce until you have the perfect curry for your tastes. Good luck with it.
Hi Dan
Going to try this at the weekend. Do you use any particular type of cabbage?
Hi Mick
I use savoy cabbage but any cabbage will do. I even used marrow instead once as it was fresh. It worked perfectly. This is really an onion sauce with some fresh veg thrown in. Good luck with it.
Really impressed with the sauce,i have been trying for years with no joy!! One problem i have is that the ghee i have used has made it too buttery and sweet,do you have any remedies for this,thanks again!!!!
Hi Neil
Really glad you like the sauce. I think if it is too butter and sweet, you could make a bit more with out the ghee. Then blend the two together. The problem could also go away when you go to make the different curries. Remember, this is just a base sauce. Adding other spices and ingredients could solve the problem. Thanks for letting me know.
Made a half batch of this today as there were only two of us for dinner – so glad we have leftovers… it was AMAZING as part of the chicken chilli garlic dish!!!
Thanks for sharing this…off to look at more recipes I can use it in!
Just made this and would like to say that after many years of cooking different curry sauces this one is the best I have found so far. Now looking forward to trying more of your recipes on this site.
Cheers Dan
Thank you very much Simon! I’m really glad you liked the recipe. Please be sure to let me know if you have any questions about my recipes.
hi dan,wondered is this base just used on its own,eg,
just add prefered meat or is this just a part of the
process.
all best paul
Thinks of the curry sauce as you would a stock. It has a nice flavour but it’s also quite boring. You just use it to make different curries by adding ingredients and the vegetables/meats of your choice.
Hi just seen your site looks good can’t wait to try hope to hear from you soon thanks.
Hi Dan, I’ve been using this base of yours for a while, adding whatever veg I have that will blend smoothly and adding more (or less) spices as fenugreek is not my favourite flavour.
I added radishes to the last batch and gave some to my daughter to try. (I’m normally not fond of radish but it works here) She emailed last night to say that she’d made a lush chicken curry!!! Now she’s going to make some base for her family with the help of my granddaughters (aged 3 and 5) . Who follow in the family footsteps of being very keen cooks.
Just thought it would be nice to let you know that your lovely recipes will be going forward a few more generations!!! That’s got to be a well deserved credit to you.
Linda
Im having trouble sourcing- fenugreek seeds here in Canada (in my area anyway) is there another name for it, or a substitute I can use? and any variation for a Balti?
Hi Gillian – There really isn’t a substitute for fenugreek. Have you tried purchasing it online? If you can’t find it, just leave it out. The flavour won’t be the same but it should still be very good.
Dan
Hi Dan-
Just made the chicken tikka. It was very good.
Grilled the chicken first over a hot mesquite grill. Seasoned with salt and pepper. Left it juicy. That’s the way to go.
Simmered with the sauce then for about an hour. Excellent.
Made enough for left overs. Can’t wait to try the second day!
Thanks Dan,
Scott
I made a batch of your curry gravy this morning and I am pleased to say that it turned out very well. I used one portion for a chicken dhansak this evening and the rest I am going to freeze.
How long will they last in the freezer ?
Also took the plunge and bought your ebook for my Ipad. Its great to be able to refer to the recipes whilst in the kitchen.
Hi Ken
Thank you very much for buying my ebook. I hope you like it. Great to hear the sauce was a success for you. I’ve kept sauce in the freezer for up to 3 months with very little loss of flavour. I tend to make and freeze a lot for easy dinners. Have fun.
Dan
Spot on , the best base sauce ever.
Will be trying all of your recipes.
Thanks Dan, this is truley the first time I’ve found anywhere that truly appreciates the BIR curry! The Chicken Saagwala is absolutely perfect. Great work, much appreciated
Thank yo very much Joe. I’m really glad you like my recipes. Keep in touch.
Dan
I’ve been trying to replicate the restaurant taste for the last 30 years, with little success (although the curries have been delicious). I just cooked up this base, had a taste and it’s perfect. I am truly in your debt.
I will now be looking at this site for recipes.
Many thanks.
Thank you very much Keith. I’m really glad you like the recipe. Be sure to keep in touch.
Dan
Hi,
I have looked at a few of curry recipes but non of them seem to include your base sauce. Am I missing something? How can you intergrate the base sauce into the curry recipes provided. Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Hi Richard
There should be a link to my curry sauce on every BIR recipe. Here is the link. http://www.greatcurryrecipes.net/2011/06/24/how-to-make-restaurant-style-curry-sauce-for-use-in-many-different-curry-recipes/
Thanks
Dan
THANKS!
This base gravy sounds great Dan and quite a few differences from mine.I will be trying this one out.
I would like to know which all dishes can you make using the above described base gravy?
This curry base is used with most of my restaurant style curries which you’ll see listed on the right hand side of my site. Thank you very much.
Dan
Hi
I’m planning on making your recipe this weekend, just got a quick question, you mean white cabbage or green like a Savoy? And how big is a cup
Thanks
Chris
Sorry Chris if I’m answering a bit late. Any cabbage will do. A cup 250ml. I never work from exact measures though. One large handful of shredded cabbage should do the trick.
Thanks
Dan
Excellent recipe!! Made this and garlic chilli chicken. Everyone loved it
Thanks so much!
Great to hear Elaine. Thank you very much for trying my recipes.
Dan
Amazing site you got going on here. Great job.
Hi Dan,
Just been reading through your website and reviews (well done on all the positive comments!) and looking to try to make your base curry sauce and then your chicken saagwala recipe.
The only problem is I’m allergic to onions – is there a substitute for onion that you could recommend or should I just try the recipes without onion?
Thanks in advance!
Sarah
Hi Sarah
I think you should try them without the onions. It’s one of the nice things about cooking for yourself. Can you replace the onions with leeks?
Dan
Hi Dan,
I tried the curry sauce without onion or leek (allergic to both
) and am surprised how tasty it was. I am going to make it again today for a chicken saagwala (also a lovely recipe from your site – but I will be careful to use less lemon this time!), thank you for the great recipes, will be trying more soon!
Sarah
Hi Sarah
Nice to hear the recipe worked for you even without the onion. Thank you for trying my recipes. Be sure to keep in touch!
Dan
So will this sauce work for korma,madras,masala ect. ???
Hi Cameron
Yes! You just make the sauce and then add whatever is needed to make the different curries. Check out the ‘restaurant style curries’ on my site for the for the different curries you can make.
Good luck and be sure to let me know if you have any recipe questions.
Dan
Dan, I just discovered your website and I am so excited to get cracking on these recipes – I’ve been looking for an Indian cooking site like this for ages. I’m hoping to give your base sauce and your saag a try next week and I’ll let you know how I get on!
Hi Dave. I’m happy you found my site too. Please let me know how you get on with the recipes and be sure to let me know if you have any recipe questions.
Thanks
Dan
So I finally got around to making this sauce and one of your recipes (I chose the Chicken Saagwala) and, despite me making a couple of silly mistakes during the cooking process, the curry came out beautifully! To fit me and my partner’s tastes I’ll probably up the garlic quotient next time around, but this was a definite success.
Thanks Dan – I look forward to trying more of your recipes.
So glad I found this website! looking forward to cooking your chicken tikka masala at the weekend. Can I half or quarter the ingredients to this curry sauce recipe to make a smaller portion? not a fan of freezing etc
Thanks
Yes. not problem. I do this often. Just be careful with the chilli powder if you aren’t a big fan of spicy food. Good luck and thanks.
Dan
Absolutely amazing, by far the easiest and best tasting base I’ve ever made! I’m only leaving 5 stars because I can’t leave 6
Thank you very much Stephen. I really appreciate the good feedback. Please keep in touch.
Dan
Dan I have a question about the garlic and ginger paste.
Following your directions: 500ml water, 10 cloves of garlic, 2 inches of finely sliced ginger, and pulverise in a blender.
There was far too much liquid. It was like a drink. I made a second batch with much less water again very liquidy.
-Instructions state garlic smashed in skins I take it I should remove the skins??
-I also peeled the ginger I take it I should have done that also.
I’ve just watched the video of your Lamb Madras in which I saw your ginger and garlic paste and that was pastey. I’m not sure how you get that result following the above recipe.
Many thanks,
Chris.
Hi Chris
Sorry – I think you must have seen an in-between version of this recipe. The original was taken off and is now only available in my book. If you check back, a downsized online version is in its place.
You do used the skins of the garlic. It adds flavour. You really only want to add enough water (a couple drops) to make a think paste with the garlic and ginger.
The sauce is thick and not watery though it doesn’t have much flavour. I like to think of it as a stock. You add spices to it to make the curries of your choice.
Hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Dan I’ve now bought the book to show my support and thanks.
is it 1″ of carrot or a 1″ thick carrot?
thanks
Try doing it to taste. I use one carrot. Sometimes it’s a bit carrot other times I settle for a small carrot.
Just have fun and experiment.
Dan
Hi Dan,
After reading through the ingredients of the curry gravy base sauce, i would like to ask a quick question..
What exactly does the carrot and cabbage do? Ive never heard of either of these two ingredients in any base sauce ever before. Is it a textural reason, colour, or taste?
Thanks
Ian
Hi Ian
The carrot and cabbage just add more flavour. It’s a secret I learned from my local tandoori. Try it! I think you’ll like the result.
Dan
Hi again Dan
I will be making a batch of this sauce ready for a big family get together next week, and i`ve decided to use the carrot and cabbage, but which type of cabbage would you recommend??
Thanks again
Ian
Hi Ian – Any cabbage will do. Just use the freshest you can find.
Hi Dan, I put this on my facebook because it is so good,(the sauce I mean) and gave you a little plug because you helped me a lot with recipes,” this is the basic sauce for any curry sauce” I just finished making it, to make it go to http://WWW.Thecurryguycom site or google curry guy this is the secret to making Indian restaurant style curry.I tried to paste a pic of the sauce but could not.Brian
Hi Brian
I received the picture by email. Thanks for trying the recipe and for putting it on Facebook! I really appreciate it. Keep in touch!
Dan