Curry Sauces
Cooking Skills: Sauces 2
Chapter 3 · Curry Sauces
Shopping list for this chapter
The basics
A curry sauce is a base plus a character. The base is onion cooked until soft and golden, garlic and ginger, ground spices fried briefly in the oil, and tomato. Once you can make it, the rest is the difference between a creamy mild sauce, a nutty one, a tomato-rich one or a fresh, hot, peppery one. Cooking Skills: Vegetables 2, chapter 1, covers toasting spices and flavour bases, and chapter 2 covers vegetable curries; this chapter is about the sauce itself, so it will serve any meat, fish, egg or vegetable.
Three things matter most: cook the onions properly (10 to 15 minutes, until golden), fry the spices for only a minute (so they bloom without burning), and simmer until the oil separates and shows at the edge (a sign the water has cooked off). Serve with rice (see Cooking Skills: Rice 1, chapter 3) or bread.
The method
- Cook the onions until golden, 10 to 15 minutes. Pale onions make a harsh, raw-tasting sauce.
- Add garlic and ginger and cook for a minute, then the ground spices for about a minute only.
- Add tomato and simmer until the oil starts to separate at the edges.
- Blend or leave chunky, then add water or stock to loosen it to the thickness you want.
- Add the finishing ingredients (yogurt, cream, ground almonds, peppers) and simmer gently; taste for salt, heat and sourness.
| Sauce | Character | Heat | Goes with |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mild curry | Savoury and gentle | Mild | Chicken, vegetables, eggs |
| Korma style | Creamy, nutty and sweet | Very mild | Chicken, paneer, vegetables |
| Tikka style | Tomato, cream and smoke | Medium | Chicken, fish, paneer |
| Jalfrezi style | Fresh, peppery and sharp | Hot | Chicken, prawns, vegetables |
Chilli and spices: chilli can sting skin and eyes, so wash your hands well after chopping it and don't touch your face. Add heat in small steps, and keep portions for children mild.
Blending hot liquids: hot liquid expands in a sealed blender and can blow the lid off and scald you. Let it cool for a few minutes, fill the jug no more than half, hold a folded cloth over the lid, and start on low. A stick blender in a deep pan avoids the problem.
Allergens: korma contains nuts (almonds), milk and cream. Spice blends may contain mustard or celery. Check labels.
Try it
A mild curry base
Make this first and use it as a sauce on its own, or as the base for the three sauces that follow. Add cooked chicken, hard-boiled eggs or vegetables for a quick curry. Make a double batch and freeze half.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 3 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp mild chilli powder
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 250 ml water
- 1 tsp flaked sea salt
- Cook the onions in the oil over a medium-low heat for 12 to 15 minutes until golden, stirring. Add the garlic and ginger for 1 minute.
- Add the spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly, adding a splash of water if they start to catch. Stir in the tomatoes, purée and water.
- Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes until thick and the oil separates at the edges. Blend for a smooth sauce, add the salt, and taste.
Hot sauce: a thickening sauce bubbles and spits, and hot sauce sticks to skin and burns worse than water. Stir with a long spoon, keep your face back and turn the handle of the pan inwards.
Blending hot liquids: hot liquid expands in a sealed blender and can blow the lid off and scald you. Let it cool for a few minutes, fill the jug no more than half, hold a folded cloth over the lid, and start on low. A stick blender in a deep pan avoids the problem.
A korma-style sauce
A mild, sweet, creamy sauce. Ground almonds give body and a gentle nutty taste. Stir yogurt in off the heat and a spoonful at a time, because hot, acidic yogurt curdles. For a nut-free version use a little coconut milk instead.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch of mild curry base (above)
- 3 tbsp ground almonds
- 100 ml natural yogurt
- 75 ml double cream
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Warm the base with 100 ml water and the ground almonds, and simmer gently for 5 minutes.
- Take the pan off the heat. Stir in the yogurt a spoonful at a time, then the cream and sugar.
- Heat very gently for 3 minutes without boiling. Add the lemon juice, taste, and add salt if needed.
Allergens: contains almonds (nuts), milk and cream.
A tikka masala-style sauce
Britain's favourite curry sauce: orange, rich and mild. Paprika gives the colour, garam masala the warmth, and cream the roundness. It suits grilled chicken (see Cooking Skills: Sauces 2, chapter 7 for the marinade), paneer or fish.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch of mild curry base (above)
- 2 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 100 ml double cream
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp butter
- Warm the base with 100 ml water, the paprika, garam masala and tomato purée, and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Add the sugar and butter and stir until the butter melts.
- Stir in the cream, heat gently for 3 minutes without boiling, and taste for salt and sugar.
Allergens: contains milk, butter and cream.
A jalfrezi-style sauce
A drier, sharper, hotter sauce full of fried peppers and onion. The vegetables stay slightly crunchy. Cook them in a hot pan for a short time. Control the heat by deseeding the chillies, or leave them out for a mild version.
Ingredients (4 portions)
- 1 batch of mild curry base (above)
- 1 tbsp sunflower or rapeseed oil
- 1 onion, cut in chunks
- 1 red pepper, cut in chunks
- 1 green pepper, cut in chunks
- 2 green chillies, sliced (deseeded for milder)
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp chopped coriander
- 1 tsp lemon juice
- Fry the onion and peppers in the oil over a high heat for 5 minutes until browned at the edges but still firm. Add the chillies for the last minute.
- Add the base, 100 ml water and the garam masala, and simmer for 8 minutes.
- Stir in the coriander and lemon juice, taste, and add salt and more chilli to suit.
Hot pan and hot oil: searing and stir-frying use very high heat and spitting oil. Dry the beef first, keep everything ready before you start, use a long spoon and keep children away from the hob.
Experiments
Whole or ground spices
Texture and aroma.
- Fry 1 teaspoon of whole cumin seeds in oil for 30 seconds in one pan, and 1 teaspoon of ground cumin in another, then make a small sauce with each.
Look for: Whole seeds give pops of flavour and a toasty aroma; ground gives an even background. Whole spices need to be fried first.
Browned or pale onions
Depth.
- Cook onions for 5 minutes in one batch and 15 in another, then make the base with each.
Look for: The browned onions give a sweeter, deeper sauce; the pale ones taste raw and sharp. Time is the main ingredient.
Yogurt or cream
Tang and richness.
- Finish half a batch with yogurt and half with cream.
Look for: The yogurt sauce is tangy and lighter; the cream sauce is rounder and richer. Both must go in off the heat.
Blended or chunky
Texture.
- Blend half the base and leave half chunky.
Look for: The blended sauce is smooth and restaurant-like. The chunky one is more rustic with a stronger onion flavour.
Tasting notes
| What I tried | Method or amount | What I saw | What I thought | Will I do it again? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mild curry base | ||||
| Korma-style sauce | ||||
| Tikka masala-style sauce | ||||
| Jalfrezi-style sauce | ||||
| Whole or ground spices | ||||
| Browned or pale onions | ||||
| Yogurt or cream | ||||
| Blended or chunky |
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Bitter or burnt taste | Spices burnt | Start again; fry spices for under a minute, with a splash of water |
| Raw or gritty spice taste | Spices undercooked | Simmer the sauce for longer |
| Sauce split or curdled | Yogurt or cream added over heat | Add off the heat and warm gently; whisk a spoon of cold water in |
| Too thin or watery | Not reduced enough | Simmer uncovered until the oil separates |
| Too hot | Too much chilli | Add yogurt, cream or a pinch of sugar, or extra base |
| Flat taste | Not enough salt or acid | Add salt and a squeeze of lemon juice |
Chilli and spices: chilli can sting skin and eyes, so wash your hands well after chopping it and don't touch your face. Add heat in small steps, and keep portions for children mild.
Keeping sauces: cool a sauce quickly in a shallow container within 1 to 2 hours, press cling film onto the surface to stop a skin forming, chill and use within about 2 days. Reheat until steaming hot, stirring. Milk and cream sauces can split when frozen, so freeze other sauces instead.
- I can cook onions until golden.
- I can bloom ground spices without burning them.
- I can tell when a curry base is cooked (oil at the edges).
- I can finish a base with yogurt and cream without curdling.
- I can adjust heat and balance a curry sauce.