Dr Bird's Basic Curry Gravy

So here it is the basic Curry Gravy the 'Holy Grail' of curry making, although quite time consuming with this you can go on to make many delicious recipes. This recipe will make enough for either 4 large curries or 8 small ones I usually go for the large ones as I have hungry friends. Many thanks to Nursey Bang Bang for the wonderful photos.

This is the Angus Young guitar set up of curry making,  a Gibson SG plugged straight into a Marshall amp, no thrills just overdrive, volume and thrust.

The ingredients for a Basic Curry sauce are:

Step One
 2 oz olive oil or ghee
2lb red onions (thinly sliced)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon salt
50g garlic (finely chopped or crushed)
50g fresh ginger (grated or finely chopped)
A little water

Step Two
2 teaspoons tomato puree
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 tin plum tomatoes (400g)
 2 tablespoons olive oil

A large helping of AC/DC and a very nice Gibson SG (ok I know some of you will notice I have a  SG ’61 and not a standard)

Paprika and Turmeric (sunburst finish)

Make sure to use a sharp knife (mind those fretting fingers) to help reduce tears, or invest in onion goggles

Step One Method

In a large pot melt the oil or ghee, before it gets too hot add cumin seeds (gently sizzle and release the glorious aroma) for around 30 seconds, add the onions and salt, turn down and cook covered on a very low heat for an hour (as an option you can now play 'Back In Black' very loud). After an hour remove the lid and cook uncovered for another 20 minutes until the onions take on a brown and caramelised thick consistency (you can add a little water if needed).

Turn up the heat and add the prepared garlic and ginger and fry very gently (no burning now!) for a few minutes, your nostrils will inform when it is ready you when you smell (remember Bill Clinton, so don't inhale) the delightful aroma that it is ready for the next stage. 

Gently fry

Here's the shiny tool I use to blend the garlic and ginger! using my Dualit Les Paul

Garlic and ginger about to release aromas of joy

So while this is all happening we can proceed with step 2.

Step 2

After a little air guitar to Angus we need to proceed.

In a blender (I use and highly recommend a Dualit hand blender set) blend the tinned tomatoes and puree until nice and smooth.

Take a small saucepan and add 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat (again we are after a gentle heat) add the turmeric and paprika and sizzle gently for around 30 seconds, add the blended tomatoes, cover and cook on a low heat for around half an hour. You may now have some minutes spare so by all means go back to some air guitar.

 Now add the cooked blended tomato mix to the onions and blend to a smooth paste and cook on a low heat for a further 30 mins (stirring occasionally). 

Adding the tomato mix to the onions

Dr Bird has a quick slurp!

This is the final basic curry sauce.

Here are just 2 of the curries I make using this basic curry recipe.

A Vegetable Curry with Okra, courgette, peppers, peas.

Potato and Spinach Curry