Prepare this basic Indian curry paste recipe in advance and use in all your favourite Indian curries. You only need 5 ingredients plus basic Indian spices for this onion tomato masala paste that is also freezable. Prep a large batch and freeze to make a curry in a hurry on busy weeknights!
- Ingredients notes
- Ingredients Prep
- How to make Indian red curry paste
- How to use Indian curry paste in your recipes
- Storage
The secret to the best curry paste base lies in cooking the masala thoroughly and using the right balance of spices and seasoning. You should see oil leave the sides of the pan to indicate a well cooked bhuna.
You can choose to add salt or leave it out and use directly in the recipe.
Once you’ve prepared this onion-tomato masala base, you’ll have streamlined 90% of the process for making everyday curries, dals, and stews.
This paste is ideal for dishes like Dal makhani , Rajma masala , Tadka dal, and Green lentils dal , simplifying meal prep for busy weekdays, party planning, or when you’re short on time. An added bonus is that this masala freezes exceptionally well, ready to use whenever you need it.
Ingredients notes
The primary components of this basic curry paste is onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and a blend of warming spices. Whether prepared on the stovetop in a large pan or in an Instant Pot for a quicker option, this sauce is both adaptable and convenient.
Oil : Sunflower or vegetable oil is recommended, though olive or avocado oil can also be used. Generous use of oil enhances flavour and helps preserve the masala. When using the frozen curry sauce for recipes like chana masala , you will need to add little extra oil.
Onions : I’ve used red onions this time, but other onion varieties such as white or brown also work.
Tomatoes : Fresh, ripe tomatoes contribute richness to the sauce. For a deeper colour, you can add tomato paste, passata or canned tomatoes.
Fresh Ginger and Garlic : Use fresh ginger root and garlic cloves for maximum flavour.
Spices : Basic spices like ground turmeric, red chili powder, ground cumin and coriander powder, and garam masala are essential for a flavourful bhuna masala. Alternatively, try my homemade curry powder recipe – a versatile spice blend that you can use for your Indian cooking.
Ingredients Prep
Efficiently prepping the ingredients simplifies the cooking process. A blender or food processor works well for finely chopping the ingredients, which helps them cook faster.
- Finely chop ginger and garlic in a food processor and set aside.
- Process the onions until finely chopped and set aside. Optionally, blend the onion, garlic and ginger.
- Blend the tomatoes into a puree.
If you don’t have a food processor, finely chopping by hand is an option but takes more time.
How to make Indian red curry paste
- Heat Oil : Warm oil in a pan over medium heat. Add the onions, ginger and garlic and sauté until the mixture reduces and become a light brown. This can take 5-10 minutes.
- Add Tomatoes and Spices : Stir in blended tomatoes, salt, and spices. Cook until you notice oil separating from the mixture. This is key.
- Use in recipe : Use directly in your favourite recipe or allow to cool and store for later.
How to use Indian curry paste in your recipes
For Indian dishes that require a base of onion garlic and tomato, you can easily sub in this paste. This homemade onion-tomato masala serves as the foundation for many Indian dishes. Use this curry base or frozen cubes in place of separately prepping onion, tomato, ginger, garlic, and spices for these dishes:
- Coconut Chickpea Curry
- Indian Vegetable Curry
- Matar Paneer
- Brinjal Bhaji
- Chana Saag
Simply heat a little oil and add the cooked curry paste. Proceed with adding your vegetables, lentils or legumes.
Storage
Refrigerator:
Onion tomato bhuna masala stores well in the fridge for 1 week.
Freezing:
Allow the masala to cool completely before portioning it into large ice cube trays. Once frozen, transfer the cubes to zip-lock bags for easy storage. Frozen masala can be added directly to recipes without thawing.
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
- YouTube
Indian Curry Paste (Onion Tomato Bhuna Masala)
Equipment
- Vegetable Chopper
- pan or kadai
Ingredients
- 5 large onion finely chopped (roughly 250 grams each)
- 4 large tomatoes blended or crushed (roughly 100-120 grams each)
- 10 tablespoon oil
- 75 grams ginger chopped or paste
- 18-20 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoon red chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoon cumin coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions, ginger and garlic and sauté until the mixture reduces and become a light brown. This can take 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in blended tomatoes and spices. Cook until you notice oil separating from the mixture. This is key, it can take 15-20 minutes.
- Use directly in your favourite recipe or allow to cool and store for later.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
Indian Curry Paste (Onion Tomato Bhuna Masala)
Equipment
- Vegetable Chopper
- pan or kadai
Ingredients
- 5 large onion finely chopped (roughly 250 grams each)
- 4 large tomatoes blended or crushed (roughly 100-120 grams each)
- 10 tablespoon oil
- 75 grams ginger chopped or paste
- 18-20 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoon red chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoon cumin coriander powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan over medium heat.
- Add the onions, ginger and garlic and sauté until the mixture reduces and become a light brown. This can take 5-10 minutes.
- Stir in blended tomatoes and spices. Cook until you notice oil separating from the mixture. This is key, it can take 15-20 minutes.
- Use directly in your favourite recipe or allow to cool and store for later.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
You can easily prepare your favourite restaurant style Indian curries with this easy homemade Indian curry sauce recipe. This Indian simmer sauce is a smooth sauce prepared with onion, garlic, tomatoes, Indian spices and coconut milk.
- Ingredients for a Basic Indian Curry Sauce Base
- How to use Indian curry sauce in recipes
- Storage
My home-style Indian base curry sauce is the secret to British Indian restaurant style curries at home. It is easy to make within a couple of minutes and can save you time on weeknights.
I also like too prepare other authentic curry sauce bases such as balti sauce , Makhani Sauce and tandoori sauce marinade .
For ease you can also pre-prepare Indian curry paste for when recipes need an onion tomato bhuna masala .
Ingredients for a Basic Indian Curry Sauce Base
Note that fresh ingredients will give you the best results.
Onion – white, brown or red onions works fine.
Garlic – I have used fresh cloves of garlic.
Green chillies – fresh is best. Adjust the amount based on your spice tolerance.
Ginger – fresh ginger is best, choose the ginger roots without strings.
Oil – any mild flavoured or flavourless oil works fine.
Tomatoes – fresh ripe tomatoes or tomato puree works
Cumin seeds
Spice powders – red chilli powder, turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, garam masala. Alternatively, use a ready-made or homemade curry powder .
Coriander stems adds so much flavours to the sauce.
Kasoori methi – dry fenugreek leaves adds the Indian restaurants style flavour to your sauce.
Salt and sugar – sugar balances out the tartness from the tomatoes and brings the flavours together.
Coconut milk (optional)
How to use Indian curry sauce in recipes
Make a large batch of this basic curry sauce and keep it handy for busy days. You may need extra spice powders, oil, seasoning, cream, nut paste or particular spice blend depending what dish you are making.
Use it as a base sauce for this Indian vegetable curry or choose your own medley of vegetables such as carrots, cauliflowers, red pepper, green beans and peas. Serve with hot wholewheat roti .
You could also pan fry some tofu or paneer in oil before pouring over this sauce. Throw some frozen green peas, simmer on low heat for 5-10 minutes, finish with chopped fresh coriander then serve.
Saute boiled or steamed baby potatoes in butter or oil, add Indian curry sauce and simmer for 5-6 minutes for a quick Aloo Butter Masala .
It also works with beans and lentils – you can simmer tinned chickpeas to make a cheats chana masala or chickpea tikka masala . These curries goes so well with aromatic jeera rice or takeaway style pilau rice
Storage
Store Indian curry sauce in an airtight container an keep in the fridge for up to 1 week.
You can also freeze it in batches for 3 months in containers or zip lock freezer bags. Thaw the sauce before adding it to the recipe.
As always if you make this recipe, be sure to leave me a comment, rate this recipe and tag me on Instagram @jcookingodyssey or #jcookingodyssey. I love seeing all your photos of my recipe recreations!
Don’t forget to follow me on social media using the buttons below – I can’t wait to see you all there!
- YouTube
Indian Curry Sauce Base
Equipment
- 1 pan
- 1 Blender
Ingredients
- 4 cup onion roughly chopped
- ¼ cup garlic cloves
- ¼ cup ginger roughly chopped
- ¼ cup green chillies roughly chopped
- ½ cup oil
- 2 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 1 cup tomatoes roughly chopped
- 4 tablespoon chilli powder
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 3 tablespoon kasoori methi
- 3 tablespoon coriander stem
- 2 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 cup water
Optional
- ½ cup coconut milk
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pan, add cumin seeds and once they crackle, add onion, garlic, ginger and chilli.
- Sauté for 8-10 minutes on medium heat until light pink. Add tomatoes cook again until tomato is cooked through.
- Add coriander stems, kasoori methi and spice powders. Mix well.
- Cook again for 2 minutes, add some hot water, sugar and salt. Allow to boil, and cook further 3-5 minutes turn off the heat.
- Let it cool and blend until you achieve a thick but pourable sauce. If using coconut milk, add and mix well.
- Use directly in your recipe or store it for later.
Video
Nutrition
PLEASE NOTE: Nutritional values are estimated by a computer and may vary based on ingredients and portion sizes. For personalised dietary advice, please consult a qualified healthcare professional.
