Curry Gravy

My wife and I love Indian food and I used to make it when I first started learning to cook.  It was a lot of work especially when you do not know what you are doing.  Fast forward a few years and both of my boys (they are 18 & 22, not such boys anymore) really enjoy Indian food.  When we have gone to meet our oldest son in Evanston (he is at Northwestern), we drive to Devon.  One of the best ethnic areas in the city of Chicago.

What is so enjoyable about Indian food is its complexity.  And now I am beginning to appreciate the depth of the sauces.  This sauce, or gravy, is a puree of onions reduced in Indian spices simmered for a good while.  This gravy then can serve as the base as you add other flavors for the final dish.  A future post will tell you about the Curry Chicken I made using this gravy.  Yum.

Spices:

• 1 tablespoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon  coriander
• 1 tablespoon  fenugreek seeds (can find at your more ethnic type grocers)
• 1 tablespoon paprika (this is not hot, it mostly just gives color)
• 1 small 1″ piece of cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1 large bayleaf

Mix all spices together in a bowl and set aside.  Next chop your garlic and ginger and set aside.

Ingredients:

• 10 onions- baseball sized- sliced pretty thin
• 1 carrot – peeled and chopped (use 2 if you want!)
• 1 red bell pepper, sliced
• 12 large cloves of garlic, finely minced
• 2 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced
• 2 cups chopped tomatoes (I used Hunts brand canned tomatoes)
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 2 tbsp. vegetable oil
• 4 tbsp. ghee
• salt/pepper to taste (I added a little salt, but left out pepper.  I can add this to the individual curries I make)

 

Directions:

• Heat oil and ghee in a large enamel pan, over medium high heat.  Once it’s nice and hot, toss in your spice mix.  Fry the spices for a minute or two.  Add the ginger and garlic.  Stir-fry for a minute or so, just until it lets off a nice smell.  Add the onions.  Mix everything really well so that the onions are fully covered with the spice mixture.

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• I have learned to slice all my vegetables in advance so they are ready when you need them.  Once the onions are soft and translucent, add the bell pepper and carrot.

• Cook the vegetables until they are very soft and the onions have reduced.  Once the vegetables have softened properly, add the tomatoes and water to the mixture.  Stir everything together, mixing well.

• Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for at ;east a half hour.  Once the mixture has been cooked well, pull out your Cuisinart.  Working in batches (I had to do four batches), blend the mixture into a smooth and reasonably creamy looking gravy.  I actually put the first blend in a separate bowl and blended everything a second time.
• The finished gravy will look something like this:

• Pour all the gravy back into the pan and simmer for about 15 to 20 more minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste at this point.  Let it cool and save what you need and freeze the rest.  It will stay in your fridge for a few days, but any longer you should freeze it.  I froze what I did not need for future use.  Enjoy!