Curry Sauce Recipe (Instant Pot and Stovetop)

This homemade Curry Sauce is delicious, full-flavored and easy to make! Use it in stir fry dishes, curries, stews, marinades, pilafs or simply spread it on your pizza base, in your wraps, sandwiches & rolls. This restaurant style Curry Sauce also makes a great dip & it’s finger-licking good! It is vegan, nut-free, soy-free and gluten-free, making it an apt dish for most of us. It can be made ahead, refrigerated and even frozen. Make it in the Instant pot or on the stovetop, instructions included for both.

Curry Sauce is not traditional to Indian Cuisine, but is very much made in the Indian restaurants and street food places. It is nothing but a puree of Indian onion tomato masala. During the pandemic, this sauce has become one of the staples in many Indian restaurants & eateries. It is very common to taste this in every other North-Indian curry like kadai dishes, tawa dishes and many more.

What is Curry Sauce?

It is a puree of sauteed and simmered masala made with onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, sometimes carrots and plenty of spices. Some times even the stalks of coriander is added. The method to make this is same everywhere but the vegetables used vary depending on the availability and season. To cut-down the costs, a lot of places use veggies that are cheaper and in season.

So the flavor and taste of this is not the same always and it tastes different in every place. Onions, tomatoes and bell peppers are the 3 standard veggies used. Curry Sauce is also popular in the British-Indian restaurants in UK and it is added to a lot of dishes like Jalfrezi, Bombay Potatoes, Rogan Josh and many more. Basically it is a pre-made sauce which is just thrown into these dishes to add body.

The basic difference between the Indian and British-Indian versions is the usage of carrots. In India, carrots are not used while in the British version, they are added for a natural sweeter flavor. In the past, bell peppers were never added to make the onion tomato masala in India, but in the recent years, green bell peppers are used for a unique flavor.

About this Recipe

My recipe will give you a delicious Curry Sauce that is flavorsome and creamy, even without the use of cream or nuts. The use of whole and ground spices impart deeper flavors to the sauce.

I also share how to make a delicious curry with this homemade sauce. You are free to use coconut milk, cashew cream, nut milk, yogurt, heavy cream or even cooking cream for a flavor variation. I also share the tips and tricks on how to use them in this sauce.

Photo Guide

How to Make Curry Sauce (Stepwise Photos)

If you want to make this in the Instant Pot, prepare the ingredients from this preparation section and head over to the Instant pot sauce section below.

Preparation

1. Here are the spices you will need. You can leave out the whole spices and add more ground to suit your taste. But whole spices impart deeper flavors.

• ⅓ to ½ tablespoon Kashmiri red chilli powder (reduce for low heat, I use ½)
• ½ tablespoon garam masala (adjust to flavor per choice)
• 1 tablespoon coriander powder
• ½ tablespoon cumin powder
• 1 teaspoon fennel powder (optional)
• 1 medium bay leaf
• 2 to 3 green cardamoms
• 1 black cardamom
• 2 to 3 inch cinnamon piece
• 1 star anise

2. You will also need the following

• 2 cups (200 grams) onions sliced
• 1 inch (8 grams) ginger (peeled and sliced)
• 6 medium (15 grams) garlic cloves, sliced if large

3. Here are more veggies required to make the curry sauce:

• 3½ cups (400 grams) tomatoes sliced or diced
• ¾ cup (70 grams) carrots diced
• ¾ cup (70 grams) red bell pepper sliced or diced

4. Heat 3 to 4 tablespoons oil in a large pan or pot. Add the whole spices, followed by onions, ginger and garlic. If you let the spices cook too long in the oil, they will splutter, so add the onions immediately.

5. Saute onions on a medium heat until golden, for about 10 to 12 mins. Avoid sautéing on a high heat as the onions can taste bitter.

6. Reduce the heat to low and stir in the ground spices – Kashmiri chili powder, garam masala, coriander, cumin and fennel.

7. Immediately add the tomatoes, bell peppers and carrots. Saute for 3 mins, on a medium heat.

8. Pour 2 cup water or broth.

9. Mix well and cover the pan. Bring it to a boil on a high heat and let simmer on medium heat until the veggies are tender and fully cooked. During this step, if the veggies require more liquid, add more. You can use up to 3 cups, depending on the veggies.

10. Later add ½ to ¾ teaspoon salt and ½ t teaspoon sugar (optional). Mix well and turn off.

11. Cool the ingredients and remove the spices – cinnamon, bay leaf, black cardamom and star anise. Blend to a puree.

12. If you want to use this as a multipurpose sauce, it is good to keep it thick. The thicker sauce is great on pizza, in marinades, sandwiches, rolls, wraps or to use as a dip. Scroll down to find the consistency of the same curry sauce for curries.

13. Optional – For better shelf life, add the puree back to the pan and saute on a medium heat for a good 5 minutes.

Cool down and store it in a glass jar. Refrigerate and use up to 2 weeks or freeze and use up to 2 months.

Make Curry

You can find the details on how much curry sauce to use in the Pro tips section below.

14. If you intend to make curry with this sauce, blend it to a thick but of pouring consistency. For this you may add more liquid while blending.

15. Pour more liquid as you cook, depending on how thick or runny you want your sauce to be. Mix well.

16. To make the curry, you can use vegetables of choice or meat of choice. You will saute or grill the veggies or meat until partially tender (not fully cooked). Do it in a separate pan/wok or in the oven or air fryer. You need to season the veggies with spices like chili powder, garam masala and salt before you grill or during the saute. Add them here.

17. Mix well and if required add more liquid. Cover and cook on a low heat until the veggies/ meat is fully cooked to your liking.

18. Crush 1 tablespoon kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) in your palms and add it. You may leave out if you do not like it.

19. This is the consistency we prefer. It will thicken as it cools. Taste test and adjust salt as required. If you want more flavor, add more garam masala at this stage.

20. Garnish with 2 tablespoons thick coconut milk, heavy cream or cashew cream.

If you want you can also add more coconut milk or cashew cream during the last few minutes of cooking. Note that adding too much coconut milk will diminish the flavors of the curry. If you want to add a lot, then add more spices for flavor.

How to use this sauce

This recipe makes about 3 cups of sauce and it serves 8. Adding coconut milk or cashew cream is optional and will make more servings.

Here is a brief guide to use this sauce for 4 servings

• 1½ curry sauce
• ½ cup coconut milk or cashew cream (optional, 14 cashews, soaked & pureed)
• More liquid as needed
• 1 lb. (400 to 450 grams) veggies like carrots, peas, potatoes, cauliflower, bell peppers, baby corn, zucchini, broccoli, sweet potatoes, mushrooms.
• More spices to season the veggies.

Instant Pot Sauce

• Pour 2 to 3 tablespoons oil to the steel insert and press saute button. Add all the whole spices, followed by the onions, garlic and ginger. Saute until transparent.
• Turn off the IP and stir in the ground spices, followed by all the other veggies. Pour 1.5 cups water and mix well at the bottom.
• Secure the lid and pressure cook for 16 minutes on high pressure. Let pressure drop naturally and then discard the bay leaf, black cardamoms, cinnamon and star anise.
• Blend this to a smooth puree and pour back to the Ip. Add salt and sugar. Mix and taste test. Add more garam masala if you want. If your sauce is too thick, you may pour little more water.
• Cook on a saute mode until you see traces of oil over the curry sauce, for about 5 mins. It should be thick, yet of pouring consistency.

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