Basic curry sauce

Latest comments and suggestions

• dave williams

  02 January 2008

  dave williams commented on this recipe

  Unbelievable. I worried when I added the litre of water but after about 40 minutes of reducing (not the 10 minutes mentioned in the recipe) I was left with a beautiful (hot!) sauce that you could use in any number of ways. I served it with the one-pot chicken biryani - also on here. You wont be left with a litre of sauce so dont count on freezing any. You'll make it once and it will become a staple, trust me.

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• dave williams

  02 January 2008

  dave williams rated this recipe

  

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• hdcy2k

  13 February 2008

  hdcy2k commented on this recipe

  using madras paste is just cheating!

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• Melanie Day

  09 March 2008

  Melanie Day commented on this recipe

  I am always dissapointed when recipies use curry paste - its not real cooking.

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• alizon

  10 March 2008

  alizon commented on this recipe

  Likewise i thought omg what a lot of water took a good 50 minutes to reduce, but was good. We also had it with the biryani recipe on this site. which was a real treat.

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• Fab food

  29 March 2008

  Fab food commented on this recipe

  This is a bit like uploading a recipe for steak pie and saying:- Ingredients:- Fray Bentos Steak Pie Method:- Cook it. Eat. Lazy stuff, try cooking a real curry people!

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• Fab food

  29 March 2008

  Fab food rated this recipe

  

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• recipes

  03 April 2008

  recipes commented on this recipe

  stop being such cookery snobs, its a quick recipe for busy days.

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• Sharene

  05 April 2008

  Sharene commented on this recipe

  I agree. The clue is in the title for "basic" curry sauce. It's a great recipe for people like me - a busy, working mum who wants to make decent meals for my family. That's what I like about Good Food and even Delia recognises that some of us need to cheat! Unlike making a "real" curry, it uses store cupboard ingredients, great for cooking on a budget. I add fresh spinach and prawns or lentils and it's nicer than a takeaway.

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• Glenys

  05 July 2008

  Glenys rated and commented on this recipe

  

  How can anyone say this is not a good recipe - it may not be the most complex or use a vast array of ingredients but it is very effective. Its an easy and cheap meal whatever way you use this recipe and I would recommend anyone to give it a try for themselves and not pay any heed to some of the comments already made!!!!!

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• clare40

  30 July 2008

  clare40 rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I found this both easy to make and delicious, we used Balti curry paste!

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• Emmy-Lou

  10 October 2008

  Emmy-Lou rated and commented on this recipe

  

  Would usually agree with other comments about 'cheating' using a curry paste, however, this is just one of the ingredients and after a busy day it was quick and easy to make. I added left over chicken from the Sunday roast and it worked a treat.

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• Frantic Flapjack

  01 December 2008

  Frantic Flapjack commented on this recipe

  Will try it tonight.

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• Jeremy

  03 June 2009

  Jeremy commented on this recipe

  Brilliant idea! I get four containers of sauce for the freezer, each of which will make four meals when I use them. Incidentally, you don't have to make the sauce with commercial curry paste, I make up my own curry powders from basic ingredients.

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• BigT

  16 September 2009

  BigT commented on this recipe

  I used to spend time making various curries from scratch but there are so many good quality pastes and sauces on the market these days, why waste time and money producing a paste from scratch if all you want is a quick curry, even if you use a mass produced paste you can always doctor it to suit your own tastes as I do.

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• gazzalama

  20 November 2009

  gazzalama commented on this recipe

  Does it work with curry powder instead of the paste?

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• whirlwind

  19 July 2010

  whirlwind commented on this recipe

  I love making curries from scratch at the weekends but sometimes, particularly during the week when time is short, I want a cury that doesn't take so long. This recipe is just what I have been looking for. It doesn't take as long as making a curry from scratch but is much more homemade and healthier than using jars of ready made sauces so stop being food snobs. Looking forward to trying the recipe.

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• Coco Loco

  16 August 2010

  Coco Loco rated and commented on this recipe

  

  One of the nicest curries i've made in a long time, very tasty and easy to make. I was worried it would be a bit too hot but it was just right for me (i used pataks madras paste) but my husband added extra red chilli as he likes a lot of heat. My only negative comment was that it took about 45 minutes to reduce down (not 10 like advised in the recipe) and it only made enough for about 4 people so i wasn't able to freeze any.

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• Potter

  28 July 2011

  Potter commented on this recipe

  If you think curry paste is cheating make your own! Patak's is the best alternative to making your own if you don't have time.

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• SwissGirl

  29 October 2011

  SwissGirl rated and commented on this recipe

  

  I made this sauce to serve with the chicken biryani on here and it's perfect, has enough flavour and texture to hold it's own but not to overpower, once it had reduced to a lovely thick sauce I added some cream which I think gives it more depth. Will definately make again as it's quick and easy. When you're a busy mother but love a good curry this ticks all the boxes!

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http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2231/

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Ingredients

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 500g onions , finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves , peeled and chopped
• large knob root ginger peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Madras curry paste
• 400g can chopped tomatoes

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Difficulty and servings

Makes 1 litre

Preparation and cooking times

Prep 10 mins

Cook 30 mins

Vegetarian

Freeze for up to 2 months

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 500g onions , finely chopped
• 6 garlic cloves , peeled and chopped
• large knob root ginger peeled and finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Madras curry paste
• 400g can chopped tomatoes

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