Bhuna Masala (Indian Curry Paste)

Traditional and authentic north Indian (Punjabi) style Bhuna Masala or Indian red curry masala paste - the perfect base for any Indian curry recipe.

Guys, I did something awesome today! I made RAJMA CHAWAL for my family! Me, yes me. The same me, who is always always always making pastas and puff pastry appetisers, that me, made rajma today. Just like the same me, who made malai kofta last month - happy to report I am totally enjoying Indian cooking.

Okay now time for truth - this is not my recipe. This is one hundred percent my mom's recipe, who tells me that this is one hundred percent her mom's recipe - you see where this is going, right? This recipe for homemade bhuna masala or Indian red curry paste is brought to you by an authentic Indian kitchen and is as punjabi as it possibly can be. The best part? This recipe makes good enough: 2 whole cups, which can be easily refrigerated for upto a week and frozen for about 2 months - which means, that whenever you crave for a delicious comforting Indian curry, simply add the refrigerated curry paste to some oil, cook for a few minutes and add the rest of the curry ingredients. If your paste was in the freezer, simply let it thaw for sometime on the kitchen counter and use for the curries. 

After spending so much time with my mom in kitchen today, I learned how awesome this bhuna masala recipe is to make simple Indian gravies and now I know why she always has a batch stored in the fridge that she uses for a quick fix to make a super simple and quick Indian curry, be it with veggies, paneer or chicken. The quantity is good enough for 2 Indian curries of large serving: 3-4 people each, which means if you are a family of 2, or making Indian curry for two servings, you only need 1/4 cup of this homemade curry paste. There are so many reasons why I would keep making this. This north Indian style punjabi red curry paste:

• is so versatile and can be used for so many recipes for curries. today I made rajma, tomorrow I will use it for chhole or a paneer recipe. You can use it for a variety of north Indian and south Indian curry recipes including yummy rajma (red kidney beans curry) or chana masala (chickpeas), chicken curry or palak paneer or saag aaloo.
• can be stored for at least a week in the refrigerator & a month in the freezer. (Forever lover of freezer-friendly meals and curry pastes) making it perfect for busy week night meals, when you can simply thaw the curry paste and use it in your Indian curries. 
• smells awesome and great arm exercise (read: too much stirring..) + so much better than the store bought curry paste you find in packets at shelves of Asian and Ethnic stores. Better than its copy cat version: homemade with so much love (cheesy, I know, but trust me its that good!)
• literally needs the most basic kitchen pantry staples: onions, tomatoes, garlic, ginger, turmeric, salt and chilli powder - no extra ordinary masalas needed: no use of garam masala spice or coriander or cumin. Super basic, yet super yummy. Safely a beginners recipe for Indian kitchen.

Keep scrolling for step-by-step guide for How to Make Bhuna Masala (Indian red curry paste) at home.

Lets learn how to make bhuna masala (Indian curry paste) 

• start by blending the roughly chopped onions, garlic, ginger and green chillies (grind or use a food processor) 

• blend until a smooth paste is formed. If there is difficulty in mixing, you can add a tablespoon of water (- I did not need to add this, but you can do that for better mixing)
• keep this onion mixture aside to be used later.

• now add tomatoes to the empty blender and mix until fully pureed and keep them aside.

• in a wok, add 1/4 cup of ghee (50 grams) and let heat for a few seconds. Add onions and let cook on medium flame for 5-7 minutes until the mixture just begins to change its colour and thickens. Keep stirring vigorously throughout.

• Add the remaining 1/4 cup of ghee and mix for 3-4 additional minutes stirring continuously. The mixture would have turned light brown in colour by now.

• Add the tomato puree (blended tomato paste) when the additional ghee is fully mixed with the onion paste.

• Cover and let cook on medium flame for 8-10 minutes. Now add the spices: turmeric, salt, chilli powder and turn the flame to high.

• Let the mixture cook for 10-12 more minutes on high flame (no need to cover) - rather vigorously stirring the onion and tomato paste throughout nicely scrapping the mixture from the bottom of the pan every few seconds. By this time, the mixture will start releasing oil from the edges + start sticking to the bottom of the wok and turn into a dark red paste = which is exactly how this homemade curry paste should look like. 

• Turn off the flame, transfer to a bowl and use it for your curries or store for later.

Tips to make the best bhuna masala (Indian curry paste)

• lots of stirring - I wish I could spill a shortcut to this, but the real flavour really comes from the constant stirring of the onion and tomato paste. Literally translated, bhuna means "fried" or " fully cooked" so you really really have to keep cooking the paste, to bring out the best flavours. Specially in the first step with the onions, keep stirring in ghee or oil (if making this vegan) until the onion paste turns very dark in colour (almost greenish brown) and then with the tomatoes - when you see oil being released from sides of the curry paste, that is when you know, that the bhuna masala is ready to be used for a delicious Indian homemade, restaurant style gravy or curry recipe.
• stick to the three basic masalas (spices) - Lots of curry recipes or bhuna masala (curry paste recipe) call for garam masala, coriander or other variety of Indian recipes, trust me: you dont need that. Stick to the three basic spices: turmeric, chilli & salt, no need to add any garam masala or cumin powder. This bhuna masala tastes best without adding any unnecessary spices, making it so simple, uncomplicated and yet, so delicious.

If you made this homemade curry paste (which is good enough for 2 Indian curries of large serving: 3-4 people each), use this red Indian curry paste in this recipe for Rajma (Indian red kidney beans curry) or this delicious chickpea chana masala coconut curry => 2 of my favorite ways to use this freezer friendly bhuna masala. Serve it with yummy homemade cumin rice. Another awesome way, would be to use this paste as a marinade: more on that in the coming week 😀

More Indian recipes to try from the blog:

• Quick and Easy Shahi Paneer
• North Indian Malai Kofta
• Aaloo tikki (Indian street food)
• Restaurant Style Kadai Paneer
• Quick and Easy Coriander Chutney
• Vada Pav (Indian Potato Burgers)
• Sabudana Khichdi (Tapioca Pearls)

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