Description
Traditional and authentic north Indian (Punjabi) style Bhuna Masala or Indian red curry masala paste - the perfect base for any Indian curry recipe.
Ingredients
Scale
- 300 grams onions
- 630 grams tomatoes
- 2 medium green chillies
- 2 tbsp ginger (chopped)
- 2 tbsp garlic (chopped)
- 100 grams ghee (1/2 cup) [you can use oil as well] *Note 1
- 3 tsp turmeric powder (haldi)
- 2-3 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp chilli powder
Instructions
- Roughly chop the onions and transfer to a blender.
- Add green chillies, ginger and garlic.
- Blend/ mix until a smooth paste is formed and transfer to a bowl, keep aside.
- Add tomatoes to the empty blender/ mixer and mix until a smooth puree is formed. Transfer to a bowl to be used later.
- In a wok, add 1/4 cup of ghee (50 grams) and let heat for a few seconds
- Add onion mixture (pureed onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic) 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 consistently. At this point the mixture would have turned light brown in colour.
- Add the tomato puree 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.
- 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.
- Turn off the flame, transfer to a bowl and use it for your curries.
Notes
- This recipe is vegetarian but can be made vegan by replacing ghee with vegetable oil.
- Serving size: Good enough for 2 Indian curries of large serving: 3-4 people each
- Uses: 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 homemade Indian curry paste. Serve it with yummy homemade cumin rice.
- Storage: Air tight containers is what we store ours in, or even small jars.
- How to thaw/ re-heat: Place the frozen curry paste on the kitchen counter for about 30 minutes, and then you're good to go and use it in curries or gravy recipes.
Keywords: vegetarian, basics, indian, north indian, curry
