Easy Indian Basic Curry Paste Recipe

Indian basic curry paste made from scratch, and oh-so-delicious. Here is the easiest curry paste recipe.

Indian Curry Paste:

• Indian curry paste has many variations. But the base paste almost always contains onion, tomato, and ginger-garlic paste. 
• The spices often used in this are turmeric powder, ground cumin and coriander, red chili or cayenne pepper powder and garam masala.
• Don’t forget to season with salt, and allow the mixture to cook until thick, well-browned and semi-dry. 
• The best way to know if the paste is done is by checking if oil oozes out of the mixture or if the mixture becomes lumpy mass and leaves the pan easily. 

How to Make Curry Paste?

Here is the curry paste recipe or the base paste recipe for all Indian curries.

• To make the Indian curry paste, you will need these ingredients:
• Onion paste, tomato puree(freshly made), ginger and garlic paste, and spices- turmeric, ground cumin and coriander, garam masala, and salt.
• Heat your pan.
• Add oil and add the onion with ginger-garlic paste once the oil gets warm but not hot.
• Allow the onion paste to cook thoroughly and brown really well. (This may take 8-10 minutes on low heat)
• At this point, add tomato puree and cook the mixture well.
• Once the mixture thickens and oil leaves the pan, add all the spices and salt.
• Mix well, and cook for another five minutes.
• Your perfect Indian basic Curry Paste is ready.

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Tricks to The Perfect Curry Paste:

The trick to have the best and good quality Indian basic curry paste is by:

• browning the onion and tomato pastes really well.
• When you cook the onion and ginger, garlic mixture, it should brown very well before you add spices and tomatoes.
• For oil-free, cook in low so that onions naturally brown as they cook in aquafaba or little hot water.

If this curry paste is so simple, then why I am posting a recipe article on it? The truth is many people often ignore the fact that curry paste can be made in advance and stored in refrigerator, which will in turn save a ton of time. And my curry paste can be easily stored in refrigerator for a week or more. And the best part is that you can whip up a quick curry, use the paste as a marinade or use it as a base for many gravies, soups and sauces.

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Love vindaloo, add all essential ingredients to this Indian basic curry paste and you are done. Or looking for a gravy base for saag paneer? Just add two to four tablespoons of this curry paste, blanched spinach paste and paneer and bring it to a boil. Your scrumptious saag paneer is ready to serve.

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My busy life with two children sometimes leave me crazily tired and lethargic. This Indian Basic Curry paste certainly saves my life. Just cut some veggies or even use frozen veggies, add curry paste and make patties or add a spoon of curry paste to lentils and a lentil curry soup is ready. The truth is that you can really get creative with this curry paste and make many many beautiful and yummy dishes in a jiffy.

Making curry paste, as I mentioned before, is really easy. Here is my step-by-step guide.

Indian Basic Curry Paste Recipe:

Step 1: In a food processor, add onion, garlic, ginger and green chili. Process to make a coarse paste.

Step 2:

• In a frying pan, add oil and allow it to warm.
• Add onion, ginger garlic and green chili mixture and cook it for few minutes.
• Once the onion starts to lose water, add salt.
• It allows the onion to cook even faster by losing more water.

Step 3:

• Brown the mixture well on low flame, and cook until the mixture starts to ooze oil, and the mixture starts to leave the pan.
• Keep stirring occasionally by scraping the mixture from the sides of the pan.
• At this point, the mixture becomes a thick with a pasty consistency.
• This is the time to add spices.

• Add all the spices and give a good stir, so the spices incorporate well.

• Now you have two choices.
• You can turn the heat off and keep this mixture as your base curry mixture or add tomatoes and cook it further.
• Because some curry recipes don’t include tomatoes, I prefer keeping half of this basic curry paste without adding tomatoes and then cook the rest half with tomatoes.

Step 4:

• After keeping half of this mixture, I add chopped or pureed tomatoes, and allow it to cook until the mixture dries up and has a pasty consistency.

• Once it reaches the desirable consistency, the curry paste is ready.
• Allow it to cool down completely and store it in refrigerator for a week or two.

Storing Suggestions for Indian Curry Paste:

• Store in an airtight glass or BPA-free plastic container.
• Use a clean spoon every time you want to use the curry paste.
• Don’t add fresh herbs such as chopped cilantro to this paste while storing. Instead, add it to the end curry after cooking.

Making Other Pastes with basic Indian Curry Paste:

Red curry paste: onion curry base paste+galangal+kefir lime+dried lemon grass+Thai red chili+vinegar and tamarind+brown sugar

Korma paste: Indian curry paste+coconut cream+cashew paste+ garam masala

Tikka masala: Indian basic curry paste+tomato and cashew puree

Yellow curry paste: basic curry paste+turmeric+tamarind+green chili and Thai basil+kefir lime and dried lemongrass

Chole curry paste: basic curry paste+garam masala+dried fenugreek leaves+pomegranate seed powder

Some curries and curry flavored recipes I made with this curry paste are here. Just click on this recipe image to visit each recipe post.

vegan seitan tikka masala vegan barley salad with curried chickpeas

For more curry inspiration: Pineapple Curry from Lathiya’s Kitchen HERE

Nutrition Facts Homemade Curry Paste:

I use two table spoons to 1/4 cup of this Indian basic curry paste per recipe based on the requirement. Here is a serving size of two tablespoons for making curry for two.

Want to know how many ounces, spoons and grans in a cup? Here is a detailed cups to oz calculator and downloadable chart. And, a liquid conversion chart with ounce to gallon calculator.

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FAQs:

What is Red Curry Paste and Yellow Curry Paste made out of?

The Red Curry paste and Yellow Curry paste are made from Thai chilies, galangal, kefir lime, Oriental sauces and fresh herbs. In contrast, Indian red curry paste has the same onion-tomato base with more Kashmiri chili powder whereas, the Indian yellow curry paste has either coconut milk or cream with turmeric and curry powder for that vibrant yellow hue.

Can I use Curry powder instead of Curry paste?

Curry powder is a spice blend(link here) whereas curry paste is the base gravy or curry sauce base. If you want to use curry powder as a base of your curry, make a paste out of ginger-garlic, tomato puree and curry powder and cook it in oil for the Indian curry.

How do you store curry paste?

Store curry paste in an air-tight container for a week or freeze it in a glass jar for a month. 

What is curry powder, curry paste and curry made of?

Curry powder is a spice mixture(find recipe here) whereas curry paste is the base  of a curry. It acts as the main flavoring agent, thickener and as the base sauce of a curry.

How do you thicken Indian Curry?

With a curry paste base sauce, you really don’t need a thickener(like yogurt, nut paste or coconut milk) to thicken the gravy. However, if you curry is super thin for some reason, add nut paste, dairy or non-dairy cream, and coconut milk to thicken the curry.

Now that you know how to make the Indian basic curry paste, you can make it any time you want. And share the name of your favorite curry in the comments. I really appreciate your feedback. Don’t forget to check my next post that will show you how to use this curry paste in making some awesome grill marinades.

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