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.
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.
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.
My busy life with two children sometimes leave me crazily tired and lethargic. This Indian BasicCurry 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
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
Curried Barley Salad
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.
Easy Indian Basic Curry Paste
Indian basic curry paste, the heart and soul of any Indian curry is really easy to make. And you can store it for a week in refrigerator or freeze it for months!
In a food processor, take onions, garlic, ginger and green chilies.
Cook the paste
Heat 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 faster by losing more water.
Brown the mixture well on low flame, and cook until the mixture starts to ooze oil and the mixture starts to leave the pan.
At this point, the mixture becomes semi-dry and leaves the pan easily.
Add spices
This is the time to add spices. Add all the spices and give a good stir, so the spices incorporate well in the mixture.
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 curry paste without tomatoes and half with it.
After keeping half of this mixture, I add chopped or puréed tomatoes, and allow it to cook until the mixture dries up and has a pasty consistency.
Once it reaches a thick and pasty consistency, the curry paste is ready.
Store
Allow it to cool down completely and store it in refrigerator for a week or two.
Instant Pot Method
Set the instant pot to the saute mode. Let it heat till the "Hot" sign appears on the IP display. Add oil and let it heat.
There is a little difference in this Instant pot method than the traditional curry paste making method mentioned above. Instead of adding onions first, we will add everything all at once.
Add onion, ginger and garlic mixure, followed by tomato puree, all spices and salt. Give a good mix and saute for about 2 minutes. (Till the mixture loses some moisture)
Now change the cooking method to pressure cook and set the time for 3 minutes.
Close the lid and seal the vent.
Once the cooking time is up, wait for the NPR.
After the natural pressure release, stir the mixture well.
Now press the saute button again and cook the mixture further till the mixture looks thick and paste-like consistency.
The curry paste is ready. Store it in an air-tight glass jar for two weeks or freeze it for a month.
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.
With an avid interest in everyday cooking and healthy eating, Sophie started My Dainty Soul Curry to share her family recipes and newest culinary innovations. Her digital marketing career is the reason behind her strong affinity and fascination towards the fast-paced world of search engine optimization. As much as she loves cooking, she enjoys exploring her creative side with food photography and page editing. Her life, as a mother of two, inspires her to share some soul warming stories with her readers.
I was looking for a curry paste to make Bombay Potatoes and this worked perfectly! Just added potatoes, some canned plum tomatoes and turmeric powder and it turned out just like what you get in an Indian restaurant 🙂
I’m bookmarking this post, I love that you’ve broken down all the different kinds of curry pastes…I see a lot of curry on our menu in the next few weeks 🙂
Love this unique, Indian curry paste recipe. I always thought the bottled red curry is the one paste available for curries. Never knew we can make our own.
Love this curry paste recipe. Currently got a great (fat free) curry base recipe so this looks like a great addition to make the best (healthy) curries.
My parents are from Trinidad so I’ve been eating curry all my life. I never thought to make my own curry or curry paste before! Your steps and instructions are super easy, and I’m going to definitely have to try this myself, especially since curry isn’t that easy to find where I live
25 comments
Good one dear ?..it’s a life saver
Thank you lathiya ?
very nice…definitely eases life in kitchen… thanks for sharing.
[…] Easy Indian Basic Curry Paste Recipe […]
Great idea ? of making curry in minutes in weekdays. I love the variations of making other curry pastes using this base one !
[…] Easy Indian Basic Curry Paste Recipe […]
I was looking for a curry paste to make Bombay Potatoes and this worked perfectly! Just added potatoes, some canned plum tomatoes and turmeric powder and it turned out just like what you get in an Indian restaurant 🙂
Thank you
This looks awesome!
I make my paste whenever there’s lot of guests coming home. It makes life easy and give us time to..
I know right! It’s such a time saver and makes curry cooking an easy breeze.
[…] love the idea of making curry paste in advance and store it for a week or freeze it for a month in individual portion size bags. My […]
I’ve never used curry paste, but man does this look awesome! I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you Jessica, hope you love it!
This is so good to know, thank you! Way better than the stuff I have in a jar in the fridge I’ll bet!
Thank you Wanda. Everything homemade tastes just great!
I’m bookmarking this post, I love that you’ve broken down all the different kinds of curry pastes…I see a lot of curry on our menu in the next few weeks 🙂
Thank you so much Sue.
Thanks so much for this recipe. Was just looking for an easy and basic Indian curry paste recipe.
Thank you so much. Hope you like it!
Love this unique, Indian curry paste recipe. I always thought the bottled red curry is the one paste available for curries. Never knew we can make our own.
Love this curry paste recipe. Currently got a great (fat free) curry base recipe so this looks like a great addition to make the best (healthy) curries.
Thank you so much Ray.
My parents are from Trinidad so I’ve been eating curry all my life. I never thought to make my own curry or curry paste before! Your steps and instructions are super easy, and I’m going to definitely have to try this myself, especially since curry isn’t that easy to find where I live
Thank you so much!