Curry Sauce – from scratch

Here is a curry sauce that is very versatile and simple to make:

Ingredients:

5 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds

Heat the oil in a pan and add the mustard seeds, when the seeds start to pop add:

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
2 thumb-sized pieces of fresh ginger, finely grated or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
3 medium sized onions, peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon turmeric

Cook until the onions are translucent and starting to brown, stir frequently to stop burning.

At this point to make a smoother sauce, allow the onion mix to cool a little then tip into a blender jug along with:

6 chopped tomatoes
half a tin of coconut milk

Blend to desired smoothness, return to the pan and simmer gently until the tomatoes are cooked and the sauce resembles the consistency of double cream – otherwise, just add the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk to the pan with the onions and simmer gently until the tomatoes are cooked and the sauce has thickened.

For Chicken Curry:

Stir-fry 4 chicken breasts, chopped into bite-sized pieces, add to the sauce along with 1 tablespoon ground coriander, stir well, simmer for a further 5-10 minutes. Serve sprinkled with chopped fresh corriander

For Fish Curry:

Cut 4 portions of fish, e.g. salmon or haddock, into pieces and stir into the sauce along with juice of ½ a lemon and a large handful of chopped spinach. Cook gently for 10 minutes or until the fish is just done.

For Vegetable Curry:

Add about 2lbs of lightly steamed vegetables and/or cooked pulses – e.g chickpeas, lentils, new potatoes, broccoli, carrots, green beans, courgettes, peas, cauliflower or anything else you fancy and have to hand.

To finish off:

Check the seasoning and add Himalayan salt to taste. To round off the overall taste add 2 teaspoons of Garam Masala and stir in well.

Serve with Lime Pickle, Mango Chutney, rice and a large green salad

To make this part of 80/20 Living the curry, rice, chutney and pickle would make up 20% of the meal and would be complemented with green vegetables and/or a large salad making up the other 80%.