Basic Balti Sauce
Submitted by lucky89109
Homemade balti sauce with onions, ginger, garlic, tomato, and warming spices blended smooth. Your base for any balti curry, ready in 45 minutes. Endlessly customizable.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
15 minCOOK
30 minREADY
45 minEvery great balti starts with a proper base sauce, and this one gives you a solid foundation to build on.
Four onions cook down with fresh ginger and garlic until soft and translucent, then chopped tomato joins the pan along with paprika, turmeric, cumin, coriander, chili powder, and a handful of fresh coriander leaves.
A 30-minute simmer lets everything meld, then the whole lot gets blitzed in a blender until smooth.
From here, you can take it anywhere. Add chicken, lamb, prawns, or vegetables. Stir in yogurt for creaminess, coconut for richness, or extra fresh chilies for proper heat.
That’s the beauty of a base sauce: one recipe, countless curries.
Variations
- Stir in a few tablespoons of yogurt or coconut cream for a richer, milder sauce.
- Add fresh green chilies with the onions for a sauce that really bites back.
- Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and fresh coriander right before serving for brightness.
Chef Tips
- Make a double or triple batch and freeze in portions. Having balti sauce ready to go turns a weeknight curry into a 20-minute meal.
- Cook the onions low and slow until truly translucent. Rushing this step leaves the sauce sharp instead of mellow.
- Blend until completely smooth for a restaurant-style finish, or leave it slightly chunky for more texture.
Ingredients
Directions
Heat the oil in a large saucepan over moderate heat.
Fry the onions, ginger and garlic until the onions are translucent.
Add the tomato and stir-fry, breaking it up with the spoon.
Pour in 300 ml / ½ UK pint water, and stir in the other ingredients.
Bring to the boil.
Lower heat, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
Remove from heat and allow to cool.
Pour into a blender or food processor and liquidize.
(Note: this is only one formula of thousands possible. There’s no more a single recipe for Balti sauce than there’s a single recipe for chili. Some cooks like more garlic, some more chili powder; some use fresh chilies as well: some add yogurt, coconut, cream. you name it.)
Comments
sounds easy enough to make will give it a go for my tea tonight