22 curry gravy recipes

A batch-cook curry base gravy with garlic, ginger, onion puree, and tomatoes. Make 10 portions, freeze, and shortcut your way through weeknight curries.

Folded Sri Lankan omelettes get sliced and bathed in a spiced coconut milk gravy with curry leaves, turmeric, and a bright squeeze of lime. Ready in just 15 minutes.

Mango chutney with brown sugar, vinegar, ginger, coriander, and cayenne. A quick-cook Indian condiment that improves with age. Makes 8 cups for pairing with curries and grilled meats.

Green lentils simmered with lovage, thyme, orange peel, and shallots in a reduced butter sauce. A refined, herbaceous French-style lentil side dish with an unexpected citrus note.

Asafetida, mango powder, and black salt distinguish the chat masala from other masalas, giving the blend a sourness that makes it a welcome accompaniment to fresh fruit and other snacks. 'Chat' refers to various snacks and to the North Indian cafes that serve them. Fresh fruit often is sprinkled with lime juice and chat masala. Black salt (which is actually reddish gray), available at Indian food stores, has a distinctive flavor that's quite different from sea salt or table salt. The garam masala is the wild card in this recipe; either one of the (Tamil Nadu Curry Powder or Punjabi-Style Garam Masala) masalas may be used.

Homemade curry powder toasted in the oven with fenugreek, cardamom, coriander, cumin, mustard seeds, cloves, and cinnamon, then ground with turmeric, mace, and cayenne.

A fragrant South Indian curry powder toasted from whole spices: cumin, black mustard, fenugreek, curry leaves, dried chili, and urad dal, ground fresh. Keeps for four months in a jar.

Homemade Worcestershire sauce with tamarind, soy, molasses, mustard seeds, and warm spices. Simmered and aged two weeks for a deeply complex, tangy condiment you can't buy in a bottle.

Seeni sambol is a sweet-savory Sri Lankan onion sauce with deep-fried golden onions simmered in tamarind coconut milk with Maldive fish, cardamom, and chili. Addictive on everything from rice to bread.

Curried sesame sauce made with tahini, curry powder, and soy sauce. A rich, nutty vegan sauce for mashed potatoes, pasta, biscuits, or roasted vegetables.

Calcutta pasta sauce blends Indian spices with the Italian tomato sauce concept: cumin, garam masala, ginger, jalapeno, and yogurt for an exotic East-meets-West pasta topper. Curry-style sauce.

Aromatic curry stock simmered with onions, ginger, garlic, ghee, cloves, and cardamom. The foundation every Indian curry, biryani, or dal deserves in place of plain water.

Hot and spicy chili sauce made from ripe tomatoes, onions, curry powder, ginger, and nutmeg simmered with apple cider vinegar. A homemade Indian-spiced condiment for canning.

Thai red or green curry paste: a homemade aromatic blend of chilies, shallots, garlic, lemongrass, shrimp paste, ginger, and coriander. The from-scratch base for authentic Thai curries.

No-cook peanut garlic sauce blended with fish sauce, red curry paste, and chicken broth. A quick Thai-inspired dipping sauce for satay, noodles, or grilled chicken.

Phal base recipe: the blazing-hot curry paste foundation for Britain's spiciest Indian restaurant dish. Four ingredients blend into fiery heat for an authentic phal curry at home.