All-purpose masala in 40 minutes. Make awesome exotic dishes in a jiffy

Are you looking for an easy recipe to prepare a masala which can be used in numerous Indian curries and can be prepared easily at home? If yes then this article is for you.

After reading this article you will be able to prepare your own masala and like me you too would be able to use it in wide variety of curry recipes. If you are looking to prepare this type of healthy stuff that makes the food even yummier then read the article till the end. I am sure you too would start preparing this at home once you have tried it.

You will not have run to supermarkets or grocery stores to buy instant readymade gravy that are available in powdered form in which you need to add water to prepare gravy. This recipe is easy to prepare. 

You can quickly prepare gravy when unexpected guests arrive which saves your time too. This can be added to recipes like rajma, rongi, egg curry, chicken curry and kofta curry. It makes the cooking process much smoother and faster because the masala to make gravy has already been prepared in advance.

At my home gravy for Indian curries is being prepared since my childhood as my mother has a positive thinking that preparing masala at home and adding them to the recipes is the best way to enhance curries taste. My mother prepares it in bulk quantity and then refrigerates it.  All one needs to do is to add it to the dish and cook for some time and your recipe is ready.

Since this is prepared with various healthy ingredients it contains many benefits too. As we all know that Indian spices share numerous health benefits. I will be sharing their benefits in a different blog which I am planning to start soon where we will only discuss about spices benefits in detail. Let's start our amazing recipe

What is gravy

Without gravy or masala most of Indian cuisine is incomplete. It's considered as a soul of food without which Indian curries would be bland. It structures the recipe by giving it the look, feel, aroma, flavour and texture. One can increase or decrease the level of spices.

Indian gravy is available in two colours white and red. While white gravy is mainly prepared with ingredients like onions, curd, seeds, cream and ginger. Red gravy is prepared with various ingredients like tomatoes, onions, green chillies, ginger, garlic and whole spices.

Ingredients

12 onions/ 3 cups roughly chopped onions

10-12 tomatoes/ 2.5 cups roughly chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup thick curd

1/3rd cup peeled garlic

1/3rd cup grated ginger

5-6 bay leaves

2 chopped green chilli

2 red chillies whole

5-6 one-inch cinnamon sticks

A pinch of grated nutmeg

A piece of pathhar phool/ black stone moss (optional)

2 large cardamoms

3 small green cardamom

12 cloves

1tbsp cumin

1 star anise

A few strands of mace

1/2 cup ghee or oil

1 tsp salt

Photo Wise steps

Put oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add all the whole masalas and stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add the onions and green chilles. Stir well.

Add garlic and cook for 8-10 minutes till onions are brown.

Add grated ginger and stir for a minute.

Then add tomatoes and salt and continue to cook stirring in between.

After 10 minutes add curd to the mixture. Cook till water evaporates.

Put off the gas and let the mixture cool down. After the mixture has cooled down put in the grinder and make a smooth paste.

 And it's ready. Cover and refrigerate it or use accordingly.

Video

Method

Put oil in a heavy bottomed pan. Add all the whole masalas and stir fry for 30 seconds.

Add the onions and garlic and stir fry for 8-10 minutes till the onions are slightly brown.

Now add the grated ginger and stir in for a minute. Add the tomatoes and salt and keep cooking and stirring in between.

After 10 minutes add curd and cook further till the water evaporates.

My masalas don't leave oil because I use minimal oil as well as chillies.

Adding more oil and chillies will definitely make the dishes richer and more like those served in the restaurants.

You can put off the gas now add wait for it to cool down.

After cooling put it in the mixer in smaller batches and grind to a paste.

Cover and refrigerate in the coolest shelf for up to 10 days.

Summary

In my opinion it is better to use homemade masala instead of that available in the market as it is fresh and the there are no preservatives in it. One can easily modify it according to their taste by making it less or spicier. You can add it to numerous dishes. But it depends from individual to individual whether they want homemade or those available in the market.

You can cover and refrigerate it for 10 days. This can be added to various dishes like rajma, rongi, egg curry, chicken etc.