This homemade Indian curry paste recipe with simple ingredients can save you time and effort. Make your own curry paste and cook exciting curries for quick weeknight dinners.
Make a coarse paste with onions, ginger, garlic and green chili using a food processor or blender.
Heat oil in a wide pan and saute the paste. Keep stirring until the paste browns, for about 10 to 15 minutes on medium-low flame.
Puree the tomatoes. Add the tomato puree with all the spices.
Saute for another 15 minutes or until the paste is nicely browned and thickened.
Cool and store in an airtight jar. This curry paste keeps well in the refrigerator for a week and in the freezer for a month.
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Notes
The key to making this curry paste delicious lies in the time you take to saute the onions and tomatoes. Keep stirring on medium-low heat until all ingredients come together.
This curry paste can be used to make a variety of Indian curries, using vegetables, paneer, meat, fish or eggs. (recipes below:)
Use less chili powder in the curry paste if you're not used to spice. 1 1/2 teaspoons would be an optimum quantity. Or leave out the green chili.
The nutrition facts for the curry paste are based on the estimation that 3 cups of the paste can be used to cook 12 servings of curry.
Substitutes:
Chili powder can be replaced with cayenne pepper.
Kashmiri chili powder can be replaced with paprika.
How to use Indian curry paste
7 easy recipes for curries with the curry paste (4 servings)
Add the above nutrition details of the curry paste to the nutrition of each curry recipe to get the total nutrition facts.
mixed vegetable curry and vegetable korma
Saute 1 cup of curry paste in 2 teaspoons of oil for 5 minutes.
Add 2 cups of fresh/frozen vegetables and 2 cups of water.
Bring to a boil, then simmer until the vegetables get cooked, for about 10-15 minutes. If using frozen veggies, thaw them for 5 minutes in warm water before cooking. Add 1/2 teaspoon garam masala.
For mixed vegetable curry, add cashew paste made with 15 cashews and 1/4 cup of water.
For vegetable korma, add 1/2 cup of coconut cream.
Simmer for 5 -10 minutes more or until the curry becomes thick and creamy.
Garnish with cilantro.
nutrition facts for mixed vegetable curry
nutrition facts for vegetable korma
dal/lentil curry
Cook 1 cup of lentils as per package instructions. (the cooking time and amount of water depend on the type of lentils and the equipment used).
Heat 1 teaspoon of oil, add mustard and cumin seeds, 1/2 teaspoon each.
Once the mustard seeds splutter, add 1 cup of the curry paste, cooked lentils and 1 cup of water. (adjust the amount of water since the cooked lentils may already contain some liquid).
Simmer away until you get creamy, delicious dahl that doesn't require a thickening agent.
Garnish with cilantro.
chicken curry
Mix 500 gms/1 lb chicken pieces with 1 cup of curry paste (marinate for 30 minutes if time permits)
Saute in 1 tablespoon of oil for 5 minutes. Add 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil.
Simmer for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked.
Add 1 teaspoon garam masala and cashew paste made with 15 cashews and 1/4 cup of water.
Simmer for 10 more minutes or until it reaches required consistency.
Garnish with cilantro.
fish curry
Saute 1 cup of curry paste in 2 teaspoons of oil, add 500 gms/1 lb fish fillets with 1 1/2 cups of water.
Bring it to a boil.
Add 2 tablespoons tamarind paste and simmer for 5-10 minutes until the fish is cooked.
Garnish with curry leaves.
egg curry
Saute 1 cup of curry paste in 2 teaspoons of oil, add 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil.
Add 8 boiled and halved eggs, 3/4 teaspoon garam masala and 1/2 cup coconut cream.
Optionally, 2 boiled and cubed potatoes may be added along with the eggs.
Simmer for 10 minutes, allowing the flavors to be absorbed by the eggs.
Garnish with cilantro.
paneer butter masala
Blend 1 cup of curry paste until smooth. The curry paste has to be smooth for paneer butter masala to get the creamy consistency.
Saute the curry paste in 2 tablespoons butter, add 1 cup of water and bring it to a boil.
Add 1 teaspoon garam masala, cashew paste made with 15 cashews and 1/4 cup of water. Optionally add 1 teaspoon dried fenugreek leaves (if available: it is an essential ingredient in most of the traditional paneer recipes). Mix well to avoid lumps.
Simmer for 10 minutes or until the desired consistency is reached.
Add in 250 gms paneer cubes and 2 tablespoons cream.