Topic: Prashad Gravies.

[CurryOnRegardless]

So, you've made your base now what? You've got a freezer full curry gravy and no room for anything else, right? This is a way of making curry gravy as you go so freeing up valuable freezer space that just involve pre-preparing a couple of onion pastes and can be knocked up in about half an hour. I haven't tried gravy #1 as it's for creamy korma/ctm style curries which aren't my thing but gravy #2 works a treat for bhuna/madras.

Adapted from ?PRASHAD Cooking with Indian Masters?

GRAVIES

Basic Gravy #1

Yoghurt based gravy for use with Korma/Pasanda style dishes.

Ingredients:-
Whole Garam Masala (5 green cardamom/1 black cardamom/5 cloves/1? cinnamon/1 bay leaf)
150g/ml ghee/oil
250g/1 cup boiled onion paste*
30g/2 tbs ginger paste
30g/2 tbs garlic paste
10g/2 tsp chilli powder
5g/1 tsp coriander powder
5g/1 tsp turmeric
225g/1 cup yoghurt
50g/3 tbs fried onion paste*
30g/2 tbs cashew paste*
100ml cream
1 tsp garam masala powder
Pinch mace powder
Salt to taste
Water 200ml

Yield: approx 700ml.

Whisk the yoghurt.
Heat ghee/oil in handi/saute/chefs pan. Add whole g/m saut? until it crackles.
Add boiled onion paste and saut? for 2 mins.
Add ginger & garlic pastes, saut? for 30 secs then add chilli, coriander, turmeric and salt.
Add yoghurt (off the heat) then add return to heat and add water.
Simmer until oil separates.
Add fried onion paste, cashew paste and cream, bring back to boil then reduce to medium heat.
Add g/m and mace powder and stir.

Total cooking time approx 15/20 mins.

*see below

Basic Gravy #2

A tomato based gravy for use in lamb and chicken curries.

Ingredients:-


Whole Garam Masala (as gravy #1)
150g/ml ghee/oil
125g boiled onion paste*
10g/2tsp ginger paste
10g/2tsp garlic paste
10g/2tsp red chilli powder
5g/1tsp ground coriander
1/2tsp turmeric
1kg tomatoes (seems a lot, I use 14oz tin instead)
30g/5tsp fried onion paste*
30g/5tsp cashew paste
100ml cream (I omit this and add extra water as required)
5g/1tsp g/m powder
1/2tsp green cardamom and mace powder
Salt (to taste)
Water 200m/l (approx)

Yield approx 800m/l

Heat ghee/oil in a handi/saute/chefs pan. Add whole g/m saut? until it crackles.
Add boiled onion paste, saut? for 2 mins.
Add ginger and garlic pastes, saut? for 30 secs.
Add red chilli, coriander, turmeric and salt, stir fry for 2 mins.
Add tomato, stir constantly until oil rises to surface.
Pour in water, bring to boil and then simmer until oil begins to separate again.
Add fried onion paste, cashew paste and cream and bring back to boil, add more water if too thick.
Stir in g/m and cardamom and mace powder, done.

Cooking time approx 35 mins.
 

*see below

Pastes
Boiled Onion Paste

Ingredients:-

1kg onions, roughly chopped
3 bay leaves
3 black cardamoms

Place ingredients in a large pan along with 200mls water.
Bring to boil, simmer until onions transparent and liquid evaporated.
Remove whole spices, transfer onions to blender and whiz to a fine puree.
Note:-The onion/water ratio is crucial to this. Too much and the paste will be runny, too little and
the onions will not cook properly and most likely stick to the pan. The correct ratio is 5:1.
Yield approx 1kg
Fried Onion Paste

Ingredients:-

1kg onions, sliced
100ml yoghurt
Oil for frying

Heat the oil, add the onions and saut? on medium heat until browned.
Transfer to blender, add yoghurt and whiz to a fine paste.

Note:-This paste should keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 15 days.


Cashew Paste

Ingredients:-

160g cashews (broken)

Soak the cashews in water for 30 mins and drain.
Put cashews in blender, add 100ml water and whiz to fine paste.
Refrigerate.


Note:-Will keep for 24 hrs.

[976bar]

It would be nice to see some pictures of your efforts COR.

[Secret Santa]

COR, when I see things like whole garam masala, cream, cashew paste, mace etc. in a base, I immediately think Balti. Are these from a Balti style cookbook?

[CurryOnRegardless]

Hi SS,

It's not Balti or BIR it was written by 'posh' Indian chefs in the 80's, the recipes tend to begin with things like "....take a doz quails and spatchcock them...." etc. The gravies are presented to assist the 'home amateur' cook to make a passable meal in their domestic kitchen! I reprinted them pretty much as they are but even the authors say you can change them to suit yourself, personally I haven't used the cream or the cashew paste (in gravy #2) but the end result is more of a finished curry than a base, just add pre-cooked meat and your done (if you want it hotter add extra chilli and lemon juice!!!).

976bar

I'll try and do some pix if I ever figure out the menus on this fancy camera I got for Xmas (but don't hold your breath!)

Cheers
Cor

[Secret Santa]

take a doz quails and spatchcock them

God, it's ages since I've spatchcocked a quail! (Enter Domi , right, pursuant by a bear!)   ;D

[Domi]

ha ha SS....me lips are sealed......snow's up to me waist serves me right for going out with a bear behind I suppose.... :

[CurryOnRegardless]

..........( serves me right for going out with a bear behind I suppose.... :

Just be thankful your names not Jack or Russell.....

[chonk]

Prashad is one of my favourite indian cookbooks, with very precise, consistent and authentic recipes. It was written together with the creme de la creme of indian chefs back then (people like Manjit Gill).

The Makhani sauce is worth mentioning too.

1kg tomatoes
10g ginger paste
10g garlic paste
6 green chilies
8 green cardamoms
10 cloves
10g red chili powder
150g butter
150ml cream
15ml (4 1/2 tsp) honey
10g (2 1/2 tsp) dried fenugreek
10g ginger ,julienned

Chop tomatoes; remove stems, wash, slit, deseed and chop green chili.

Put the tomatoes together with approx. 1 litre water in some pot, add gg pastes, green chili, red chili powder, cloves, cardamom and salt and reduce to sauce consistency over low heat. Force through sieve into another pot, bring to boil and add butter and cream. If sour add honey, then fenugreek and ginger juliennes.

[Peripatetic Phil]

The trouble with Prashad is that (at least in my 2012 h/b RS 375 Indian re-print) it has no alphabetical index, which is why my copy gets far less use than it deserves.  I suppose I could take advantage of the lockdown to create one

[chonk]

It's really bothersome to find the individual items, that's unfortunately true. Paper quality could be bit better too but I think those are minor points in relation to its content. It really is a classic.

Cooked up some small batch of the Makhani sauce. Pic shows it simmering. Used pressed garlic and grated ginger instead of pastes so there seemed to be bit more residuals than usual. So the sauce turned out thinner and silkier than I remember but the taste is splendid. Simmered it longer than mentioned too (around 60 minutes instead of 25) to bring out all of the natural sweetness.