North Indian cuisine or Punjabi cuisine is almost everyone’s favorite and we often end up going to a Punjabi restaurant to satisfy our tastebuds. Lots of options for curry or sabzi are there in the north Indian cuisine, but the most common sabzis that we often order are Paneer Butter Masala, Kadai Paneer, Kaju Masala, Matar Paneer, and more similar varieties.
The one thing that is common in all these sabzis is the gravy base i.e., red gravy. So, today we are sharing the recipe for restaurant-style red gravy. This all-purpose curry base can be easily stored and you can use it to make a variety of dishes.
Ingredients
The ingredients required to make basic restaurant-style red gravy are –
Cashews – The addition of cashews makes the gravy thick and creamy. We have not added cream to the gravy and yet it tastes delicious. You can also use a combination of melon seeds and cashews in the recipe.
Ginger+Garlic+Onion+Tomato – This forms the base of any North Indian cuisine red curry recipe. Along with these, we have also added dry red chilies to our gravy for the bright red color. Make sure you stick to the ratio of these 4 ingredients in the gravy, otherwise you won’t get the perfect taste of the red gravy.
Spice Powders – For the spices, we have used coriander powder/dhania powder, jeera/cumin powder, and kitchen king masala. You can add red chili powder also. We have not used whole spices and tried to keep the recipe as simple as possible. Kitchen king masala adds a nice flavor to this red gravy. Do not substitute kitchen king masala with garam masala, or else the taste and flavor will change.
Oil – Oil acts as a preservative in this recipe. Try not to reduce the quantity of oil if you want to freeze and store the gravy.
How to make Restaurant Style Red Gravy | Step-by-Step Recipe
For the cashew paste
Soak cashews in hot water for about 1 hour. After 1 hour, drain excess water and take soaked cashews in a mixer jar. Blend to a smooth paste adding about 1-2 tablespoons of water as required. Do not add more water.
To saute the onion-tomato masala
Soak dry red chilies in water for 10-15 minutes.
Heat ¼ cup oil and add garlic, ginger, and onions. Sprinkle a little salt and saute on a medium flame for about 8-10 minutes.
Now add tomatoes and soaked red chilies. Mix. Cover and cook on a medium flame for about 20-25 minutes. Stir in-between. Once tomatoes become soft, remove them from the flame and let this mixture cool down.
Once cooled, take this in a mixer/blender jar and blend to a fine paste.
For the gravy
Heat ¼ cup of oil on a medium flame. Once the oil becomes hot, switch off the flame. Add all the spice powders one by one – coriander powder, cumin powder, and kitchen king masala. Mix and saute for a few seconds.
Again, switch on the flame and add the prepared onion-tomato paste. Mix well.
Cover and cook on a medium flame for about 8-10 minutes. Stir in-between.
Now open the lid, and add prepared cashew paste and salt. Mix well. Keep stirring continuously and cook for another 8-10 minutes or till you notice that gravy has thickened.
Remove from flame and let it cool down completely.
Once cooled, transfer to an air-tight container and store in the freezer section of the refrigerator for about 1 week. If you wish to use it in batches, then do not store the whole quantity in one container. Divide the quantity and then store. Take out only the required quantity and use it.
Pro Tips
- Blend the onion-tomato mixture to a smooth paste. In case you feel there are chunks of ginger or onion, then you can pass the mixture through a sieve.
- Do not add more water while blending cashews. Just add little water and blend to make a smooth paste.
- We have not added red chili powder to this red gravy, but if you want you can add it.
- We have not used whole spices and tried to keep the recipe as simple as possible. Kitchen king masala adds a nice flavor to this red gravy. Do not substitute kitchen king masala with garam masala, or else the taste and flavor will change.
Storage
You can store this gravy in the freezer section of the refrigerator for about 1 week. If you wish to use it in batches, then do not store the whole quantity in one container. Divide the quantity and then store. Take out only the required quantity and use it.
If you want to store the gravy for a longer duration, then increase the quantity of oil to ½ cup while cooking the gravy. If you are increasing the proportion of oil, then you can store the gravy for up to 2 weeks.
Recipe Card
Restaurant Style Red Gravy | Basic Red Gravy | all-purpose Indian curry base
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Ingredients (1 cup = 240 ml)
For the cashew paste
- ¼ cup cashew / kaju 30 grams/20 cashews
- 1-2 tablespoon water
To saute the onion-tomato masala
- ¼ cup oil
- 10 big garlic cloves (30 grams) roughly chopped
- 1 piece of ginger (15 grams) roughly chopped
- 3 medium-sized onions (about 300 grams) roughly chopped
- 10 tomatoes (1 kg) roughly chopped
- 3 dry red chilies
- salt to taste
For the gravy
- ¼ cup oil
- 1 teaspoon coriander powder/dhania powder
- 1 teaspoon jeera/cumin powder
- 1 teaspoon kitchen king masala
- salt to taste
Instructions
For the cashew paste
- Soak cashews in hot water for about 1 hour. After 1 hour, drain excess water and take soaked cashews in a mixer jar. Blend to a smooth paste adding about 1-2 tablespoons of water as required. Do not add more water.
To saute the onion-tomato masala
- Soak dry red chilies in water for 10-15 minutes.
- Heat ¼ cup oil and add garlic, ginger, and onions. Sprinkle a little salt and saute on a medium flame for about 8-10 minutes.
- Now add tomatoes and soaked red chilies. Mix. Cover and cook on a medium flame for about 20-25 minutes. Stir in-between. Once tomatoes become soft, remove them from the flame and let this mixture cool down.
- Once cooled, take this in a mixer/blender jar and blend to a fine paste.
For the gravy
- Heat ¼ cup of oil on a medium flame. Once the oil becomes hot, switch off the flame. Add all the spice powders one by one – coriander powder, cumin powder, and kitchen king masala. Mix and saute for a few seconds.
- Again, switch on the flame and add the prepared onion-tomato paste. Mix well.
- Cover and cook on a medium flame for about 8-10 minutes. Stir in-between.
- Now open the lid, and add prepared cashew paste and salt. Mix well. Keep stirring continuously and cook for another 8-10 minutes or till you notice that gravy has thickened.
- Remove from flame and let it cool down completely.
- Once cooled, transfer to an air-tight container and store in the freezer section of the refrigerator for about 1 week. If you wish to use it in batches, then do not store the whole quantity in one container. Divide the quantity and then store. Take out only the required quantity and use it.
Video
Notes
- Blend the onion-tomato mixture to a smooth paste. In case you feel there are chunks of ginger or onion, then you can pass the mixture through a sieve.
- Do not add more water while blending cashews. Just add little water and blend to make a smooth paste.
- We have not added red chili powder to this red gravy, but if you want you can add it.
- We have not used whole spices and tried to keep the recipe as simple as possible. Kitchen king masala adds a nice flavor to this red gravy. Do not substitute kitchen king masala with garam masala, or else the taste and flavor will change.
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