Easy Masala Sauce (DF, GF, Vegan)
The classic ‘Indian’ dish, Chicken Tikka Masala, was apparently invented by a chef in Scotland as a hybrid dish for the English palate. This has since become a very popular dish both in the UK and US normally made with a decent amount of cream.
In Indian cooking, we call this cheating, anything that doesn’t take three days of you sitting next to the stove and gets it richness from dumping fat in at the end, would definitely not meet with generations of grandma’s who have passed these recipes down.
Needless to say therefore, this is not a grandma approved recipe, but since the last few weeks have been busy and Mr B loves masala, I decided to make a quick masala, which can be used for multiple dishes, vegetarian (e.g. served with charred cauliflower as above) or meat, used as a sauce for a breakfast bowl or a dip for some nachos. I make it in bulk and store it in the freezer. Coconut milk here is the vegan substitute for that added richness that my hubby loves so much!
Ingredients
Masala Base
- 2 onions
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 inches grated ginger
- 2 tbsp. garam masala
- 1 tbsp. chilli powder
- 1 tbsp. turmeric
- 1 tbsp. cumin
- 1 tsp. ground cloves
- 2 tsp. salt
- A handful of cashews
Masala Sauce
- 5 cups of tomato puree
- 1 can coconut milk
- ½ tsp. salt
- ½ cup water
Method
- Pulse all the base ingredients in a blender until smooth
- Heat a drizzle of oil in a pan and scoop ¼ of the mixture into the pan. Fry gently until fragrant
- Add the puree and water and simmer for 5-10 minutes
- Add the coconut milk, simmer for another 10 minutes
- Serve over grilled vegetables, use as a sauce for a rice bowl, or even over pasta
