C41 Curry Base Sauce

Alternatives that can be used whenever C41 base sauce is specified in a recipe are C44 Base Sauce or the latest C46 Base Sauce.

Ingredients

For 1800 ml	Continued...
6 tbspn oil	200 ml chopped tomatoes (about ½ of 400 gm tin)
600 gm onion (prepared weight)	1 tspn tomato purée
25 gm garlic (prepared weight)	3 tspn turmeric (see alternative spicing)
30 gm ginger (prepared weight)	2 tspn paprika (see alternative spicing)
	1 tspn salt

An alternative spicing

Alternative Spices	Continued...
3 tspn turmeric	½ tspn ground cumin
1 tspn paprika	½ tspn ground cinnamon
1 tspn ground coriander	½ tspn ground fenugreek

Preparation

Finely chop the onions, garlic and ginger.

Cooking

Stage 1
Heat 4 tbspn of oil in a large wok over a high heat.
Add the onion and fry, stirring regularly, for 8 min.
Make a space in the centre of the onions and add the ginger, press down for a few seconds then stir in, and fry, stirring frequently for 2 min.
Make a space in the centre and add the garlic, press down for a few seconds then stir in, and fry, stirring frequently for 2 min.
Continue to fry for about 2 min until the onions turn a golden colour. It is important, especially at the latter stages, that the contents are kept moving to prevent burning. (see note 1)
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Stage 2
Spoon the fried onion mixture into a liquidizer.
Add 200 ml of chopped tomato and some warm water to ¾ fill the container.
Blend until very smooth.
Empty the blended mixture into a measuring jug and add enough water to make 2000 ml.
Stage 3
Heat 2 tbspn of oil, over a medium heat, in a stock pot or very large pan.
Stir in the tomato purée and fry for about 30 seconds using the back of a chef's spoon.
Add the turmeric and paprika (alternatively also the coriander, cumin, cinnamon and fenugreek) and stir fry for about 10 seconds.
Remove the pan from the heat and very carefully pour in the blended mixture. Take care as it will spit to start with.
Return to the heat, add the salt, bring to a boil and then simmer, covered, stirring frequently for 30 min.
Allow to cool and then transfer to a measuring jug.
Add enough water (if needed) to make 1800 ml, stirring well.
Pour the base sauce into 300 ml jars (6 off), label and, when cool, store in the freezer. A jar can be kept in the refrigerator for a few days or used immediately.

Notes

(1) Exact timing at stage 1, part 6, is difficult to specify as it depends on the type of onions, the heat used and the type of pan, but a ‘wheat’ or ‘straw’ colour is what is required. The deeper the colour the more savoury the sauce will become. A more savoury sauce will be ok for a robustly flavoured curry but not for a mild type.
(2) A chef's spoon is about 40 ml (see first pic).