A Balti sauce, or base curry gravy, is the foundation of restaurant style Balti and curry cooking… Here is one of the two Balti sauce recipes that I cook with most.
This recipe is based on the Balti sauce from “I Am King of Balti” restaurant in Birmingham, England… It has more tomatoes and spices than the typical base gravy recipe–but the “I Am King” Balti house was known for their rich, tomatoey Baltis.
2 lbs onions, thickly sliced
2 oz ginger (cut into large pieces, or use ginger paste)
3 oz garlic (use garlic paste or whole garlic cloves)
28 oz can peeled tomatoes
4 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tbsp paprika
1 cup vegetable oil
7 cups water
1. Add all ingredients (except the water) to a large sauce pan, adding the spices after the onions and tomoatoes. This will help prevent the spices from burning during the early stages of cooking.
2. Cook over medium heat for an hour until the onions are completely soft. They will likely have browned slightly.
3. Puree the onion-tomato mixture. Then add the water.
4. Heat over medium heat, and simmer for an additional 20-30 minutes.
Here is the Balti sauce, when the onions have completely cooked, and sauce is ready to be pureed.
Below is a photo of the finished Balti sauce, ready to be used in cooking Balti and BIR curries.
The Vegan Balti 