As far as I can tell restaurant curries are quite different from the stuff you get in India or the stuff most Indians cook in the home.

The curry sauce (gravy)

If you are lucky enough to be invited to see the kitchen of a Indian, you will probably see a huge sauce-pan with a thick soup-like liquid in it. The curry sauce is a mildly spiced base to which extra spices are added to give anything from Vindaloo to Mushroom bahjee. Others would probably disagree with me, but I think that the sauce is probably the most important thing in creating a true 'Restaurant' style curry.

To be honest, I haven't been able to re-create it perfectly and the won't tell me what's in it!) but the results can be pretty good. Since the sauce is used as a base for almost everything, and as its quite tricky to make, I usually make a lot in one go and freeze the results in meal sized portions.

EDIT: I think i've perfected it in a more recent attempt... I need to re-do it to see if I can create it again and need to note down the ingredients

Creating the curry sauce

This should make enough for about 10 meals depending on how many you're cooking for.

Ingredients

3 lbs onions
14 oz tin of tomatoes
5 tablespoons of oil
4 cloves garlic
1 inch-sqr fresh ginger
1 tsp(teaspoon) turmeric
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 pints water

Method

Chop the garlic and ginger and blend with a little water to make a smooth paste. Put to one side.

Chop the onions and boil in the water until soft allow to cool and blend in a liquidiser until absolutely smooth. Put to one side.

Blend the tomatoes until absolutely smooth. Put to one side.

Heat the oil to a high temperature in a *large* sauce-pan and add the garlic-ginger puree. Cook for 2-3 mins or until it begins to brown. Add the spices & salt and cook for a further minute (it might stick so stir well). Add the blended onion and tomatoes.

Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer with the lid on for about 10 mins. Remove lid and you will probably notice that there is a throthy 'scum' on the surface. This must be skimmed off and discarded. You will probably need to do this several times. (total simmering time around 45 mins)

You should then end up with a soup-like liquid that is orange-yellow-brown in colour and tastes quite nice but fairly bland.

A 2-4 person curry will use between 6-12 tablespoons of the sauce so I would freeze in 6 and 10 tablespoon portions.

NOTE: The ingredients are a guide; if you like hot curries, add more chilly or you may want to make it more or less spicy you increasing/decreasing the spices. The onions and tomatoes are essential as they give the sauce its consistency.

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