North Indian made easy 1: gravies

Have you ever gone into an Indian restaurant and had no clue what to order, feeling even more confused when you look at the buffet and find more than half the dishes swimming in what appears to be the same red sauce? This is exactly how I felt before spending ten months in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, where the purity of South Asian food was shared with me, allowing me to divulge some of its secrets to you.

My first big experience staying with an Indian family (through an online hosting network) set the bar pretty high. With Deepak’s family in Chandigarh, I learned that home style North Indian food is very different from the Tandoori, Mughlai and Punjabi dishes we are accustomed to eating in the West: almost every day, we would enjoy whole wheat chapatis, usually accompanied with one simple vegetable side dish, using very little oil or spices. Amma (Deepak’s mother) and Kavita (his wife) showed great patience in the kitchen, as my ability to roll out the chapati dough gradually improved from odd oval shapes into something that resembled their perfect circles. As the rest of us ate, they would continue to cook the bread in an almost-dry pan, finishing it off by holding it over the direct flame with tongs, until it blew up like a balloon, and flattened again once removed from the heat.

Deepak knew I wanted to learn some of the dishes I’d eaten abroad, so he drove me over to meet his friend Sanjeev, who owns and runs ‘Blue Cheez’ Restaurant, in addition to catering for large parties and weddings. It’s an affordable little spot with modern décor and equipment, and I immediately got along with all of the ten or so kitchen staff. Having worked in kitchens around the world, Sanjeev knows how to keep things impeccably clean and in order. The workspace is divided into the tandoor area, Mughlai/Punjabi dishes, and Indian Chinese food. Each employee has specific tasks to carry out in preparation for the dinner rush, and with so many staff, they’re able to enjoy their jobs with music and jokes in the background, and the extra attention available for the preparation of each base sauce and marinade can be tasted in the final product, while their appreciation for working in such a positive environment translates into lightning speed service when it’s time to serve the customers.

Blu Cheez uses three main gravies as the base for many of their Mughlai/Punjabi dishes: tomato gravy, onion (with tomato) gravy, and white (onion) gravy. In the restaurant, each of these sauces would be slow-cooked for hours in large wok-like pans or pots, and later mixed in different ratios and quantities with other ingredients and spices to create a wide variety of dishes for their menu. There’s no real shortcut to replicate the flavor of onions that have been slowly carmelized, releasing their maximum sweetness. And the variations of flavours and colours comes in large part to the different proportions of each gravy that is applied to each dish. But in a lot of moderately priced Indian restaurants in other countries, I don’t think the same attention is given to the gravies, which explains their dishes’ similarity in colour and flavour. So in considering what we’re probably used to eating, and also considering the amount of time we do(n’t) make to cook these days, I’ve  come up with a recipe that takes something from each of the gravies, is easy to blend together and prepare, and can be used as the base sauce for innumerable Indian delights.

Brian’s North Indian-style gravy:

- tomatoes, onions cut in chunks (approximately twice as much tomato as onion)

-  ginger, garlic, oil, cardamome, whole black peppers, salt, cinnamon sticks, fresh green chillies (to taste, can add more to dish for added heat), red chili powder, cumin seeds, coriander seeds or powder, some roasted cashews and sunflower or melon seeds, bay leaves, a touch of honey

I would recommend starting out with roughly equal amounts of all the spices listed here, creating a somewhat uniform taste that will change with each dish by adding more or less of these and/or other spices.

Start by putting the oil in a blender with a bit of tomato, to start a liquid base to which you can gradually add all other ingredients. Put all of the blended mix in a pot (you may have to blend it in portions if making a lot before cooking) and heat on medium until the sauce starts to bubble (almost boiling), then reduce heat and allow to simmer half-covered for at least 30-45 minutes, or up to a few hours or more if you have time (the longer it cooks, the richer the flavour will be).  Stir regularly to ensure it isn’t sticking to the bottom.

Once you have the sauce ready, you can store it in the fridge if not using right away (it’s flavour will continue to grow richer). In my next few postings, I’ll be grouping and sharing different North Indian recipes with this gravy at their base. In the meantime, why not try replacing regular tomato sauce to give some bite to your lasagna or pasta sauce? It’s versatility extends beyond South Asian cuisine..