Tomato Base – Thorkha
This makes a simple base for any curry for you to put any meat or vegetables. It is not really suitable for fish because it can be quite overpowering.
My mum taught me how to make this, it was the first Punjabi Indian recipe I learnt from her. I must admit that for the most we did mot weigh or measure ingredients; it was all done by ‘eye’. The more you cooked the better you became at judging what was right for which ever meat or vegetables you were making.
I started to write the ingredients for my daughters who wanted to cook with me, so to make things easier I weighed and measured.
All these ingredients can be bought from Marks and Spencer or Sainsbury’s
Ingredients
Onions x3 – chopped
Ginger x thumbsize crushed
Fresh Green Chili x 4 chopped ( or to taste)
Garlic x 1 clove (optional) crushed
Haldi (turmeric) x ½ tsp
Salt (to taste) x 1 tsp I use Maldon Sea Salt Flakes
Garam masala (see mix or use shop bought) x 1 tbsp
Tomato tinned ½ or fresh tomatoes (3)
Tomato puree ½ tsp
Method
Brown the chopped onions in olive oil or Ghee (clarified butter) until golden. Do not let them go too dark.
Add ginger , garlic and soften for 2 minutes be careful not to burn it
Add haldi and garam masala. Cook down for 2 minutes
Add Tomatoes ,chillies, tomato paste and salt
Cook this down with lid on for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally ensuring it doesn’t burn. Keep the heat low. – you should notice the oil/butter settle on the surface. This means that the tomato base is ready for you to add your chosen meat or vegetables.
I like to eat this on the toast!
Like I said, this has been simplified so that my daughters can follow it and therefore will work for you too.
Much Love
Northern Bindi
xxx
I make a very similar curry base, in fact we had it last night with chicken and rice. I think I’ll still like to give your recipe a go! Will let you know when I’ve tried it xxx