Balti Sauce - Basic Sauce for Anything Goes Curry Recipe - Food.com (2024)

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Submitted by magpie diner

"I believe the word Balti actually means "bucket"....this famous style of curry is cooked in a balti pan, much like a wok. I think the reference to bucket means more that you can throw anything in! I fell in love with balti curries years ago living in Birmingham UK - a few blocks from balti central. What sushi bars are to Vancouver, balti houses are to Birmingham. I know this is a very anglo version of balti sauce, a very mild one at that, but it is quite healthy and light....and not lacking any flavour. It's also fairly quick to prepare compared to some recipes I've tried. You can boost up the heat factor as you wish. I included mainly ready ground spices, but of course you could use whole. If you use whole cardamom seeds or whole coriander I would suggest grinding the spices up after you roast them (otherwise you have a lot of woody bits to deal with). Use the sauce to make any kind of veggie curry and serve with naan or roti on the side. This makes 3 cups of sauce - enough for 4 servings. I like to save half the sauce for a different curry later on. (good for a fridge cleaner curry! :) It also improves overnight, as many sauces do. Hope you enjoy!"

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Ready In:
1hr

Ingredients:
19
Yields:

3 cups

Serves:
4

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ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon ground coriander
  • 1 tablespoon ground turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1 teaspoon fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi)
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 12 teaspoon chili powder (sub fresh chilis if you like)
  • 2 teaspoons light oil (I use coconut, other light oils would work)
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, minced
  • 14 ounces crushed tomatoes, tinned
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 3 bay leaves
  • 14 teaspoon ground cardamom powder
  • 1 lemon, zest of
  • 12 lemon, juice of

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directions

  • Measure out the 8 spices into a bowl (first 8 ingredients). If using fresh chilis then leave those out for now. Warm up a large skillet or pot (ideally cast iron) and bring to med-high heat. Gently roast the spices in the dry skillet -- watching the mixture doesn't burn, keep stirring. After about a minute it will become fragrant and begin to get dark - take it off the heat and pour back into the bowl - set aside.
  • Put the skillet back on the heat, add in the oil and bring back to medium high heat. Add in the chopped onion and cook thru until translucent. Once the onion is cooked, add in the ginger and garlic and mix well - watching the garlic doesn't burn. Next add the spice mixture back in, followed by the tinned tomatoes.
  • Mix in about 1 cup of water - you want a thick sauce, but not too paste-like. Add in the salt, bay leaves and cardamom seeds.
  • Grate the zest off of the lemon, add to the pot, along with the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Save the other half for later, you may want to add more. Let it all simmer on medium-low.
  • For a nice smooth sauce, remove the bay leaves and blend until smooth (an immersion blender works well).

Questions & Replies

Balti Sauce - Basic Sauce for Anything Goes Curry Recipe - Food.com (13)

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Reviews

  1. Mmm!!! we like curry in our house and this is one that I will be using a lot. It had a very nice mix of spices in it but I didn't have fenugreek leaves so I added a wee bit of ground instead. I also added a teaspoon of mango chutney to sweeten it a bit and it was very nice served with king prawns and quinoa rather than rice. Thank you for posting. Made for Honor thy mother May 2011.

    Tea Jenny

  2. This will be made often! A great, versatile sauce. I used with medium shrimp, served over rice, but would be great with vegies, or chicken. My only regret is that I made just half a recipe, so no leftovers :( Next time I will make the whole batch! Thanks for this keeper.

    Outta Here

  3. Very delicious curry sauce! This will go very well with some mixed veggies and chicken. Again, I must caution anyone with any kind of respiratory problem. USE A MASK WHEN ROASTING THE SPICES AND AVOID BREATHING THE SPICES' AROMA DEEPLY. This will be made frequently, magpie, as I am developing a taste for curry! Thnx for sharing your recipe. Made for a fellow Voracious Vagabond of ZWT 6.

    Darkhunter

  4. Really nice curry sauce. I used a whole cinnamon stick (which I didn't grind), whole coriander seeds, whole cumin seeds, whole mustard seeds and the seeds from whole cardamom pods - and I omitted the fenugreek leaves and added whole fennel seeds. I dry roasted the whole spices and ground them in a pestle and mortar. I also added a bit more coriander and cumin due to personal preference. I ended up with a great curry which we really enjoyed. Thanks for sharing.

    zenveg

  5. This is a really good curry sauce .....much better than using the bottled variety. I used the sauce to make a vege curry with potatoes, carrots, peas, onion, red capsicum and cauliflower. Delicious. I think maybe leftovers may need to be thinned a little. Served with some pan cooked chicken and steamed basmati rice. Photo to be posted

    Jubes

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Tweaks

  1. Very yummy curry base. I used it to make aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower). I used less salt and 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne, and it was at the right spiciness level for us. I am thinking the bay leaves are probably a sub for curry leaves - which I love - so I used those instead. DH thought it was a tiny bit bitter (from the fenugreek?), but I loved it.

    Maito

  2. Mmm!!! we like curry in our house and this is one that I will be using a lot. It had a very nice mix of spices in it but I didn't have fenugreek leaves so I added a wee bit of ground instead. I also added a teaspoon of mango chutney to sweeten it a bit and it was very nice served with king prawns and quinoa rather than rice. Thank you for posting. Made for Honor thy mother May 2011.

    Tea Jenny

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magpie diner

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Balti Sauce - Basic Sauce for Anything Goes Curry Recipe  - Food.com (2024)

FAQs

What is Balti sauce made of? ›

A tomato based sauce with peppers, cumin and coriander.

Is Balti curry paste spicy? ›

Because there are no definitive ingredients, there is no definitive level of spiciness, especially as different forms of curry flavour can be cooked in a balti style. Most standard baltis however are cooked to a medium level of spice, hotter than a korma or a pasanda, but less spicy than a jalfrezi or madras.

What is the sauce for curry made from? ›

Place blended onion mixture in a large saucepan. Stir in coriander, cumin, cinnamon, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and turmeric; cook over low heat until mixture is thick and has a paste-like consistency. Purée tomatoes, chile peppers, and cilantro in the food processor until smooth.

What is Chinese takeaway curry sauce made of? ›

Why does the sauce look very yellow compared to my homemade one? - Quora. Chinese takeaway chicken curry usually contains chicken, onions, garlic, ginger, curry powder, coconut milk, soy sauce, and occasionally other vegetables like bell peppers, carrots, or bamboo shoots.

What does balti sauce taste like? ›

It is a mild, tomato based curry made with a fresh blend of many aromatic spices, and it is a very 'wet' curry, with lots of tasty gravy. It is usually cooked with chicken or lamb, with the addition of fresh garlic, ginger, onion, chopped tomatoes, coriander leaves and 2-3 tsp of the Balti spice mixture.

What is a balti sauce? ›

Named after the pot which it is traditionally cooked, the Balti is of Punjabi origin, but was devised in Birmingham during the late 70s. This rich sauce includes tomatoes and onions and is an ideal complement with prawns or meat.

What is the difference between curry and Balti? ›

Balti curries are cooked quickly using vegetable oil rather than ghee, over high heat in the manner of a stir-fry, and any meat is used off the bone. This combination differs sharply from a traditional one-pot Indian curry which is simmered slowly all day.

Is Balti the same as curry? ›

First things first, a Balti is a type of lamb or goat curry, although you may find variants using chicken and many other meats. If done correctly, you should always have it served to you in a sizzling, thin, pressed-steel wok that's called a 'Balti bowl' and it's this metal dish that gives the curry its name.

How spicy is Balti Curry? ›

Is Balti Spicy? Balti curries can be mildly spiced. Some features are common to all the balti recipes. These are cooked stir-fried over high heat with vegetable oil and not clarified butter as in most meat and vegetable dishes.

What ingredient makes curry taste like curry? ›

Curry is often described as a dish that is earthy, spicy, warming, or even sometimes sweet. It is a well-balanced, richly spiced dish with notes of deep savory flavors from turmeric, coriander, cumin, bay leaf, cinnamon, and cloves, just to name a few.

How to make curry taste like curry? ›

The easiest way to fix a bland and tasteless curry is by adding spices like red chili powder, cumin, coriander, garam masala, curry leaves and turmeric. Just make a quick tempering and pour over the curry to give it a nice punch of spices and herbs.

What makes a tasty curry? ›

Garlic and ginger are maybe the most-loved ingredients in Indian cuisine. The combination of these two fragrant elements produce an aroma that is an integral part of the many Indian curry sauces, and adds a gorgeous depth and complexity to most of Indian cooking.

What is the difference between Chinese and Indian curry sauce? ›

Ingredients: Chinese curries typically use milder spices, such as ginger, garlic, and soy sauce. Indian curries, on the other hand, use a wider variety of spices, including turmeric, cumin, coriander, and chili peppers.

Why does Chinese curry taste different? ›

Spices: Chinese curries generally have a more delicate balance of spices, while Indian curries have a more robust and complex mix of spices. Indian curries also use a wider variety of spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. Sauces: Chinese curries typic.

What is the difference between curry and curry sauce? ›

Thai and Indian curries are either made from a curry sauce or from what is called a curry paste. Curry paste is basically a mixture of various dry spices and fresh herbs all combined in a food processor or pestle & mortar to make a thick spice paste.

Is balti the same as curry? ›

First things first, a Balti is a type of lamb or goat curry, although you may find variants using chicken and many other meats. If done correctly, you should always have it served to you in a sizzling, thin, pressed-steel wok that's called a 'Balti bowl' and it's this metal dish that gives the curry its name.

What is the difference between balti and curry? ›

Balti is the dish you see served in beautiful stainless steel bowls. It usually comes with naan bread, which in many cases doubles as your cutlery. The sauce is generally thicker than in a standard curry and the meat tends to cut more thickly. It's not as trendy as it once was, but is still a mightily fine dish.

What is a substitute for Balti paste? ›

Ingredients
  • 5 tblsp coriander seeds.
  • 3 tblsp powdered cumin.
  • 2 cinnamon sticks.
  • 1 dried chilli or 2 fresh chilli (or if you must 1 tsp chilli powder)
  • 2 tspn mustard seed.
  • 2 tspn fennel seed.
  • 3 tspn cardamom seed.
  • 1 tspn fenugreek seed.

Is balti Indian or Pakistani? ›

The Balti curry has been a popular dish since its creation. The Pakistani curry is easy to make, full of spice and always served in a small steel wok known as a 'balti bowl. '

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