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Korma Masala

Korma Masala is a traditional Indian recipe for a classic spice paste that can be used as the flavour base for a korma-style curry. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Indian version of: Korma Masala.

prep time

5 minutes

cook time

5 minutes

Total Time:

10 minutes

Makes:

1 batch

Rating:

Tags : CurryChilli RecipesSauce RecipesSpice RecipesIndian Recipes

A masala is a spice or curry paste (rather than being a dry curry powder). It typically has a shorter shelf-life than a curry powder, but a much-improved flavour profile. There is a prevalent idea that Indian-style curries should be made with dry spices, whilst Thai curries are made with curry pastes. However, a good masala is really the heart of a good Indian curry. It’s just that in a masala the wet ingredients (garlic, ginger, chilli, tomato and coriander) are ground with the toasted spices to make a paste that has all the flavours of the curry in it. This means that you can use an Indian masala as the base of your curry, just eliminate the dry spices and the wet ingredients named above and substitute the masala.

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic
5cm (1 in) piece of ginger
½ tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp garam masala
2 tbsp groundnut oil
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 fresh green chillies
3 tbsp desiccated coconut
2 tbsp ground almonds
½ a bunch (15g/1 cup) fresh coriander (cilantro)
2 tbsp cumin seeds, for toasting
1 tsp coriander seeds, for toasting

Method:

To make the curry pastes put a frying pan over medium to high heat and add the whole spices for toasting to the dry pan. Lightly toast them for a few minutes until golden brown and aromatic, then remove the pan from the heat and turn the spices onto a plate.

Allow the toasted spices to cool completely before turning into a mortar or a spice grinder. Render to a fine powder then tip into a food processor. Add the remaining ingredients (including the spice powders) and ½ tsp sea salt. Blitz the ingredients until you have a smooth paste.

This can be used immediately or it can be transferred to a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. It will keep for up to 3 weeks in the refrigerator or it can be frozen for up to 3 months.

To use, heat oil in a frying pan, add all of the curry paste and fry until aromatic then mix in 250ml water and the base of your gravy (apart from onions) is done.