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Indian Curry Sauce (Onion Tomato Masala)

Published Aug 10, 2011 (updated Sep 12, 2024) by Tanvi Srivastava

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Onion tomato masala or pyaz tamatar masala is the foundation of most indian (especially north indian) homestyle curries. Think of this basic indian curry sauce as a versatile mother sauce or base gravy that can be used in countless ways to prepare both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. In this post, I'll share my recipe, along with tips on how to use it as well as how to store or freeze it for months of convenient meal prep.

Indian Curry Sauce placed in a black bowl.

I became a middle school mom this year, and wow, it's been a whirlwind trying to juggle school drop-offs and all the kids' activities! Every other Sunday, it's become my ritual to whip up a big batch of this curry sauce and freeze it for the next two weeks—though you can easily freeze it for longer!

It makes cooking homestyle indian meat curries or vegetarian dishes a breeze! If you want a taste of indian homecooking- this is the recipe you need to try. Whatever you're cooking, this bhuna masala is the perfect, flavorful starting point, and once you start making and freezing it, you'll be hooked to its convenience & delicous flavor—trust me!

About Onion Tomato Masala

"Masala" is a broad term in Indian cooking that could refer to single spices, spice blends or a thick sauce made with spices. Masala can take many forms—dry or wet, chunky or smooth, and taste can range from mild to fiery.

This everyday indian curry sauce is made by sauteing and blending together pantry staples such as onions, fresh tomatoes, ginger, garlic and basic spices such as coriander powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder and red chilli powder. These ingredients give the masala its distinct consistency, color, and heat.

The deep orangish-red color comes from the combination of red chili powder and yellow turmeric, and the vibrancy depends on the quality of the spices and the length of slow cooking process.

There are many people who make it in pressure cooker or instant pot, but I like to cook it it on stove top. The slow process of browing onions and tomatoes becoming soft and mushy over 20-25 minutes definitely makes the taste stand out.

Since I love to process mine in a blender, you can decide the sauce texture you desire- coarse, smooth, or silky smooth. This homestyle indian curry sauce is different in taste and texture from other popular indian sauces such as korma, tikka masala, butter chicken sauce or vindaloo. It has no heavy cream, ground nuts, or butter. Also, you will not find it in stores or in indian restaurants.

Taste & Texture

It is savory & spicy with slightly tangy flavor. As the onions and tomato cook, they attain a complex taste while the spices provide a layer of flavor. The sweetish caramelized, golden browned onions balance the bright tang of fresh tomatoes. The ginger and spices add warmth, mild heat and the aroma.

It has a lot of texture and an unmistakable freshness that stand out. Plus, the curry sauce recipe is highly customizable—you can dial down the ginger if it's too strong for your taste, or amp up the garlic. In our homes, we usually stick to fresh tomatoes, but if you're in a pinch, canned diced tomatoes work just as well.

How To Make Indian Curry Sauce

Place a large cooking pot or pan on medium flame on stove. Pour oil into the pot.
To the hot oil, add whole spices - bay leaf, cinnamon stick, green cardamom, cloves and black peppercorns. Skip any spices you don't have at hand or don't prefer. Fry the spices in hot oil taking care not to burn them.
Add the chopped onions, chopped garlic & ginger. If you like pronounced heat, you can add few green chillies at this stage. Cook everything on low medium heat while stirring regularly until onions are golden brown. Takes about 8-12 minutes.

Hot oil is tempered with whole spices to make bhuna onion tomato masala.

Onion, ginger and garlic are added to the hot oil.

Onions are cooked until they are golden brown.

Next, reduce the heat to low and add the spice powders- red chili powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and turmeric powder. Add ⅓ cup water and cook the spices with onion for 2-3 minutes while stirring regularly.

Spice powders and bit of water is added to the browned onions.

Spice powders are mixed and toasted with onions.

Introduce the tomatoes next and sprinkle sugar and salt. At this stage if you want, you can also add 8-10 cashews (I don't). Mix the tomatoes well.
Pour 1 cup hot water and cover. Cook this masala on low heat for 6-8 minutes untill the tomatoes soften.
Open the oil lid, bump up the heat to medium flame and then start frying the masala. As you go, mash the tomatoes using the back of spoon to break them more. Slowly you will see that the oil starts separating from the mix along the sides of the pot and tiny oily bubbles on top of the masala. This process takes 8-10 minutes. This slow cooking is very important to develop flavors and color of the paste, please do not rush. Allow the masala to reduce till it acquires beautiful reddish to brown color but dont dry out.

Tomatoes are cooked until they start softening.

Cooking pot is covered and the masala is cooked until everything is soft.

Remove the pot from stove and allow the masala to cool a little bit. Pick and discard the cinnamom stick and bay leaf.
Transfer to a blender jar and pulse a few times to process to a coarse consistency.
Portion the onion tomato masala as needed in air tight containers or in freezer safe food containers. I use silicone soup trays for portioning ½ cup. It stays good for up to 5 days refrigerated and 1.5-2 months in the freezer without losing flavor.
Once frozen, you can unmold and store the masala cubes in a zip lock bag in the freezer.

Indian curry sauce is coarsely ground in a high speed blender.

Indian curry sauce is portioned in blue silicone soup trays and is ready to freeze.

How To Use

Heat The Oil - Add 1-2 tablespoon oil to your cooking pot and warm up a little.
Add Ingredients & Curry Sauce - Add the cut up vegetables, hard boiled eggs, shrimp, chicken etc along with a portion of frozen curry paste. The thumb rule I use is for every 1 lb of ingredients, I use ½ cup of the curry sauce (or ¾ cup if you prefer more masala). Freeze in portions accordingly.
Let Thaw (Skip this step if using refrigerated masala)- Sprinkle salt and pour ¼ cup water over. Reduce the heat to low and then cover the pot for a few minutes (2-3) to let thaw.
Mix & Fry (Bhunai) - Once thawed, mix everything together and then, bhuno (fry) together for 1-2 minutes.
Cover & Cook -
- For Dry Curry - Cover the pot and cook until the vegetables soften or protein is cooked through.
- For Saucy Curry - Add ½ to ¾ cup of water (or more for desired consistency), cover, and cook.
Finish with Creamy Additions (Optional) - Towards the finish, if desired add either ½ cup whisked yogurt or ¾ cup coconut milk or ¼ cup heavy cream.
Sprinkle Finishing Spices - Add finishing spices such as ¼ to ½ teaspoon garam masala powder and dried herbs like ½ teaspoon kasuri methi or dried mint. Simmer for 3-4 minutes to allow for flavors to meld together.

Onion Tomato Masala in a black bowl with spoon.

Tips

If you have curry powder at hand, you can use it instead of the spice powders.
Make sure that the tomatoes you use aren't too tangy.

Few Recipe Ideas Make

You can makes indian curries like egg curry, fish masala, shrimp masala or potato- paneer curry or eggplant curry using the indian curry sauce base.
Add about ⅓ cup & 1 tablespoon of ghee to 1 cup of basmati rice while you cook the rice for a delicious curried rice pulao.
One of my favorite lentil recipe to cook with this bhuna masala is masale vali laal masoor aka curried red lentils. I add ¼ cup sauce to ⅔ cup lentils while cooking.
You can slather it on wraps and sandwiches for a curry flavor.
Add it to mayonnaise or greek yogurt and make curry flavored dips.