How to make BIR Base Gravy - British Indian Restaurant Base Gravy Recipe - Base Sauce

Base gravy is used by many British Indian Restaurants (BIR) as a key element when cooking curries. If you want to recreate the BIR taste at home, then base gravy is essential. If you don't have the time to make your own base gravy then you can order our pre-made, genuine BIR base gravy here: www.eastathome...
Our base gravy recipe is intentionally simple, we use the base gravy as a basic foundation to the curry. The base gravy won’t taste particularly good on its own, it will taste like a weak onion soup.
The magic happens when you combine the base gravy with additional ingredients, spices and heat which add the layers of flavour and intensity that you find in a good curry.
=== INGREDIENTS ===
2kg Peeled Onions Roughly Chopped
60ml Vegetable Oil
20g (2 teaspoons) Garlic Paste
20g (2 teaspoons) Ginger Paste
3g (½ teaspoon)Turmeric Powder
20g (2 teaspoons) Tomato Puree
200g (½ tin) Plum Tomatoes
15g (2 heaped teaspoons) BIR Mix Powder - www.eastathome...
1200ml Water
Makes approx 2.2kg of base gravy (enough for around 10-12 curries)
=== COOKING INSTRUCTIONS ===
Prep time: 15 mins | Cooking time: 100 mins
1. Peel and roughly chop the onions
2. Heat a pan on a medium high heat and add the vegetable oil
3. Add the garlic and ginger paste, turmeric powder, tomato puree and the plum tomatoes. Stir well and cook for 1 min.
4. Add the chopped onions and stir.
5. Add the water and cover the pan with a lid. Simmer on a low to medium heat for 60 mins stirring occasionally to ensure the onions don’t stick to the pan.
6. Once the onions start to break down, add the BIR Mix Powder and stir in well. Simmer for another 30 mins without the pan lid.
7. When the oil starts rising to the surface, use a stick blender or food processor to blend the onions until they become smooth and a soup-like consistency.
8. Once cooled, store the gravy in containers or bags. The gravy will last around 3 days in a fridge or upto a month in a freezer.
=== HOW TO USE THE BASE GRAVY ===
1. Empty the base gravy into a pan
2. Add an equal amount of water to the pan (one part water to one part gravy)
3. Bring to a boil whilst stirring frequently
4. After around 5 minutes the gravy should have reached a milk like consistency, it is now ready to use
5. Add the gravy as per your BIR curry recipe. Ensure the gravy is hot when you add it.
For some BIR curry recipes take a look at www.eastathome...

[@stevenpartington7260]

That's a million miles from how you actually make it 🤣🤣 another misleading channel..

[@scouterkeith]

I make a similar recipe base gravy but I freeze it for months.

[@mastercook62]

Same as, I don't see why it's only frozen for a month?
You would end up throwing loads out unless you were eating curry every day!

[@baharchoudhury9002]

Your Channel simply awesome and the best when it comes down to BIR recipes thank you

[@Jonno8653]

i don't live in the UK so i can't order the mix powder. Would Al's or mistyricardo's mix powder substitute well in this?

[@EastatHome]

Yes, you could substitute with any mix powder. Thanks

[@theenglishman3368]

Do you not add any achne stock?

[@bilks52]

This is the first base gravy I’ve seen that doesn’t contain coriander leaf, carrot and bell pepper.

[@EastatHome]

Hi Phil, we prefer to keep our base gravy simple as the main flavour comes when adding the additional spices and ingredients to the curry. You can of course add coriander, carrot and pepper but the difference in taste is minimal once you've cooked the final curry.

[@JJ-pi4zj]

Love what you guys are doing just lately. Keep it up.
Don't know if this is an appropriate place to ask. But I bought some of your packaged BIR base gravy pouches. And although I've seen you say they don't need to be frozen, I wondered if they *can* be frozen, I eat a lot of curry but I probably bought a bit too much and don't want it to go to waste :)

[@EastatHome]

Hi J J, yes the gravy can be frozen without any issues. Let us know if you need anything else. Thanks

[@JJ-pi4zj]

@@EastatHome Thanks chaps :)

[@mattsathrohan288]

Thank you for this demonstration 😁 how long does this last in storage?

[@EastatHome]

Hi Matt, the gravy should last around 3 days in the fridge or up to 1 month in a freezer. Thanks

[@mrbridger5]

👌

[@jeffparker9622]

What is BIR mixes powder ?

[@EastatHome]

Hi Jeff, Mix powder is a mix of spices that restaurants use to speed up cooking, rather than adding individual spices each time a blend is premixed - this also helps with consistency. You can buy it here www.eastathome.com/product/buy-bir-mix-powder-online/. Thanks