If you want to enjoy restaurant-style food at home every day, you can make and store basic tomato gravy that can be used to make almost all kinds of Indian gravies. Here is a recipe of tomato gravy, which is made without onions and garlic but lends the same restaurant-like flavour and aroma to the meals it is added to. You can store this gravy in an airtight container for up to a week and just heat it once before making your curry.
We found this Jain-style recipe on YouTube channel 'Cook With Parul'. The recipe video shows how to make this multi-purpose gravy with a whole lot of Indian spice powders and fiery whole spices.
Boil tomatoes along with cashew nuts, melon seeds, poppy seeds (khus khus), green chillies and ginger with some water. Cashew nuts add creaminess and nuttiness, and melon seeds help thicken the gravy. When the mixture boils and cools down, grind it to make a smooth, lump-free paste. Then cook the tomato paste in oil after sauteing whole spices of bay leaves, black cardamom, green cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, black peppercorns, and also some common Indian spice powders. In the end, add crushed kasoori methi also.
Now, how can you use this versatile gravy? You can make your favourite matar paneer, shahi paneer, kofta, aloo curry, mixed vegetables curry, rajma, chane and what not! When your base gravy is ready, half the job is already done. Imagine all the time you'll save!
Watch: No-Onion, No-Garlic Tomato Gravy Recipe Video
(Also Read: Make Curry Powder With Different Spices For All Indian Curries)