Tikka Masala Sauce
Rich, creamy, flavorful and lip-smacking delicious, this Tikka Masala Sauce is a game-changer, and is going to make your week's meals SO much easier. Add a protein of your choice to this creamy, savory and slightly spicy sauce, and you've got yourself a Tikka Masala curry ready in just minutes.
Best of all, it is gluten-free, freezer-friendly and can be made vegan too! It's really one of the best condiments to batch-make over the weekend- just like my classic Tomato Passata.
Making staples in a batch and freezing or refrigerating them is one of my favorite things to do on a weekend. It really saves up so much of my time and energy on rushed weekdays.
A while back, I made a huge batch of my homemade chaat masala and coriander mint chutney- both of which are quite frankly, essentials in my everyday cooking. And after all the love I received for my yellow curry paste, I just HAD to try making a classic Indian curry base recipe too. So I did!
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What's So Great About the Recipe?
This Tikka Masala sauce is super easy to make, and is perfect for meal-prepping. All you'll need is a few minutes in the kitchen, and you'll be able to make a huge batch of the sauce, which you can use for months- just like my classic Schezwan sauce.
Best of all, you'll have control over the ingredients, which means you can adjust the spices and seasonings to your liking.
Recipe Ingredients
Veggies: I used a mix of onion and tomatoes for the base. Choose ripe and juicy tomatoes for that tangy flavor. You can also add red bell peppers to bulk up the sauce and make it more nutritious.
Aromatics: Just the classics- fresh ginger and garlic. You can also use homemade ginger garlic paste if you have it at hand.
Green chilies: For the heat. Use as many as your taste buds can tolerate.
Cashews: For that rich and creamy taste and saucy consistency.
Spices: You'll need the classic Indian spices- turmeric, ground cumin, ground coriander, red chili powder and some garam masala powder. I used my homemade garam masala here.
Dried fenugreek: For that smoky, rustic flavor.
Heavy cream: To finish up- for that rich, creamy texture.
Butter + oil: To sauté the veggies and spices. I love using salted butter for that extra flavor.
Sugar: This one's optional, but just a bit of sugar can really balance out the other flavors beautifully. Use honey or brown sugar if you don't want to use white sugar.
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions & Variations
- Don't have fresh tomatoes at hand? Canned crushed tomatoes can do the trick. You can also add a spoonful of tomato paste if you want the sauce to have a deeper tomato flavor and that bright red color.
- If you don't have cashews, soak some almonds in hot water, peel them and then use them instead.
- You can also add a homemade vegetable stock cube into the mix while sautéing the tomatoes for that extra flavor boost.
How to Make Tikka Masala Sauce
Step 1: Heat oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the diced veggies, aromatics, green chilies and cashews for 3-5 minutes until they soften.
Step 2: Turn down the heat and add the spices and dried fenugreek leaves.
Step 3: Mix and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off heat and allow it to cool down.
Step 4: Transfer to a blender jar.
Step 5: Blend until you get a smooth sauce that looks like this.
Step 6: Pour the sauce back into the pan and cook on low for 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream, mix and take off heat.
💭Top Tip
Make sure you keep the heat medium-low at all times. This will keep the veggies and the spices from getting burned, which can make the sauce taste bitter.
Tips & Tricks to Nail the Recipe
- Soak the cashews in some warm water before you use them for the recipe. This helps them soften, and they become easier to blend.
- Want the sauce to have an even smoother consistency? Once it cools down, pass it through a fine mesh sieve.
- Want the sauce to have a smoky flavor? Add a bit of liquid smoke into it. I usually place a small bowl filled with a red-hot coal, topped with a spoonful of Ghee or oil on top of the sauce (making sure it doesn't sink) and then cover it with a lid to let all that smoke infuse into the sauce.
- If you don't want to use your blender jar, feel free to use an immersion blender to blitz the sauce. Just make sure you allow it to cool down first.
- Remember not to add heavy cream if you're planning on storing the sauce for later- it's best to add it in towards the end, right before you serve.
How to Use Tikka Masala Sauce
This Tikka Masala sauce is super versatile- you can use it as the base for almost any protein and turn it into a quick curry. I love using chicken, tofu and paneer.
I've also used it to make my chickpea Tikka Masala whenever I'm in the mood to whip up something super quick. It's simply draining and washing some canned chickpeas and teaming it up with this rich and creamy sauce.
Recipe FAQs
Store the leftover tikka masala sauce for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator. You can also batch-make it over the weekend and freeze it for up to 3 months in a freezer-safe container.
You can! It's actually pretty easy. All you'll need to do is skip the butter and heavy cream here, and use only oil to sauté the veggies and opt for cashew cream or coconut cream for the richness.
Related Recipes
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If you tried this Tikka Masala Sauce or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below. Thanks for visiting!
Tikka Masala Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 onion
- 3 tomatoes
- ½ cup cashews
- 3-5 garlic
- 1 teaspoon ginger
- 3-4 green chilies
- ½ teaspoon cumin powder
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric
- ⅛ teaspoon garam masala
- ½ teaspoon coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves
- 2 tablespoon heavy cream
- 1 teaspoon oil
Instructions
- Heat oil and butter in a pan over medium heat. Sauté the diced veggies, aromatics, green chilies and cashews for 3-5 minutes until they soften.
- Turn down the heat and add the spices and dried fenugreek leaves.
- Mix and continue cooking for another 2-3 minutes. Take the pan off heat and allow it to cool down.
- Transfer to a blender jar.
- Blend until you get a smooth sauce that looks like this.
- Pour the sauce back into the pan and cook on low for 2 minutes. Add the heavy cream, mix and take off heat.
Notes
- Soak the cashews in some warm water before you use them for the recipe. This helps them soften, and they become easier to blend.
- Want the sauce to have an even smoother consistency? Once it cools down, pass it through a fine mesh sieve.
- Want the sauce to have a smoky flavor? Add a bit of liquid smoke into it. I usually place a small bowl filled with a red-hot coal, topped with a spoonful of Ghee or oil on top of the sauce (making sure it doesn't sink) and then cover it with a lid to let all that smoke infuse into the sauce.
- If you don't want to use your blender jar, feel free to use an immersion blender to blitz the sauce. Just make sure you allow it to cool down first.
