The Make-Ahead Onion-Tomato Masala Base: One Cooking Session, Many Weeknight Dinners

Why a base helps

If you break down a typical weeknight curry, the longest step is not the main ingredient. It is frying the onions until golden, cooking the ginger and garlic, and reducing the tomatoes until the oil separates. This takes thirty minutes or more of attention, and it is the step most people skip when they are tired.

A make-ahead masala base moves that work to a quiet weekend hour. After that, a curry is a matter of heating the base, adding a main ingredient, and simmering.

What goes in the base

Keep it simple and neutral so that it works across dishes. A basic base uses:

• Onions, finely chopped or blended
• Ginger and garlic
• Tomatoes, fresh or tinned
• Oil
• Salt, turmeric, and a little coriander and cumin powder

Hold back fresh herbs, yogurt, cream, and strong finishing spices such as garam masala. Add those on the day you cook, so the final dish tastes fresh and not reheated.

The method

1. Heat the oil on medium and add the onions with a pinch of salt. Cook slowly, stirring, until deep golden. Do not rush this. Browned onions give most of the flavour.
2. Add ginger and garlic and cook until the raw smell goes.
3. Add the tomatoes and the ground spices. Cook, stirring and mashing, until the mixture is thick and the oil starts to separate at the edges.
4. Taste and adjust the salt lightly. You will add more when you finish the dish.
5. Blend smooth if you like a restaurant-style gravy, or leave it chunky for a home-style curry.

A batch from about a kilo of onions and a kilo of tomatoes fills several portions and costs very little.

Cool, pack and freeze safely

Spread the base in a shallow tray or divide it into small portions so it cools faster. Aim to get it into the fridge within about an hour of cooking. Once cold, freeze in flat bags or small containers, with the date on each. Pressing bags flat makes them freeze evenly and thaw in minutes.

Frozen at a steady -18 C (0 F), the base stays safe indefinitely, but flavour is best within about three months. Defrost in the fridge overnight or gently in a pan from frozen. Once thawed, use it within a day or two and do not refreeze it after reheating. When you heat it, bring it to a gentle bubble and make sure it is steaming hot throughout.

One base, many dinners

Each of these takes roughly twenty minutes once the base is ready:

• Chicken curry. Add bone-in or boneless chicken to the base with a splash of water, cover, and cook until the chicken is done, with no pink meat and juices running clear. See chicken handi for a creamy version.
• Chickpea curry. Stir in a tin of drained chickpeas for a quick chana masala.
• Egg curry. Add boiled eggs to the base for anda curry.
• Vegetable curry. Add par-cooked potatoes and cauliflower for aloo gobi.
• Mince. Brown the mince in the base for aloo keema.

You can also use a spoonful of the base to enrich a plain pot of daal, or as a sauce for pasta, shakshuka, or an omelette filling.

Variations for the family

If some members like it mild and others prefer heat, keep the base free of chilli and add chilli at the end to each portion. That is also a good way to cook for children, as covered in our guide to toddler-friendly desi meals.

For a halal-meat household, it is worth designating particular utensils and chopping boards for raw meat and keeping the base neutral and plant-based, which makes it usable for all dishes, including vegetarian ones.

A short weekend routine

Pick one weekend hour. Put on a podcast. Cook the base, cool it, and bag it. Mark the date on the bags and put them in the freezer. Then, on a busy Wednesday, you have the hardest part done before you walk through the door.

Keeping track of what is in the freezer

Frozen bags tend to disappear into the back of a freezer. A simple list on the door helps. If you would rather use an app, Degchi, currently in beta, lets you add pantry and freezer items and suggests dishes from what you have. You can sign up for the beta through our website.

The takeaway

Cooking from scratch every night is a lovely ideal, but life gets in the way. A good base is a bridge between home cooking and convenience. It gives you real flavour, a clear conscience, and a quicker route to dinner, with the extra benefit that your kitchen smells like home when you open the freezer door.