In my opinion, this is vital to most home-cooked Gujarati-style dishes. The Holy Trinity Paste of green chilli/chile, garlic and ginger creates a wonderful fresh flavour. It is quite punchy, so you want to cook out all the rawness from it when it comes to layering flavours in dishes. You can quarter the quantities here for a smaller yield.
How to Make Holy Trinity Paste
How to Make Masalas for vegetables
Ingredients for 625g paste
- 200 g (about 6) green chillies/chiles
- 200 g (about 4 0) garlic cloves
- 200 g (about 8 x 5-cm/2-inch pieces) fresh root ginger
- 50 ml tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
Process – Blitz together the ingredients in a food processor to form a coarse paste. Refrigerate for up to 2 weeks.
How to make Boiled Onion Purée
This recipe is great to use as a creamy base in any curry sauce. It is boiled which makes it healthy and also delivers on a smooth, velvety texture. I love using this purée because it adds sweetness to dishes without having to add too much sugar.
Ingredients for 750g
- Take 4 large onions, sliced
Process– Put the sliced onions in a saucepan and cover with boiling water. Bring to the boil and slowly simmer for 25–30 minutes or until the onions have completely softened and mash easily using the back of a spoon. Drain away the excess water and blitz the onions together with a stick blender to make a purée. It should last for 3–4 days refrigerated.
Seasoned Oil
Essential for the Kaali Dal and other dal recipes, this oil adds rich flavour and is quick to prepare.
Ingredients for 400 Ml
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 cardamom pods
- 5 cloves
- A 5-cm/2-inch cinnamon stick
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon red chilli/chili powder
- 2 green chillies/chiles, slit
Process
- Heat the oil in a small pan, add the cardamom pods, cloves and cinnamon. Fry for a minute, then add the cumin seeds until sizzling. Add the remaining ingredients for 10–15 seconds. Cool before use.
How to Make Crispy Fried Onions
Adding a regal touch with a rich and deep flavour, these onions finish off any dish, but remember a little goes a long way!
Ingredients for 175g
- 1 onion, thinly sliced
- 1 tablespoon corn flour/cornstarch
- 150 ml/⅔ cup vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
Process
- Put the sliced onions in a bowl and sprinkle over the corn flour/cornstarch. Mix well, Heat the oil in a pan for shallow-frying, but do not allow the oil to get so hot it will burn the onions. Fry them for 5–6 minutes or until golden-brown. Remove from the oil and drain on paper towels. Set aside until required (store in an airtight container for up to 4 days).
