A homemade tikka masala curry paste that comes together in minutes and can be stored in the refrigerator or freezer for busy days. Soy-free, gluten-free and vegan recipe. Can be nut-free.
If you are a harried cook, and who isn’t these days, you are going to love my Tikka Masala Curry Paste. It’s saucy and spicy and full of deep, rich flavor, but best of all you can scrape it into a jar, bung it into your refrigerator, pull it out when you have a mind for something flavorful and comforting, and get a satisfying meal on the table in under 15 minutes. Yes, you read that right– 15 minutes.
But first, I want your advice. Because these are rough times for my heart.
Opie on Monday morning, moments before we took him to the hospital.
Opie, my dog, is sick. He started to lose his balance last month and we found out that he has a condition that causes bloody fluid to accumulate around his heart: pericardial effusion. The fluid puts so much pressure on his heart that his blood pressure shoots through the roof and could cause him to collapse or even die.
After the diagnosis, a cardiologist stuck a needle in him, pumped out the liquid, and told us that it may or may not come back, we had to keep an eye on him. The liquid did come back, and now the doctors believe he could be harboring a tumor in his blood vessels that’s causing the effusion. If that’s true, he may have two months or less to live.
On Monday morning we rushed Opie back to the hospital because he could not move and his breathing grew labored. He will stay there until Wednesday when he will undergo surgery to remove his heart sac and when we will know, for sure, if he has a tumor.
While agreeing to surgery would be a no-brainer if Opie were younger, at 13 and a half, with severe arthritis that makes it difficult for him to move, we are nervous about his recovery from open heart surgery. Since I know my readers here at Holy Cow! are an animal-loving bunch with pets of their own, I wanted to take a chance and ask if any of you have faced a similar diagnosis for your pet before, and what you did.
Opie during better times. Rolling in the grass is one of his favorite things to do.
Opie is my heart. I have been mom to many, many cats and dogs, and I have loved each one of them with my whole heart, but with Opie it’s always been different: he has always been the one. Desi often tells me I played favorites with Opie, even when we had other pets, including Lucy and Freddie, and there is some truth in it. I have often told Desi, only half-jokingly, that he should never ever let anything happen to Opie because I don’t think I can live without him.
Opie’s a true character: opinionated, stubborn, happy, and sometimes a Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream. He is the one who never learned to walk on a leash because he wants to do what he wants to do. The one who will drag me all around the neighborhood chasing after squirrels. The one who will keep me out freezing in the snow for an hour while he slips and slides in the snow and makes dog-shaped snow angels. The one who will put a paw on my knee when I come home from work and, with the other paw, beg me to bring my face closer so he can cover it with a hundred kisses.
He is the dog every one of our guests always fell in love with, even when he did not return their affections. Part chow, he is incredibly loving and loyal to Desi and I and cannot bear to be separated from us for even a few minutes, but he is also rather aloof with people who are outside his pack. But there has always been something about that golden, fluffy fur, the constantly wagging tail, and the wide smile on an angelic face, that has made hearts melt. When we drive down the street, Opie riding shotgun in my lap, every driver and pedestrian we encounter who happens to see him smiles instantly.
Please keep him in your thoughts.
**
I have always been a speed-seeking cook, but given how much busier my days have gotten of late, I have been trying to find new ways to make food fast without compromising on the deliciousness. As a result, I’ve been making more and more sauces and pastes that I can store in the refrigerator or freezer and pull out to create healthy, tasty meals on the fly.
This Tikka Masala Curry Paste is one of my favorites, because it’s easy to make and the amount that this recipe makes is enough to last three meals, which is wonderful. I store this in the refrigerator if I know I am going to use it up within a week, but if you plan to store for longer, place it in the freezer and thaw out in the microwave or on the countertop.
In my next post, I will share with you a Tikka Masala Curry made with this sauce (this will also work wonders with a slow cooker recipe– I can imagine emptying a can of chickpeas into a cooker with some of this sauce and some water and letting it all slow cook to perfection). But first, the Tikka Masala Curry Paste recipe.
Homemade Tikka Masala Curry Paste
Ingredients
- 1 medium red onion, chopped
- 8 cloves of garlic, crushed and roughly chopped
- 1- inch knob of ginger, peeled and chopped
- 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 3 cloves
- 2 tbsp coriander seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 2 tbsp kasoori methi or dry fenugreek leaves
- 2 leaves bay
- 1 tsp sugar
- 6 green cardamom pods
- 1- inch stick of cinnamon, broken into pieces
- 1 tsp coconut or any vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup cashews, soaked for 30 minutes (to make this nut-free, use 1/4 cup canned coconut milk, the thick part)
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a nonstick pan. Add the cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves. Stir until he cardamom begins to turn lightly golden, about two minutes.
- Add the cumin and coriander seeds and stir-fry for a few more minutes until the coriander starts to darken slightly.
- Add the onions, ginger, garlic, a pinch of salt, and sugar. Stir-fry over medium heat until the onions start to turn brown.
- Add the kasoori methi, tomato paste and tomatoes and mix well. Add 1/4 cup of water, cover, and let the mixture cook about 15 minutes or until the tomatoes are really mushy and most of the water has evaporated.
- Let the mixture cool, then transfer to a blender along with the soaked cashews.
- Blend into a smooth paste, adding a little water, a tablespoon at a time, if necessary to keep the blades moving.
- Scrape into an airtight jar and store in the refrigerator if you plan to use within a week, or in the freezer if you want to keep it for longer. Thaw out before using.
- Next, stay tuned for a curry using this tikka masala curry paste.
Notes
- Make this recipe nut-free by subbing the cashew cream with 1/4 cup of thick coconut milk.
- You can use all kinds of veggies, meat substitutes and even lentils with this tikka masala paste.
- Tikka Masala is best served with naan, roti, or rice.
Hi can you please tell me how much paste to use per 500gm meat or veg. It sounds delicious
Dear Vaishali,
I’m so sorry to hear about the loss of your Opie.
We just lost our beloved Dave, a seven year old Golden Retriever, to liver cancer.
He had a profound impact on our family, especially the Grandkids.
He was a kind, fun, and generous soul….not a mean bone in his body. Loved everyone and was patient with the kids to a fault. We know how hard it can be to lose such a close family member…our pets after all do become family.
I have saved your recipe and plan on making it soon. It sounds delicious 😋….can’t wait.
Thank you for your generous time and for sharing such intimate stories of you and your sweet
They do help console us when we too go through such tough times.
Sincere Regards
Brad H.
Hi Brad, Dave sounds like a very special dog. I truly believe it’s hardest to deal with a pet’s loss, because they give us the unconditional love that no human can. I do hope that you’ll take some comfort in the fact that he had a happy life with you.
I’m very sorry to hear about Opie. We had a 14 year old German Shepherd, Jazer, who got bone cancer. He also was a one of a kind dog.. very smart indeed… could open doors, even twist handle ones, Understood everything that was going on around him.. if we were going on a holiday and got the caravan out, he would lay next to it, not leaving it, to make sure he wouldn’t be left behind. Once he hopped into our bus, hoping to come with us somewhere and I told him, he had better hide if he wanted to come. He immediately squeezed in between the seats out of sight! No lies! He could track me anywhere and I would delight in winding a trail and hiding to watch him follow it right to me. I thought the cancer would just build around the bone, but it ate through it and one day what was left of the bone snapped and left his leg hanging.. he still tried to walk.. it was very distressing indeed. It was a front leg and his hips were already weak, so we had no choice but to put him down. Heart breaking, but we treat our dogs very well indeed.. they have good lives, so we take comfort in knowing that, because of us, he had a full and wonderful life and that’s got to be a good thing to know. There are so many dogs that suffer with bad owners. We have a new dog now. A very lovely Staffy X. He is happy and healthy, because we give him a good and happy home. The changes I have made are to cut out all ‘dog food’ I now feed only real meat, with a portion of organ meat and real bones… none of those manufactured ‘treats’. I think the food industry wrecks our health and also our pet’s health. I felt that bad food choices might have contributed to Jazer’s cancer and want to make sure I do everything in my power to avoid my new dog, Bud, suffering the same fate. Chin up. Sadly they all have to go one day and when that day comes, take comfort in having given him a happy life. I like making my own food from scratch too, so thanks for the recipe… just omitting the sugar, I’m on a ketogenic lifestyle diet… not sure about the tomato paste?.. I’ll look into that a bit more.
Hi Jill, thanks for your message. Opie passed away — almost three years ago exactly — but I still think of him every day and miss him terribly. He truly was a one of a kind dog, like your Jazer, and he will forever live in my heart. Your new dog sounds lovely. We have two dogs now, Leo and Lily, both amazing creatures. Good idea to make your own food– I do that on the weekends and whenever possible. It does give my heart some ease to know they are eating stuff that’s actually food as against whatever it is they put in that mystery food we buy off the shelf.
Looks good. Possible substitutions would be nice.
Should i use whole cloves and how many?
Three cloves. Thanks!
The instructions indicate cloves but they are absent from the list of ingredients. What quantity is needed?
Three cloves!
Vaishali, my best thoughts are sent your way. I have lost beloved animals – and last May, I lost my only child to breast cancer. I can say for sure that while my heart is broken, our love counts and fills me with the knowledge that during her life, she knew she was loved.
I am so sorry about Opie, Vaishali. You all are in my thoughts. One of the best books I read recently is Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal, a meditation on medical intervention at the end of life. For an elderly pet suffering, I would be in favor of offering palliative care only. But you will know in your heart what is best for your Opie and I wish you the best.
At risk of wearing out my presence on this blog, I would like to add one more comment… about a good death…
Trouble, named for her ability to get her way, was my 20 year old cat who developed lymphoma… I watched her grow weaker and smaller for months, never knowing if I would find her alive when I returned home from work… I gave her the best of care… lots of kind words and petting, the softest beds and even baby food, which she seemed to be able to eat. It never occurred to me to have her euthanized or to undertake extreme measures to save her. That turned out to be fortunate. One evening when I returned from work… I could not believe my eyes… she was standing right at the front door waiting for me. I picked her up… she meowed and died in my arms. I allowed her the dignity of picking the time of her death… I will never understand how she summoned the strength to make it to the door. She died on her own terms… after she had a chance to say good-bye.
I cried a lot…. but to this day I am grateful for that one last good-bye.
XOXOXO