Velvety Tomato Curry Sauce

By the Gracious Vegan

I adapted Jamie Oliver's "Cracking Curry Sauce" for this recipe. I took out the oil and coconut milk, which added a lot of fat, including saturated fat from the coconut milk. And I streamlined the method to make it more feasible for busy cooks. The results is marvelous. This sauce goes with many things: roasted vegetables and rice, baked potatoes, pasta, any kind of grain, you name it! The sauce also freezes well.

Makes about 7 cups of sauce

Cashew milk. Soak cashews in cold water at least 2 hours, or pour boiling water over them, cover, and let them soak 20 minutes. (You can skip this step if you have a high-speed blender.) 

• 1/2 cup raw cashews (whole or pieces)

Drain the soaked cashews, add them to the blender with the water, and blend until the cashews dissolve, so that you have cashew milk. Set aside.

• 3 cups water

The sauce. Separately, water-sauté the following ingredients in a Dutch oven or other large pan. (What is water-sauté?)

• 1 large onion, chopped

• 4 cloves garlic, minced

• Stems from a small-medium bunch of cilantro, chopped

Add ground spices and stir for 1-2 minutes.

• 1 Tablespoon ground coriander

• 2 teaspoons turmeric

• 1 teaspoon paprika

• 1 teaspoon garam masala

Add the almond flour and stir for 2-3 minutes—you should be able to smell the almond start to toast.

• 6 tablespoons of ground almonds (or almond meal/flour)

Add the following ingredients, bring to a boil, then simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring often, because the cashew milk tends to stick to the bottom of the pan.

• One 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes or plum tomatoes (with their liquid) crushed with your hands

• The cashew milk

• 1-2 hot green chilies stemmed, seeded and finely minced (jalapenos for milder spiciness or slender green chilies for hotter)

I like to smooth out my sauce with an immersion (stick blender), but you can leave it chunky if you wish. Before serving, check for seasoning and add the fresh cilantro

• Salt and pepper

• 1/3 - 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Timing: Between 45 and 60 minutes

Gluten-free