For the sauce Peel the garlic cloves and onions, peel the ginger. Roughly chop the garlic and finely chop the onions and ginger.
Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Sauté the cumin seeds, coriander seeds and, if using, the bay leaf in the hot oil for 1 minute.
Add the garlic and sauté until light golden around the edges, about 2 minutes. Add the onion and ginger and sauté for 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. Thoroughly mix in the turmeric, cayenne pepper and garam masala.
The use of the bay leaf is optional.
Dice the fresh tomatoes and add them with the cashews, salt and 60 ml water (alternatively almond milk) and simmer for 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tomatoes have a sauce-like consistency. Allow to cool slightly, then remove the bay leaf and pour the sauce into a blender.
According to the author, you can use canned tomatoes as an alternative to fresh tomatoes.
We have deliberately reduced the amount of salt. The original recipe uses ½-1 teaspoon for 4 portions. Decide for yourself how much salt you need.
Add the remaining 60 ml of water (or almond milk) and puree the sauce until smooth. Pour the sauce into a container or into a pan if you want to use it straight away. Mix in the fenugreek leaves and sugar, then season to taste.
The original recipe uses dried fenugreek leaves.
storage The sauce will keep for up to 3 days in an airtight container in the refrigerator or up to 2 months frozen.
According to the author, the amount of ingredients for 4 servings is approximately 360-480 mlSauce.
Detailed Nutritional Information per Person for this Recipe
The majority of the nutritional information comes from the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). This means that the information for natural products is often incomplete or only given within broader categories, whereas in most cases products made from these have more complete information displayed.
If we take flaxseed, for example, the important essential amino acid ALA (omega-3) is only included in an overarching category whereas for flaxseed oil ALA is listed specifically. In time, we will be able to change this, but it will require a lot of work. An “i” appears behind ingredients that have been adjusted and an explanation appears when you hover over this symbol.
For Erb Muesli, the original calculations resulted in 48 % of the daily requirement of ALA — but with the correction, we see that the muesli actually covers >100 % of the necessary recommendation for the omega-3 fatty acid ALA. Our goal is to eventually be able to compare the nutritional value of our recipes with those that are used in conventional western lifestyles.
This dairy-free, vegan makhani sauce with garam masala and fresh tomatoes can be used as a base sauce in many Indian dishes.
Nutrient profile: It is important to note that this recipe is an ingredient for a recipe and not a standalone dish. This basic recipe is relatively rich in copper and manganese. We have deliberately reduced the amount of salt so that the nutritional content is now somewhat more balanced. However, you can also increase the amount if you keep the content of the side dishes used low. For more information on the subject, please see the following link: Vegans often eat unhealthily. Avoidable nutritional errors.
Serving size: According to the author, the amount of ingredients for 4 servings yields approx. 360-480 ml of sauce.
Garam Masala: Unlike curry powder, garam masala does not contain turmeric and has a more intense and complex taste. It can be bought in Indian grocery stores, well-stocked supermarkets or online as a spice mix in powder form, made from whole spices or as a paste. It can be stored for the longest time in its unprocessed form without losing its flavor. For a recipe for making your own spice mix, please see the following link.
Safflower oil: This oil is normally obtained by cold pressing the seeds of the safflower ( Carthamus tinctorius). The Egyptians used this plant as a "dye plant" around 3500 BC, for example to color mummy linen. Red and yellow dyes from the petals are still used today as colorants in cosmetics and the food industry. They are sometimes used as a substitute for saffron because of their lower price, but the differences are obvious. There are basically two types of this oil: safflower oil with a higher proportion of esterified oleic acid and another type in which esterified linoleic acid predominates.
Tips
Good combinations: This sauce goes well with the lentil dumplings (page 56 in the same book) or in a pilaf (page 55 in the same book).
Alternate preparation
Nut-free alternative: For a nut-free alternative, use 60 g silken tofu or coconut cream instead of the cashews for 4 portions. You can replace the almond milk with water or full-fat coconut milk as in the recipe. The latter is more filling and more aromatic due to the oil content, but has a very high proportion of saturated fatty acids. We therefore recommend choosing water.
Make your own almond milk: Under the following link you will find simple instructions for making your own almond milk enriched without preservatives and thickeners: Unsweetened almond milk as raw food
Other variants of Richa Hingle:
- Tikka Masala Sauce:Blend Makhani sauce, 1 tbsp tomato paste and 75-120 ml unsweetened plant-based yoghurt until smooth. Mix in fenugreek leaves and sugar. Season to taste and use the sauce immediately or store in the fridge.
- Butter masala sauce:Bring the makhani sauce to the boil in a pan or pot. Mix in vegetables, tofu or soya strips of your choice and 120-240 ml plant-based milk. Simmer gently until the sauce has thickened. Mix in about 1 teaspoon of very finely chopped ginger and 2 teaspoons of very finely chopped green chilli. For tofu makhani or tofu butter masala, add the crispy tofu (page 243 in the same book) as desired; for butter masala, add soya strips or seitan.
