Gordon Ramsay Curry Sauce Recipe

Gordon Ramsay’s curry sauce recipe is a base sauce made from onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and curry powder, cooked down for 20 minutes and blended smooth so you can pour it over chicken, chips, rice, or whatever you have left in the fridge. I picked this up from watching how Ramsay builds the sauce base in his chicken curry and butter chicken recipes, and it works as a standalone pour-over sauce for anything.

This is the one recipe in my curry recipes I feel properly confident about, because I have been making some version of it for years. It is five ingredients, one pan, and 20 minutes, and the only thing I ever change is how much chilli goes in depending on who is eating.

Try More Curry Recipes:

• Chicken Curry
• Tikka Masala
• Katsu Curry

What Is Curry Sauce?

Curry sauce is a smooth, spiced, pourable sauce that sits somewhere between an Indian curry and British chip shop gravy. It is not a full curry with meat and vegetables in it: it is just the sauce on its own, ready to go over whatever you are serving.

In Britain, curry sauce usually means the golden stuff you get at the chippy. This version is closer to a proper Indian base sauce, with real spices and tomatoes instead of powder and water.

Curry Sauce Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee
• 2 onions, roughly chopped
• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 3cm (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated
• 2 tbsp medium curry powder
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 400g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes
• 200ml (0.85 cups) coconut milk
• 1 tsp sugar
• Sea salt, to taste

How To Make Gordon Ramsay Curry Sauce

1. Cook the Onions: Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden.
2. Add Aromatics: Add the garlic and ginger, stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
3. Toast the Spices: Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, and cumin. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the spices do not burn.
4. Add Tomatoes: Pour in the chopped tomatoes and stir well, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add Coconut Milk: Stir in the coconut milk and sugar. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
6. Blend Smooth: Use a stick blender or pour into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Taste and adjust salt.
7. Serve: Pour over grilled chicken, chips, rice, roasted vegetables, or use as a base for any curry by adding your protein and simmering for 15 minutes.

How to Make Curry Sauce With Curry Powder

The curry powder does most of the work, but you have to toast it in oil first. Raw powder tastes dusty, and two minutes in hot oil releases the flavour and takes that powdery edge away.

I use medium curry powder because it has enough heat for adults but will not scare children. Hot curry powder works if you want more kick, or mix in half a teaspoon of cayenne at the end.

How to Thicken Curry Sauce

Simmer it uncovered for an extra 5-10 minutes and the liquid reduces naturally. The tomatoes and onions thicken the sauce as they break down, so you should not need flour or cornflour.

If it is still too thin after blending, put it back on the heat without a lid and let it bubble gently. It will thicken as it cools too, so do not panic if it looks runny straight out of the blender.

How to Make Coconut Curry Sauce

This recipe already uses coconut milk, but if you want it richer, use a full 400ml tin instead of 200ml and skip the tomatoes. Add a tablespoon of fish sauce for depth and you have a Thai-style coconut curry sauce instead of an Indian one.

I have a Thai green curry and a Thai red curry that both use full coconut milk sauces if you want a specific recipe rather than a base sauce.

Storing Curry Sauce

Fridge for 5 days, freezer for 3 months. I make a double batch and freeze it in portions so I can pull one out on a weeknight and have curry in 15 minutes.

Reheat in a pan, not the microwave, and add a splash of water if it has gone too thick. It thickens every time it cools, so it will always need loosening on reheat.

FAQs

• Is this an official Gordon Ramsay recipe? Not a standalone one. I built this from the sauce base he uses in his chicken curry and butter chicken recipes. The technique is the same: cook onions, toast spices, add liquid, blend smooth.
• Can I make it without coconut milk? Yes. Use 200ml of chicken stock instead. The sauce will be thinner and less creamy, but the spice flavour stays the same.
• What is the best curry powder to use? Any medium curry powder from the supermarket works. I use the one in the yellow tin because that is what I grew up with, and it has never let me down.

More Recipes To Try:

• Curry Paste
• Lamb Curry
• Butter Chicken

Nutrition Facts (Per Serving)

• Calories: 140 kcal
• Total Fat: 10g
• Protein: 2g
• Total Carbohydrate: 12g

Gordon Ramsay Curry Sauce Recipe

Recipe by Sophie Lane

Servings

4

servings

Prep time

5

minutes

Cooking time

20

minutes

Total time

25

minutes

Gordon Ramsay’s curry sauce recipe is a base sauce made from onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and curry powder, cooked down for 20 minutes and blended smooth so you can pour it over chicken, chips, rice, or whatever you have left in the fridge. I picked this up from watching how Ramsay builds the sauce base in his chicken curry and butter chicken recipes, and it works as a standalone pour-over sauce for anything.

This is the one recipe in this curry collection I feel properly confident about, because I have been making some version of it for years. It is five ingredients, one pan, and 20 minutes, and the only thing I ever change is how much chilli goes in depending on who is eating.

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil or ghee

• 2 onions, roughly chopped

• 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

• 3cm (1-inch) piece fresh ginger, grated

• 2 tbsp medium curry powder

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• 1 tsp ground cumin

• 400g (14 oz) tin chopped tomatoes

• 200ml (0.85 cups) coconut milk

• 1 tsp sugar

• Sea salt, to taste

Directions

• Cook the Onions: Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden.
• Add Aromatics: Add the garlic and ginger, stir for 1 minute until fragrant.
• Toast the Spices: Stir in the curry powder, turmeric, and cumin. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly so the spices do not burn.
• Add Tomatoes: Pour in the chopped tomatoes and stir well, scraping up anything stuck to the bottom of the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add Coconut Milk: Stir in the coconut milk and sugar. Simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Blend Smooth: Use a stick blender or pour into a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Taste and adjust salt.
• Serve: Pour over grilled chicken, chips, rice, roasted vegetables, or use as a base for any curry by adding your protein and simmering for 15 minutes.