Here’s a fantastic Coconut Curry Sauce with great depth of flavour made from everyday spices. This Indian-style sauce is incredibly addictive and works with chicken, vegetables, and legumes. I’ve made a Coconut Curry with pumpkin, lentils, and cashews, but check the recipe for more options. Ready in 30 minutes!
Easy Coconut Curry Sauce
If you’ve ever dumped curry powder into liquid then stomped your foot in a huff when you found the sauce to be meh, then this easy Coconut Curry Sauce is for you!
You’re going to absolutely love that you can find all the spices at supermarkets.
You’re going to adore the beautiful coconut flavour that mingles with the spices.
You’ll go bonkers over how it tastes like a full flavoured coconut Indian curry – except you made it in 30 minutes from scratch.
And you’re going to really enjoy lapping up all the compliments from your family and friends. (“OMG that’s the best curry I’ve ever had!!” <– True story, text from a friend)
Coconut curry sauce spices
The spices in the coconut curry sauce are:
curry powder
tumeric
coriander
cumin
paprika
garam masala*
Curry powder is the base for this Easy Coconut Curry, but it’s too bland if you don’t add other spices. I experimented with various combinations and tried to cut down on the number of spices but it just wasn’t the same. So they’re all staying in!
What is garam masala?
Garam masala is a crucial spice mix in Indian cooking and smells like a potent curry powder. It really makes a difference in simple curry sauces, so be sure not to skip it! Here in Australia, you’ll find it at all the major supermarkets nowadays, and it costs no more than other spices.
Making the coconut curry sauce
There’s nothing tricky about the coconut curry sauce:
Sauté onion, garlic and ginger (fresh please!);
Add Spices and cook – this brings out the flavour of the spices, making them bloom;
Add coconut milk, tomato passata (tomato puree in the States, or even Tomato Sauce) plus chicken or vegetable broth/stock;
Simmer to bring the flavours together
And there you have your curry sauce. And this is where you can unleash your wild side and let the creative juices flow. Or, as the case may be, rummage in your pantry and squabble around in the fridge and use whatever you can find. 🙂
What to put in Coconut Curry
This is where things get fun. You can literally put anything in this Easy Coconut Curry Sauce and it’s going to taste great. Here are some ideas:
Lentils, pumpkin, spinach and cashews (pictured). Terrific combination my friends go bonkers over;
Chicken, fish or prawns – sear before starting recipe, then add them back in later;
Sweet potato, normal potato, zucchini, beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, squash;
Other legumes – chickpeas are sensational, and any other type of beans.
I’ve included a guide in the recipe notes for when to add different ingredients. For proteins, it’s well worth searing them before starting the recipe, then just add them back in later once the sauce is done.
30 minutes. That’s how far away you are from a homemade-from-scratch Coconut Curry.
The flavour is not quite as in-your-face punchy like with Butter Chicken or Chicken Tikka Masala, but but it’s still got quite an intense Indian-style curry flavour. But then again, you haven’t had to marinate overnight and you’ve used half the spices, and you only had to go to your local grocery store rather than an Indian grocer.
And no one would ever say this is lacking in taste. No one has ever accused me of making bland food – and I intend to keep it that way!! – Nagi x
PS If you’re after a milder, more creamy style Western curry, try this Everyday Chicken Curry – a 5 ingredients from scratch curry sauce. And all my curry recipes can be found in my Curry Recipes collection. There’s a fair few – I love curries!
Watch how to make it
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Easy Coconut Curry Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil, ghee or any regular cooking oil (canola, olive oil etc)
- 4 garlic cloves , minced
- 2 tsp fresh ginger , finely grated
- 1/2 onion , finely chopped (brown or yellow)
- 400g/14oz can coconut milk (full fat)
- 1 cup chicken broth
- 1/2 cup tomato passata (tomato puree) (Note 1)
- 400 g/14 oz can brown lentils , drained
- 250 g / 8 oz pumpkin (~3 cups) , cut into 2cm / 4/5″ cubes
- 2 cups (tightly packed) baby spinach
- 1/2 cup cashews , unsalted (roasted or raw) (Note 2)
- 1/2 tsp each cooking/kosher salt + black pepper
Spices:
- 1 tbsp garam masala (Note 3)
- 2 tbsp curry powder (mild or spicy, your choice, Note 4)
- 2 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp paprika (sweet, or hot for spice!)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
Serving garnishes:
- Coriander/cilantro leaves , whole or chopped
- Chopped cashews (optional)
Instructions
- Sauté aromatics – Heat oil in a deep skillet or pot over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic and ginger, cook for 2 minutes until onion is a bit tinged with gold.
- Cook off spices – Add Spices and stir for 1 minute. Don't worry if it looks a bit dried out.
- Coconut sauce – Add coconut milk, passata and broth. Stir until incorporated. Add lentils and pumpkin. Bring to simmer then adjust heat so it's simmering energetically.
- Simmer for 10 minutes or until pumpkin is tender but not mushy, and sauce has thickened.
- Stir through baby spinach until wilted, then cashew nuts. Add salt and pepper last, adding more if needed.
- Serve over rice, sprinkled with coriander and extra cashews, if using.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
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Life of Dozer
Yes, he even eats shampoo bubbles….
Great recipe. This is now of topic, but: I liked the song at your video. What is the song and who is the singer?
Hi! It’s just a stock track 🙂 Let me see if I can find the video project file and find it for you!
This my second recipe this week – absolutely delicious. Didn’t change anything. Already recommended the website to friends. Thank you Nagi, I am not a confident cook but this has made me feel much better. Our dinner with friends last night went off without a hitch and they loved it!!
That’s so great to hear Jill! Thanks for letting me know you enjoyed this! N x
Made this two nights ago and it was perfect. Obviously the Garam Masala and curry powder I used weren’t the spicy variety as my two kids (6&4) loved it!
Will make again tonight but vary the main components to include chickpeas and sweet potato. Thanks again Nagi for a great recipe.
Jane.
I quartered the amounts of curry powder and garam masala ( the mix we use is quite hot), and kept everything else spicewise the same. Substituted silverbeet for the spinach. Came out as a delicious curry that we’d rate as a “medium” on the spice scale. Hot enough to keep the adults happy and mild enough for the teenager to enjoy it too. The under 12s voted it too hot to consider eating and opted for burritos instead.
I would not have wanted to try it with the spice quantities listed! But then these things are incredibly variable – I know the garam masala we use from the local spice shop is orders of magnitude hotter than the supermarket blend I used to use.
This one’s a keeper.
I should have done that. I used the quantities given and it was so hot my husband refused to eat it. Am currently cooking pasta with peas and bacon instead. I will be eating vegie curry for the next week! It was a standard Keen’s Curry powder and Masterfoods garam masala – so nothing over the top. 🙁
Hi Sandy! I’m glad you enjoyed this! And yes, it’s the same with curry powder, it ranges from mild to SUPER hot so I’m glad you knew your garam masala was extra spicy! The supermarket stuff I use is not spicy at all 🙂 N xx
I Nagi, I freeze jars straight form the stores of onion and garlic powder. They stay lovely and powdery, instead ion turning into hard lumps after a few weeks in my humid kitchen. I used to have to throw them away after a while, as they also smelt a bit weird once they had deteriorated. Now they keep for ever.
Angela, you just changed my life too!! I was always scraping out the bottom of the onion powder jar with a stainless steel chopstick!! THANK YOU!
My kitchen drawers have more space in them since I have disposed of: knitting needles, out sized metal skewers, screwdrivers of various sizes and a hammer to break up the lumps of concrete that I eventually managed to dislodge.
Changed my life too! I wonder why it took me so long.
OMG YOU MAU HAVE JUST CHANGED MY LIFE! I am constantly scraping onion and garlic powder and passing through a sieve!!!
Secrets of restaurant meals at home. I came across this little book a couple of couple of years ago, having always been on the search for that lovely Indian restaurant quality food. To my utter astonishment, I discovered that a basic sauce is made that covers nearly all dishes, ( this was no surprise, as this must clearly be the case, ) but my astonishment came on finding out the sauce is a BOILED sauce: Onions, garlic, ginger , water, blended until smooth and then boiled. I made this sauce, ready to toss it out as probably revolting, but NO, this sauce it is just great when subsequently used as the basis for a curry, and no FAT/OIL.
Can be frozen.
Book is called The Curry Secret, by Kris Dhillon. A very small book from
http://www.littlebrown.co.uk. and was originally published 1989
It has a companion: Chinese Cookery Secrets, which I haven’t yet got. I have a feeling that is not the ingredients that make the difference but secret techniques.
NO WAY!!! NO WAY!!!! (She is screeching!) I have GOT to find this book!!!
With the The Curry Secret- Indian Restaurant Cookery at Home book, I didn’t purchase Kris Dhillon’s latest book, The New Curry Secrets, as I wondered if it might have gone away from the original, so I bought her updated 2008 version. A small book , no pictures, but a REVELATION. I might be wrong of course, re her latest book.
i have now ordered Chinese Cookery Secrets by Deh-Ta- Hsiung via Book Depository. I can’t wait to see what this little book may reveal.
Did you know you can cook chicken portions straight from frozen in the pressure cooker? I experimented with 6 bone in chicken legs, added an extra 4 mins to the unfrozen cooking time, and what a miracle!! No defrosting, partial cooking in the microwave oven, etc. etc, just straight in the sauce and prepared spices as per recipe for my curry, and on the table in 10mins. Used quick release. You probably did know.
I know!!! Only with portions though 🙂 Not breast!
Hi Nagi, could I brown some beef and use this recipe base with the coconut milk etc in the slow cooker?
Ive had to triple the recipe as I have a household of teens! I’ve also added shredded roastisery chicken to this (precooked for time saving). Can the sauce be frozen?
Would it work with low fat coconut milk, and can you freeze?
Great instructional post! A sound flavor base inmy humble opinion, which I believe will be anything but “meh”. Plan to give it a try this week.
Dozer looks like he enjoys eating shampoo or then again it could be meringue.
Hi Nagi, Thank you very much for sharing this awesome recipe. I’ve used this to make lamb with cashew curry. It was really yummy. Thank you 😊
Hi Nagi. .if I may add my dimes worth of comment, good of you to do a style of curry sauce that the timid folks will try. .being an Anglin indian from “The British Raj” we often use curry powder and add more spices 👍 if you live a hectic life making curry from scratch is time consuming. .I made the recipe and the extra I added was fresh coriander as a finish and garnish👍 BTW Dozer your Canadian Penn pal is going for shampoo and cut on thursday🐕 xo
Well, thank you Nagi! I’m going wild this coming weekend with your curry and white fish. Mmmmm! Yummo!
Thanks for another delicious looking dish, Nagi. May I ask you to clarify which paprika you use? I have smoked and sweet paprika but I think there is also hot paprika you can buy so which one do you use in your recipes? Thanks….
HI Corrie! Thanks for the question 🙂 I use sweet paprika for this one though hot would be great if you wanted a kick! I will update the recipe. N xx
Without really trying to beat a dead horse, would “smoked” paprika work or would it be too overpowering? I was in Budapest last week and picked up both “Smoked Hot” and “Hot” paprika since they are hard to find. My son has been asking for Indian curry so I’d really like to try out your recipe.
P.S. I currently have the Pork Char Siu marinating in the refrigerator. It’s been at least a decade since I’ve made this from scratch. I had my mother dig up her recipe which is similar to yours. I followed yours because of the Chinese 5 Spice… and then added 2 T. sake and 1 tsp. of garlic (from my mother’s). Taste test was delicious! Can’t wait! My younger son loves the Bao version so I’m looking for a bun recipe… any suggestions?
Hi Lori! To be honest, I would save it for other recipes where the smoked flavour will really add that extra something-something! Like – my Tikka Masala or Chicken Shawarma. Oooh, smoked paprika would be terrific in both of them! N xx
Awesome, thank you!
What spices are, typically, included in curry powder?
I’ve used this one before http://www.greatcurryrecipes.net/2012/02/16/how-to-make-your-own-quality-curry-powder/. 🙂 It was great – but I don’t use homemade on a day to day basis. N x
Thanks for a tasty sounding recipe. It seems to me that some of the spices you specify are included in many packaged curry powders (ex: cumin, turmeric,coriander). Half the fun of cooking is trying new recipes, but I’m wondering if most of your list of spices isn’t already included in “curry powder” or if you are telling us you just like more of those spices you call out separately? Sorry to sound picky. My initial thought was to use my curry powder and add hot paprika and call it good.
Hi Mark! You’re absolutely right, there are common spices. What I do is add spices to intensify the flavour of curry powder. Curry powders, at least generic ones from supermarkets, have a fairly “neutral” curry flavour. By itself, it is actually quite bland if you’re using it to make a curry (as opposed to just adding a tiny hint of curry flavour to something, like a dip). So all the other spices I takes the sauce from just OK (most would say “meh”!) to a really tasty curry with great depth of flavour like real Indian curries, rather than flat and boring 🙂
I have traveled Asia and cooked curries for some 40 years, and I have a suggestion for making things easier on the cook each time a dish is needed. Make a list of spices you would like in your mix, figure out a ratio of how much of each item, buy the spices, toast the spices, grind the mix, put into an appropriate size jar, and store in your freezer. I know that authentic recipes call for a different mix for each dish, but, as in this recipe, most of us can use different ingredients and enjoy it just the same. If someone is supposed to prepare the spices anew for each effort, I doubt curries will become a regular item. My current favorite is made up of 20 different spices, put together about once every 6-8 months.
FREEZER!!!! So this keeps freshly ground spices fresh?? Fred, you may have changed my life!!!
Well, I doubt it would work with an Indian grandmother, but it works for me. I even put one of those little bags of drying agent in the jar.
Now THAT is another genius idea!!!!
PS: Even in a dry curry, blooming the spice mixture in a little oil is a good thing.
100% agreed! 🙂 N xx
I would love a great homemade curry. I’ve tried so many store bought from different places, only to have most taste like dirt or paper bag😒
Really hope you try this one! It tastes amazing even though it’s much easier than other “serious” curries on my website! N xx
Hello Nagi, we love your recipes at my home, thanks for sharing!!!
Could you tell me how many dry lentils I should cook to equal one canned? I happen to have a couple varieties of dry lentils on hand but none canned and want to try this recipe, many thanks!
I tried to scan the recipe to find that information, I hope I didn’t miss it. and waste your time asking
Hi LibranFlight!! Sure thing – just added into the notes 🙂 Lentils triple in volume so you’ll need 2/3 of dried lentils, simmer in 3 cups of lightly salted water for 20 – 25 minutes until tender but still firm, not mushy. Drain then use per recipe! N xx
Every time I’ve made a curry with just dry spices I’ve been disappointed. Always meh tasting. So please forgive me for being just a tiny bit skeptical of your claims for this recipe! But I’ve tried a bunch of your other recipes and they’re all great so I’ll trust you and try it out sometime soon.
Be skeptical Amelia! I promise you, “meh” is a word I fear when it comes to my recipes 🙂 If you try this, I’d love to know what you think! N xx