Whether BBQ, curries, hot, fruity, gravy-like or savory, sauces can make the difference by rescuing a dry, drab and boring dish from despair. They're amazing, complex in character and some, believe it or not can get better with age. Today we're going to take on 'pre-prepping' one of my West Indian style curry sauces and discuss some of its many uses.

Here's what you're going to need:

Skillet
Wooden spatula, spoon or a silicon/heat-proof plastic slotted spoon
6oz Curry paste [well go with yellow for this application]
6oz Tomato paste
1 cup Onion
7 Green olives
1 cup Peppers [bell or for extra added kick any hot peppers]
3 Garlic cloves
1/4 - 1/2 cup Extra virgin olive oil
Mint leaves [fresh]
Sage [fresh]

Here's what you're going to do...

In a heated skillet pour your oil and add you onions, salt and saute until translucent and the aroma has mellowed. Add your tomato and curry paste and fully incorporate using your spatula. Add peppers, olives, herbs and garlic, incorporate into a smooth paste, being careful to keep it from scorching [you can dress it up further by adding additional seasonings, which we'll go further into in the future articles]. Let heat through for 5 - 10 minutes and transfer into chilling container, bring temperature down in ice bath and refrigerate.

Your West Indian style curry paste is now ready to go whenever you are.

To make an exotic sauce out of it, in a skillet, add 3oz of the curry paste to 14oz of coconut milk that's been blended with 1/8 cup raisins. You can do that right when you need it or, if you have a very busy schedule, you can prepare it well in advance as a shortcut 'pre-prep' item exponentially reducing your cooking time.

Also try it like this... as a base for:

coconut curry rice [saute your rice in it with onion and after rice has toasted add the amounts of liquids (half and half coconut milk and water) and simmer until done]

curry braising sauce [stir the paste into water, broth, nut or seed milk, marinara sauce etc., heat through and add your items to be braised]

a sweet curry marinade [place in a blender with raisins, dates, figs or other dried fruits or sweetener and marinade your items for prescribed amount of time until ready to cook. (mushrooms, tofu, seitan, tempeh, Quorn, Boca patties and nuggets, etc.]

accent flavoring [just drop into cooking pot, other sauces or bases to give an exotic accent (great for soups, stews, noodles, salads, etc.)]

sharper curry flavors use straight or add to water; to mellow and balance it you can add it to coconut, seed or nut milk or paste.

For more information or to have one of your questions answered, drop me a line, stop by my forum, join my Vegetarian Resource Newsletter and definitely stay tuned in as I bring you more articles to help you effortlessly achieve your best, health, well being and wholeness throughout the life of your diet.

As always... It's been my pleasure sharing with you. Until next time...