Onion Paste
Condiments Budget Recipes Vegetables Sauces and Salsa Indian
Some thicken sauces with flour, others with egg yolks, but Indians use onions. Almost all their saucy dishes start by sautéing several onions until caramelized. This process takes around 50 minutes, so if we manage to prepare a larger quantity in advance, we'll significantly cut down the preparation time for Indian recipes. You'll see in tomorrow's recipe, how, if we have ginger-garlic paste and onion paste ready, everything is just a matter of assembly.
Ingredients
1.5 kg white onions
1 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons oil
Yield: 7 heaping tablespoons of onion paste
How to prepare onion paste
- Peel the onions and cut them however you like (rounds, half-moons, slices; I quickly chopped mine in a food processor with just a few pulses).
- Divide the oil between two large pans (30 cm diameter) and heat. Add the onions (half the quantity in each pan) and salt, and mix well.
* I used two pans in parallel so the onions caramelize faster and more evenly - Turn the heat to low and let the onions sauté. Stir about every 10 minutes so the onions cook evenly. (See photos showing the onion caramelization at 15, 30, and 50 minute intervals).
- After 50 minutes, the onions will be golden-brown. Turn off the heat.
- Transfer to a blender and blend until smooth. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.
Onions in the pan
After 15 minutes - reduced significantly and translucent
After 30 minutes - starting to turn golden
After 50 minutes - onions beautifully caramelized
Blending in the blender
Onion Paste
