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Easy Tikka Masala Sauce Recipe-Without Cream

A quick and easy recipe of vegan Tikka masala sauce without the heaviness of cream. Made with canned tomatoes, this recipe of vegan Tikka masala sauce comes together very easily with things readily available in every home. I like to use canned crushed tomatoes as they are just that-crushed Roma tomatoes.
5 from 2 votes
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Prep Time 5 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Course Curry/Gravy, Dinner, Diwali Recipe, Holi Recipe, lunch, Main Course, meal prep, whole30 recipe
Cuisine Indian, Indian/International
Servings 5 cups

Equipment

  • 1 nonstick pan
  • 1 spatula
  • 1 chopping board
  • 1 Knife
  • 1 blender

Ingredients
  

  • 4 tbsp Butter/vegan butter/oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds jeera
  • 4 small green cardamoms roughly pounded
  • 1 bayleaf
  • 1 cloves laung
  • 1 stick cinnamon small
  • 2 Dry whole Red Chilies
  • 1 cup chopped yellow or white onions 1 large
  • 1 tbsp ginger minced
  • 1 tbsp garlic minced
  • 1/2 cup cashews
  • 1/8 cup melon seeds magaz
  • 3 cups crushed tomatoes,canned 24 oz
  • 1 tsp paprika Kashmiri lal Mirch
  • 3/4 tsp turmeric powder haldi powder
  • 1.5 tsp coriander powder dhania powder
  • 1 tbsp sugar optional
  • 1 tsp salt or as per taste
  • 2 tbsp dried fenugreek leaves kasuri methi
  • 1 cup water for blending

Instructions
 

  • Heat pan, and let butter melt
  • Add cumin seeds, when they crackle, add cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaf and cook for a minute, till a nice aroma comes
  • Add chopped onions and cook till translucent
  • Add dry red chilies, minced ginger and garlic and cook for a minute.
  • Mix in the cashews and melon seeds and stir for couple of minutes. Remove from heat and cool completely
  • Blend the cooled onion cashew mixture till smooth. Use 1 cup water to blend. Set aside
  • In same pan add the crushed tomatoes, onion cashew mixture and paprika, turmeric, coriander powder and salt and cook for few minutes on low
  • Mixture will splatter, turn down the heat to low, and cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes
  • Add crushed kasuri methi and sugar
  • Cook for couple of minutes for flavors to blend in

Notes

This sauce is medium hot,a 5, on a scale of 1-10, 10 being hot. For spicier version, you can either increase the number of whole, dry red chilies or add in 1/2 tsp of dry red chili powder along with the paprika. Paprika is generally mild and mainly used for color instead of heat. For a mild version, omit the whole dry red chilies. 
If using for Whole 30, omit the sugar. Since its a tomato based curry sauce, the sugar balances out the tartness of the tomatoes.
 
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