Vegan Tikka Masala Sauce

This vegan Indian sauce is great to eat with vegetables, paneer, tofu, or any kind of protein! I also love drizzling it over quinoa for a tasty, healthy-ish protein packed dinner. The creaminess in tikka masala sauce is usually developed with the addition of cream or blended cashews, but I’ve used a roasted red pepper in this recipe to make a vegan and nut-free version! The roasted pepper also adds a bit more smokiness and depth to the sauce. 

Vegan Tikka Masala Sauce

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 2 people

Course: Appetizer, Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients Method

Ingredients

  

• 1 large red bell pepper
• 2 medium tomatoes diced (roughly 570 grams)
• 1 medium white onion diced
• 3 cloves garlic paste or diced
• ½ tbsp ginger paste or diced
• ½ tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ tbsp garam masala
• 2 tsp red chili powder adjust according to your spice preference
• salt to taste

Method

 

Roasting the red pepper

1. Start your oven on the broil setting on high.
2. Slice the red bell pepper in half and remove the stem and seeds.
3. Rub the bell pepper with a little bit of olive oil on both sides and place with the skin side up on a baking tray.
4. Place the bell pepper into the oven and let it roast for 15 minutes, or until the skin is blackened.
5. Remove the bell pepper from the oven, put it in a bowl and cover the bowl to let them peppers steam through. This will make it easier to remove the skin.
6. Once the red bell pepper is cool, remove the blackened skin with a large knife and set the pepper aside.

Making the sauce

1. Heat oil in a pot to make the tikka masala sauce.
2. Once the oil is hot, add in the cumin seeds and ginger, and let them fry for a few seconds (very very few seconds, you don’t want the ginger to burn!).
3. Add in the garlic, onion, and bay leaf and sauté.
4. Add in garam masala powder, red chili powder, and a sprinkle of salt and continue to sauté until the onions are translucent.
5. Once the onions are cooked, add in the tomatoes and continuously stir for 10 minutes.
6. Add in salt for the tomatoes once most of the juice from the tomatoes has evaporated and continue to stir for a few more minutes. Once they are thoroughly cooked, set the tikka masala sauce aside to cool. Make sure to remove the bay leaf!
7. Add the roasted red bell pepper and the cooled tikka masala into a blender and pulse until smooth.
8. Serve over cooked veggies, protein, or grains!