CHIP SHOP CURRY SAUCE

If you thought nothing could beat a good chip shop curry sauce,
think again. The home-made version is better. I put celery in mine
because it leaves the sauce with a slightly crunchy texture even after
the sauce has been blended, which I like, but if you want a smoother
sauce, leave out the celery and put in extra apples.
And if my memory serves me right, I’m sure I’ve come across
sultanas in chip shop curry sauce before, so there’s no reason why
you couldn’t add some here if you like sultanas and want a bit more
sweetness.
These quantities make enough for at least six very large servings
of sauce.
1 big tbsp curry powder
2 tsp cumin
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp allspice
1 onion
3 apples
2–3 celery sticks
2–3 carrots
2 tbsp gram or plain flour
1⁄2 tube tomato purée
1 pint (500 ml) cold water
2 tsp gravy browning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
Oil
Method
1. Warm some oil in a very large pan while you peel and roughly
chop the onion, celery and carrots and, finally, peel, core and
cut up the apples. (Do the apples last to stop them going
brown.)
2. Mix the curry powder, cumin, cinnamon and allspice together
and add the spices to the hot oil in the pan, followed by the
vegetables and fruit.
3. Stir well and cook over a low heat for a few minutes until the
onion has softened a bit then sift in the flour and cook for
another minute or two.
4. Meanwhile, put 2 tsp of gravy browning in a cup with a little of
the water from the 1 pint (500 ml) and mix well with a
teaspoon to make sure there are no lumps.
5. Pour the rest of the water into the pan and bring to the boil,
stirring occasionally.
6. As soon as the water is hot, slowly pour the gravy browning
into the pan and keep stirring.
7. Finally, add the tomato purée, sugar and salt, cover the pan with
a lid and leave the sauce to simmer for 20–30 minutes. Blend
the finished sauce and adjust the seasoning with a very little
salt and pepper if you think you need to.
8. Serve with chips. Also good with sausages or chicken and rice.