How to make the best gravies …

A ‘grave’ (pun intended) challenge faced by most home chefs is preparing the perfect gravy! 

An innate preparation for both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, gravy is broadly defined by the Oxford Dictionary as ‘A sauce made by mixing the fat and juices exuded by meat during cooking with stock and other ingredients’; in the Indian context gravies are a mandate for Punjabi cuisine in particular as they add the fluid and flavour to an otherwise dry dish.

Indian Cuisine

Multiple vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes of Incredible India are impossible to envisage without their fragrant and flavourful gravies. So here’s sharing some tips for ensuring that your gravy turns out to be absolutely perfect - 

• Use clarified butter (ghee) or vanaspati with or instead of oil, to lend a good flavour to the gravy. The drawback with using oil alone is that it does not separate as easily from the ground mixture, as does ghee
• Fry the ground masala at a reduced flame to ensure that the colour and taste are retained 
• A dash of plain or caramelized sugar added to the gravy makes it yummy
• Grocer facing a tomato crisis? Relax … tomato ketchup or sauce are adequate replacements for fresh tomatoes in the gravies
• Ascertain the rich colour of the gravy by discarding the green portions of tomatoes and using only ripe red tomatoes
• Suparna shares “Use the long variety of red chillies in gravies. Dry them under the sun for a few days and then powder them coarsely at home. Trust me – this coarse powder lends a good taste and a rich colour to gravies” 
• While using ginger and garlic paste in curries, always follow the 60 per cent (ginger) – 40 per cent (garlic) ratio to ensure that your dish doesn’t end up being sharp and pungent

Western Cuisine

Rich gravy is divine over all Thanksgiving staples be it a juicy turkey or creamy mashed potatoes or cornbread dressing. Make perfect gravy every time with these easy tips -

• Blend your corn starch or other thickener with some cold liquid until dissolved before adding to the pan … adding all of it at once may land you with a lumpy gravy
• If the recipe calls for cooking flour in fat, ensure that you cook it long enough so that the starch granules swell and the flour loses its raw taste. Once it turns brown, whisk in the liquid gradually
• Albeit gravy thickness is a personal preference, yet there is such a thing as too thick or too thin. A good point to remember here is that it will thicken up a bit as it simmers. Prior to serving, check the texture and thin it out with a little extra broth or water. In case it's too thin, then stir a tablespoon of corn starch into one-fourth cup cold broth or water, then add a little of the mixture to your gravy. Bring it to a boil and then check the texture again
• As the gravy simmers, water will evaporate and the flavours will become concentrated…which can be a good thing, but it also means that any salt will be concentrated as well! So it would be advisable to use salt sparingly before cooking, and then adjust the seasonings again before serving
• Add a dash of lemon juice or a pinch of sugar to round out the flavours
• Try preparing the gravy a few days in advance to eliminate the risk of "panic cooking" 
• Reheat if your gravy's become cold or if it's been refrigerated

Uses of left over gravy 

Oops … miscalculated? And are you stuck with a pan full of gravy? Just chill we’ve got some absolutely yummilicious ideas to repurpose various dishes with leftover gravy –

• Thicken and flavour your entire pot of soup by whisking in a small amount of gravy into its liquid portion
• Lend awesome body, flavour and richness to hash with a few tablespoons of gravy
• Upgrade other leftovers like mashed potato cakes
• Make your pasta more delicious with gravy

As all home chefs know gravy is all about the technique and techniques are always subjective as they are based on experience. So don’t forget to explore your own technique when it comes to gravies!