Walk into any high-performing Indian restaurant kitchen and you'll find the same thing: a small number of carefully made gravy bases that underpin most of the menu. The protein changes. The garnish changes. The base, largely, stays the same.
This isn't a shortcut — it's classical technique. Here's what you need to know about the key bases and how to build a menu around them.
The four essential bases
Makhani (tomato-butter)
The most commercially important base in British Indian cuisine. A slow-cooked tomato, cream and butter sauce with whole spices. Mild, sweet, rich. Works with chicken, paneer, prawns, jackfruit or lentils.
If you only have one base on your menu, this is it. Butter Chicken alone can represent 20–30% of covers in a mid-market Indian restaurant.
Kadhai (wok-roasted tomato)
Higher heat, more textural, with a pronounced coriander-seed and pepper note. Where Makhani is smooth and yielding, Kadhai has character and edge. Better suited to menus that want to signal authenticity.
Korma (nut-cream Mughlai)
The mildest and most luxurious of the core bases. Almond and cashew paste, yoghurt, whole spices. Historically a Mughal court dish — still your highest-margin item when priced correctly.
Saag (spinach and mustard leaf)
The essential vegetable base. Silky, vibrant green, naturally vegan. Works as a standalone dish with paneer, tofu or aloo, or as an accompaniment.
Building a menu with bases
The most efficient approach is a 3-base menu that covers mild, medium and hot price points:
| Base | Mild offering | Medium offering | Hot offering | |------|--------------|-----------------|--------------| | Makhani | Butter Chicken / Paneer Makhani | — | — | | Korma | Chicken Korma / Veg Korma | — | — | | Kadhai | — | Kadhai Chicken | Kadhai Gosht |
Add a Dal Makhani as your vegetarian signature and a Saag dish for vegan coverage, and you have a complete, coherent menu from five bases.
The allergen consideration
Three of the five bases listed above contain dairy (Milk). Korma also contains tree nuts. If you're serving a menu that needs to accommodate these allergies:
- Dairy-free Makhani: achievable with coconut cream — flavour profile changes slightly but workable
- Dairy-free Dal Makhani: available as a standard variant from TFC
- Nut-free Korma: requires reformulation — contact us to discuss
Always display allergen information clearly and maintain a written allergen register — this is a legal requirement under UK food law.
Shelf life and storage
Properly produced ambient gravy bases are shelf-stable for 90 days. Once opened, refrigerate and use within five days. Never re-freeze.
Stock rotation discipline matters: FIFO (first in, first out) is as important with gravy bases as with fresh produce. Date-label every opened pouch.
Questions about which bases are right for your menu? Get in touch or request a free sample pack.