Masala Sauce(Bobby Flay)

I visited a Whole Foods store in Conn. recently and tried their Masala rice and it was so good(the rice and the sauce were mixed together), I wanted to recreate the recipe at home. Not finding it in the Whole Foods site, I came across this recipe by Bobby Flay. The recipe for the Masala sauce came with the recipe for Basmati Pilaf with Peas, but I'm posting it separately. From Bobby Flay's Throwdown with Bobby Flay, Episode: Chicken Tikka Masala.

• Ready In: 45 mins
• Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons ghee (or olive oil-I used butter)
• 1  medium yellow onion, halved, thinly sliced
• 2  inches  piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1  serrano chili, finely diced (or use jalapeno for less heat)
• 3  garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1  tablespoon tomato paste
• 2  teaspoons  smoked spanish paprika
• 2  teaspoons garam masala
• 1 (28 ounce) can plum tomatoes, pureed until smooth
•  honey
• 1⁄4-1⁄2 teaspoon cayenne powder (depending on how spicy you like it)
• 1⁄2 cup water
•  salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 3⁄4 cup heavy cream (or coconut milk)
•  chopped cilantro leaf

Directions

1. Heat the ghee in a medium Dutch oven over medium heat until it begins to shimmer. Add the onion and cook until soft and lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the ginger, chile and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomato paste, paprika, and garam masala and cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, honey, to taste, the cayenne and 1/2 cup of water and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
2. Stir in the heavy cream(or coconut milk), bring to a simmer and cook until the sauce thickens.
3. At this point you could add chopped chicken or tofu if you want to add protein.
4. Serve over basmati rice pilaf with peas(or with your favorite rice dish) and garnish with cilantro leaves.
5. Note: Sometimes when I don't want to open a can of tomato paste for one tbls. I use ketchup instead. It is concentrated tomatoes, after all.