Red Hot and Spicy (Patak's Original Curry Sauce)

Member Name: whitby

Product:	Patak's Original Curry Sauce
Date:	06/04/02 (544 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick and Simple, Vegetarian Option, Cheap

Disadvantages: Smelly - close bedroom doors, Not quite like the tandoori but as close as you'll get

No sorry marandina - I'm not talking about you this time!

Curry in a bottle versus the real thing from your local Tandoori?

I am the first to admit that many of the sauces in a bottle that are available in the supermarket often fail to match the fine taste of a curry from your local Indian Restaurant.

I've tried so many and they never seem to match up. Be it too garlic tasting or just not quite the 'tang' you get from an Indian Restaurant.

This doesn't stop me from trying them anyway, in the hope that one day that perfect mix of herbs and spices will grace my homemade curries.

Suitable for vegetarians, Patak's Original Curry Sauces are the closest I have come so far to a regular Indian restaurent curry and I've been round the supermarket aisles a few times!

There are seventeen different varieties to choose from (I know not quite as many as Heinz 57!)

All of the different types are listed on the company website at www.pataks.co.uk. The website explains the origins of each sauce and then describes the individual flavour and heat level.

The web site is quite useful to the Jamie Olivers amongst us as it breaks down the tastes and flavours of each different curry.

I think this is great as it encourages us to experiment. It also told me a little more about the various types of dishes that I see on the menus at Indian Restaurants. This is only good news as it will encourage me to be a little bit more adventurous.

I find that if I like the base flavours listed such as tomato and onion or cardamom and tomato, then I will generally like the sauce.

Rather than list them from the website I will only comment on the flavours that I have genuinely tasted. These are:


· Dopiaza - I have learnt since using these sauces that this means twice as much onion. So traditionally however much meat and/or vegetables you are cooking, double the we
ight in onions to judge the balance of flavouring. This is often the dish that I will have when eating out, as it consists of onion and tomato and is of a medium flavour. In an Indian Restaurant it is often a dry curry dish. I love it with chicken!


· Madras - Cumin and Chilli. I have no idea what Cumin is, but I do know that when I am getting daring Madras is about as hot as I go! This is the dish that I cook most often at home.


· Rogan Josh - Spicy tomato and Cardamom. This is most often used with lamb and again, this is one of the sauces that I am most likely to cook with at home.



Other flavours available include Pasanda, Vindaloo, Dhansak, Makhanwala, Karai, Balti, Korma and Tikka Masala. Many of which will be familiar to you from local Indian Restaurants.

I buy my Patak's sauces from Sainsburys and a jar costs £1.49. Occasionally customers can benefit from the store offers such as buy one get another half price - and this is simply a bargain!

The bottles are generally of a purple/red colour and are found in the aisles that house most cooking sauces such as Dolmio Pasta sauce etc. The jars hold 540 grammes of sauce. The ones I bought this week are best used before July 2003 so they have great shelf value.

I must stress though that once the jar is opened the sauce should either be used or thrown away. Failure to follow this means that your sauce gets very very stodgy looking - I know as I've been there!

As explained earlier the jars are labelled up 'Suitable for vegetarians' but consumers should also be aware that the product might contain nuts, so people with allergies should exercise care.

The serving suggestion on the jar of Chicken Madras demonstrates that the meal can be prepared by using a pan or the oven.

I'm impatient and tend to use the pan option, which is as follows:


· Heat oil in a large pan.
· Add 110g of
chicken / beef and stir-fry until meat is sealed (approx 5 mins).
· Drain off excess fat, pour over sauce and simmer for 20 mins whilst stirring occasionally.

This will normally serve 4 people.



As I have become more and more used to these sauces I have started to experiment and will often chop up additional onions, peppers and mushrooms to add to the mix.

I then half fill the jar with water to get the final dregs of sauce from the jar and add this pan.

Delicious!*!

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