An INDIAN in my kitchen! (Sharwood's Indian Sauces)

Name: karimkha

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Product:	Sharwood's Indian Sauces
Date:	29/04/08 (275 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to prepare at home; good value on Special Offer .

Disadvantages: Not quite like the real thing, dry aftertaste .

I love Indian food! It is so very colourful and uses lots of different ingredients; I have possibly tried, or heard of over 200 different dishes; even for the vegetarian there are a lot of dishes from which to choose.
Sometimes the dish I have chosen is too spicy for me, so learn this from my experience: stay clear from balti, which is the hottest food, especially, if you suffer from heart burn or stomach ulcer as they may make your symptoms worse. If, like me, you fancy an Indian, it might be best to try a medium heat or mild first and you can taste the Indian food with less heat. I prefer these to the extra hot flavours as the spices enclosed in the extra hot dominate the whole dish (so you spend the whole night afterwards drinking water).

Most Indian food is a very important part of Indian tradition and culture; to welcome a guest into their homes they give him the best of what they have cooked; in festivals, food is a major part of the celebration.

Indian food is well known for having varieties in colour, taste and aroma. It is also very rich in calories because they use much cream, oil and (mostly) ghee (clarified butter) in their cooking which is very high in cholesterol and calories. Indian food contains a mix of spices and herbs, both dry and fresh. In such a hot climate, spices are a "must have" to help preserve the food and are an integral part of Indian cuisine. No meal is complete without a touch of spice, even in desserts.


The Indian food market has grown rapidly and Indian restaurants are all over the country; near where I live there are more than 8 Indian restaurants and takeaway places. Most of these restaurants are quite expensive and use too much fat so it's rather unhealthy to eat there regularly. Supermarkets soon realised that people had started to open up to foreign and Asian food so they started to stock as many Indian sauces as they could to please the growing demands of Asian food lovers.

Sharwoods was one of those food manufacturers who have indulged us with lots of Indian sauces, breads and eastern oriental food.


I usually buy Pataks Sauces but Sharwoods was on offer at TESCOS for half price, and at 77p per jar it's quite tempting. You can recognise them on the shelf because of their distinctive jars. The cap is black with Sharwood in the middle and their website in the bottom. In the side of the cap, the expiry date. Basic shape, clear glass, showing the content of it in the middle of a bright sticker with Sharwood logo and variety named; under the name, is a little description of the sauce. You can see the difference between the varieties of the sauces easily because the sticker colour is different for each variety.


Exploring the range available
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*Jalf rezi: contains mostly tomatoes, mixed peppers, onions and lots of spices such as cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamon, gloves, and garam masala.
It is classified as VERY HOT AND SPICY.
*Balti: tomatoes, coriander and fenugreek leave, cumin seeds, turmeric, cinnamon, paprika and chillies. Again, it's VERY HOT AND SPICY.

*Bhuna: one of my favourites, this contains Tomatoes, peppers and spices, cumin, ginger powder, garam masala, and chillies.
*Dopiaza: consists mostly of onion, garlic and ginger, chillies and lots of Indian spices, so if you planning to go out, don't eat this!

*Madras: this is a very hot sauce which takes its name from Madras, a south Indian region famous for curry. This is the hottest curry powder l have tried with roast tomatoes, chilli and onions.
*Korma: My favourite, very mild, sweet tasting sauce, made out mainly from coconuts milk, single cream and sugar to give it all the sweetness and onion, ginger, tomatoes and garlic to give the eastern taste. I love the combination.

Tikka Massala: one of the most famous dishes in India; the sauce l want to give your tongue a tangle. You can taste the spices and chilli, a bit tangy because of yogurt, lemon juice and tomatoes, sweet because of the double cream and sugar and spicy with the use of ginger, paprika and other Indian spices.
Spicy Tikka Massala: contains all the ingredients of the Tikka Masala with extra chilli and spices for hot taste.

Rogan Josh: This is my least favourite of Sharwoods sauces: it doesn't taste like actual Rogan Josh at all to me. It contains Kashmiri chilli from Kashmir, tomatoes and onion, with coriander, cumin, fennel and ginger; it's mild to hot with a very colourful look.

I bought three of the sauces, which I tried for you over the following 3 days!
All these dishes can be served with rice or naan bread.

Korma
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Smell
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Quite a pleasant smell. Very mild and sweet, instantly you can smell the aromatic coconuts and the cream with some subtle spices, not very strong but again a slight smell of cumin which is not a strong spice. A hint of ginger, garlic and cardamom aroma is dominating the whole smell.
Texture
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Quite thick for a sauce, sticking in the jar like dough! Not watery or runny at all, so it's better to add some water to the sauce while cooking. With coconut pieces, pepper and onion it's not smooth sauce; I can notice a lot of diced coconut.

Colour (get it right this time!)
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Very pale mustard like colour with tiny pieces of red pepper, not the most encouraging but it's acceptable.
Preparation
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This sauce can be used for chicken, beef and lamb. I used chicken because I don't eat red meat, (don't ask, just a silly phobia). I did follow the instructions very well, I fried the chicken with little oil, simmering for 10-15 minutes then I added the sauce. When I added the sauce it was very thick, so I firstly mixed it with the chicken very well then added some unsalted chicken stock to make it a little thinner. I covered it and left it to simmer for 15 minutes.

The finished product
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The look
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Although I added some liquid, the sauce became a bit thicker and lumpier, with not much sauce left. The sauce looked very creamy but there was a layer of fat on the top, maybe the coconut milk and the cream splitting. I skimmed the fat off the top. The chicken was well covered with bright Orange sauce; personally I liked the colour, very cheerful!
The smell
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The Finished dish smelled delicious. I loved the sweet smell; with coconut and spices the smell was very inviting, although the smell of cumin was perhaps a little bit too much.

The taste
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The proof is in the tasting, I served this dish with plain white rice or alternatively you can use nann bread instead. The taste was excellent, very mild but still has the curry taste, I liked the spices and herbs, not too much but I can taste them very well. The chicken was very well flavored with the sauce. The only down side is the fat on the top, which, as I said, I skimmed off with a spoon before serving.
After taste
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I felt very thirsty, for some reason, but there was no funny or bitter after taste; nor any heartburn or stomach upset. I was pleased.

Thoughts about Korma variety
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It tasted good but I must say not like the real Indian one, the original korma is a lot creamier and a bit spicy, and I guess it's been created specially for the British nation a lot milder and less spicy. As for the smell it's very aromatic and palpitating smell.

Now for the second dish (I'm hoping it will be like the first one)
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Rogan Josh
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Smell
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A lot different than Korma, this flavour was so very strong it made my eyes water. The spices dominate the whole jar. I can't smell the roasted tomatoes or peppers, only the smell of chilli, garlic and strong overpowering ginger. Not pleasant at all to my senses.
Texture
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Very watery and runny, too many tomatoes and onions, hardly any pepper, but less fatty. The mixture is very coarse with chunks of tomatoes and onions.

The look (when cooked)
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Again you can use all kinds of meat but I used chicken. I used the same method of cooking but this time added no liquid, as it wasn't needed. When it was cooked, it looked very deep red. I didn't like the colour, so I was instantly put off, and the chicken had too much sauce. Over all I hated the look.
Taste
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I had to close my eyes to eat those anyway, the taste wasn't good at all, very hot and gingery, with lots of garlic and so much sugar, I almost felt sick. I had to drink a whole jug of water and even then I was still drinking more.

After taste
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Nasty after taste, bitter, lots of sugar as well, and it tasted like burnt wood for some reason. My mouth was very dry and my tongue was still tingling even hours after I had finished eating.
Thoughts about Rogan Josh variety
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I don't like it so I won't recommend it, unless you like curry very hot and spicy, with lots of sugar, very runny and a very strong smell. It was very strong and no mint chewing gum can cover-up the bad breath.

The third sauce, Tikka Masala
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Smell
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Mild spices and subtle smell of coriander and a hint of garlic, very pleasant, no strong or over powering smell.

Texture
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The right thickness, not too thick or too runny, smooth with hardly any bits and some coriander leaves.
Colour
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It has an orange-brown sauce, the result of mixing tomatoes with yogurt and cream. It is a very nice colour and looks even better when cooked.

Taste when cooked
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I liked this one; it is very mild, a bit like sweet and sour: it had sweetness from the double cream, sugar and coconut cream; the sour came from the yogurt and ginger. It is a very balanced combination with specially selected spices giving the whole dish a touch of India.
After-taste
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Like all curries it makes your mouth as dry as a log but it worth the try. The taste is very exotic. There is no bitter after taste, nor any heartburn or indigestion.

Allergy information
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Unsuitable for nut allergy and lactose intolerant sufferer, contains, nuts and cream


Final Conclusions
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*Out of the three sauces I prefer Korma. It is very tasty, mild and easy on the taste buds.
*My second choice is Tikka Masala. I love the taste: it is very authentic Indian, and I liked the combination of the sweet and sour.

* The least favourite is Rogan Josh. It made dry the mouth, was very spicy, it has a bitter after taste and is hard to digest.

Purchasing information
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The content of the jar is around 420g and claims it's enough for 2-3 serving.
In my opinion it depends on how much chicken are you adding, because the sauce evaporated and thickened very quickly.
Calories 123-145/ 100g

Normally it would cost anywhere from £1.49 - £1.54
Tesco had at special offer of 77p (when I purchased them Oct 2007)


I hope you find my review a useful guide for you.
Thanks for reading

© karimkha 2008

Summary: Go east!