Although I love cooking and aren't a massive fan of ready meals sometimes because my partner works all different shifts as a chef I just can't justify cooking for one, especially as we're on a tight budget. About a month ago we went to Iceland and along with a few other bits we picked up a good stock of ready meals just to have in. Since then I've worked my way through nearly all of them so I thought it was about time I started writing some reviews on them. One of the meals I've had a couple of times is Iceland's Chicken Curry with Rice which sells for the bargain price of just £1 and is available in all Iceland stores.


The meal comes in a cardboard box which unfortunately means you can't see your meal before buying, for a pound though I wasn't going to turn down the meal on this basis. The box states that it's a big value pack and clearly states the £1 price which I like; it's not difficult to get a rough idea of how much you're spending in Iceland before getting to the till. The picture of the curry on the front of the box looks nice enough as well as being a decent portion so everything's looking good so far.


The curry and rice comes in two separate plastic pouches which are joined together but perforated so easy to tear apart which is needed as the curry needs to go in the microwave first. Obviously the cooking time depends on your microwave but it only takes a few minutes. I put the curry in for two minutes then added the rice and put the microwave back on for four minutes and then left to stand for one minute. On taking it out of the microwave the floor to the packaging is that the pouches are really hot, not only that but when cut open a lot of steam comes out which could easily burn if you're not careful.


As the curry goes out the rice looks nice and fluffy, well separated and just what I'd expect, the portion is a really decent size. When pouring out the curry it smells quite nice and spicy, there are a few good chunks of chicken and loads of sauce, too much for me so I tried to scoop out the chicken and just put a bit of the sauce over the top.
The curry itself has a nice flavour to it, I'd say it's a medium heat, there's a little bit of spice but nothing too much. The chicken has a nice taste to it, it's a nice texture and doesn't taste cheap, although there's not that much I'd prefer a few pieces which taste nice than lots that's not up to much. The rice is a little bit bland, but I often find this the case in ready meals, I mixed it in with the sauce though and it was fine. All in all the meal was really tasty and filling and for a pound I was pleased with my purchase. I've chucked the box unfortunately and there isn't nutritional information on the Iceland website, I know that the curry was about 500kcal though which is high but better than some others I've had.


I'd recommend this Chicken Curry and Rice to anyone on a budget who is looking to cook something filling and tasty quickly. The curry has a great flavour and the chicken tastes lovely quality and although there's not that much the meal all together does fill me up. The pouches aren't up to much but I suppose it cuts down costs and £1 is a great price for a meal.