A couple of months ago I reviewed some ready meals and found the results fascinating. I’m sure like me many of you are pushed for time in the evenings and want to satisfy those curry cravings but also want to ensure that there are plenty of fresh ingredients involved. Whilst ready meals don’t always tick the box for that curry craving sometimes curry sauce from a jar is the next best thing. In order to determine which was best I thought I’d try out four of the biggest curry sauce brands available in most large supermarkets.
I thought I would test out a selection of Jalfrezi curry sauces (which also happens to be my favourite). In the interest of fairness I’ve cooked each with chicken and nothing else and followed the instructions exactly as they are on pack. So how did they do (each score out of 5)?
Lloyd Grossman Jalfrezi Sauce
Taste: 4
Appearance: 3
Value for money: 4
Comments: Plenty of spice and a well rounded taste, a little oily but forgivable.
Pataks Jalfrezi Cooking Sauce
Taste: 3
Appearance: 4
Value for money: 4
Comments: looks lovely but lacks the punch required for a really great Jalfrezi
Sharwoods Jalfrezi Sauce
Taste: 3
Appearance: 3
Value for money: 4
Comments: This was good: it wasn’t spicy enough, but was very good value, especially as it was on special offer at the time!
Uncle Ben’s Jalfrezi Sauce
Taste: 2
Appearance: 2
Value for money: 2
Comments: A bit bland and left a strong after-taste that took a while to go.
So which was my favourite? Well that would have to be…Lloyd Grossman, spicy, flavourful and looked the part!
What do you think? What’s your favourite curry sauce from a jar?
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Tags: Cobra, website
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Curries in India are invariably jam-packed with fresh vegetables and spices. In fact India has one of the largest vegetarian populations in the world – approximately 40% are vegetarian compared to only around 6% in the UK.
With this in mind and now that the snow has gone and spring is slowly appearing I thought it was a good time to try a new experiment. Although I don’t have a garden there’s no reason why I can’t attempt to grow my own chillies for all my curries. After all, they don’t take up much space and will grow quite happily in a pot by the window.
I’m not afraid to admit I’m a complete novice when it comes to gardening – let alone growing chillies – so I thought I’d check out top chilli blog Chilli Up North for some hot tips.
Andy has broken down the growing process into three simple steps so hopefully even a gardening beginner, like me, should be able to grow something!
1. Growing Chillis Part 1: Getting Started
2. Growing Chillis Part 2: Germination
3. Growing Chillis Part 3: Potting on/Transplanting
I completed the first step yesterday with my Aji Rojo Chilli seeds and am working on step 2 over the rest of the week – fingers crossed it works out ok. I’ll be giving you all regular updates when it all starts growing and, of course, how they taste!
Do you want to have a go at planting some chillies? I’ve got 50 packets of seeds to give away. The first 50 people to email me with your name and address will be sent a packet of seeds to get you started completely free!
Wow! All 50 packs have gone already I’m afraid – thanks to those who entered – they’ll be with you soon! Don’t forget to email your photos in as well and we’ll upload the best ones onto the Facebook page.
Tags: Aji Rojo, Chilli, Chilli growing, Chilli Seeds, Cobra, curry, Dr Spice, Facebook, ingredients
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Now, my last blog post covered off supermarket ready meals but, for some (most of my readers in fact!), nothing is quite as good as home made. However, many of us are still pushed for time and often lack the patience to cook a curry so I’ve rummaged through my recipe book and have chosen a handful of recipes for you try for yourself – all of which are delicious, quick and shouldn’t cost the earth.
First-off is Cobra’s very own Chicken Naag, created by Anjum Anand – not only is it very tasty but it is very quick and easy to make.
Secondly, dear old Jamie Oliver does produce some cracking, easy to make recipes that are certainly worth a try. I’m a huge fan of his Quick Salmon Tikka with Cucumber Yoghurt – it only takes about 20 minutes, is reasonably healthy and damn tasty!
Another favourite of mine is Kedgeree, a dish most commonly associated with Colonial India which doesn’t take long to cook and is a great way to use up left over Rice.
Finally, Sainsbury’s do a cracking Prawn and Tomato Curry that is tasty, quick and only costs a fiver! Who can argue with that!
Do you have any quick recipes you can recommend – please post them below and we’ll have a go!
Tags: Anjum Anand, Cobra, Jamie Oliver, Sainsbury's
Posted in Recipes, Uncategorized |
