Why does every single tikka masala in a jar taste nothing like every single tikka masala from a restaurant or takeaway?
Posted by MACintoshBETH@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 4 comments
I’m not expecting Michelin star out of a jar obviously but the flavour tastes nothing like the restaurant versions
CarpeCyprinidae@reddit
If you want decent home-made Indian food, get the Spice Tailor spice-and-sauce packs. My G/F and I cook these regularly and have fed them to real indians (first-gen immigrants), who have been impressed.
It seems to me that the complexity of many indian cooking methods doesnt lend itself to a single jar of flavoured sauce being involved. To get the best results from a Spice tailor pack, start by using a nutty cooking oil, and fry 2 finely diced onions with some diced garlic before adding the initial dry spices from pack 1
Then add your base meat, and the 2nd and 3rd sauce packs using the instructed methods.
AdRough7689@reddit
The Spice Tailor kits all taste nothing like a curry! The Madras isn't even as hot as their own balti. They all taste very similar and have zero authenticity. I guarantee that you will never have had a curry in any restaurant or takeaway that tastes remotely like any of these kits.
Hairy-Confidence-992@reddit
The canning process really damages the herbs and spices of Indian cuisine. Instead of being a ravishing melange of flavors, what you typically get is a muddled, muted sludge.
(The canned versions also are typically very high in sodium.) I have had on occasion some halfway decent shelf-stable Indian dishes. MTR Minute Meals make some, like paneer butter masala. Truly Indian makes a very good dal makahani. Their aloo matar I cannot recommend.
Of course those products taste very canned but they're pleasant and vaguely suggest real Indian food. The dal dish has over 800mg per pouch -- just one good soup-bowl of food. Sadly almost reasonable judged by the norms.
Tinayuz@reddit
I imagine if someones first experience of indian curry is from one of these jars they would never even try the real thing in a restaurant and that would be a shame because they don't even taste alike.
i agree the spice tailor brand is closer , and some of the dry mixes and powders are somewhat decent
but the jars all seem to have that weird smell and taste.