I’m not a fan of packaged food, preferring to display to The Meat Eater my domestic goddess prowess by cooking from scratch but tonight I showed him my packet opening prowess instead. And I’m definitely not a fan of sauces that state they’re suitable for vegetarians and then tell you to use it with meat but I was offered a free curry sauce and therefore all my principles swiftly went out of the window.
A pouch of Bibijis Tikka Masala arrived for me in the post, I opened the envelope and was greeted by a not very inspiring package.
Still, it’s the taste that counts, not the packaging although I’m not sure it would tempt me in the supermarket. The packaging lists the ingredients (all natural) and nutritional information (including fat and calorie content which is very low).
After I’ve read the cooking instructions (cook some chicken (I substituted this for Quorn Chicken Style Pieces), pour the sauce over and simmer for 15-20 minutes) I read on the wrapper about their Unique Chilli System® where you can control the heat of the sauce by taking the whole chilis in there out to make the sauce milder, or leave in to keep it hot. Is there really a whole chili in there, I wondered? I cut open the resealable bag and peeked in.
Yes, there was a chili in there. Hurrah. I peered further into the sauce to see if I could see any more but so far only the one chili.
I cooked the Quorn Chicken Style Pieces in a wok and poured over the sauce and out fell two more whole green chilis.
While this was cooking, I boiled some rice (white; yes, yes I know… brown is healthier… but white is nicer) and about 15 minutes later dinner was served.
The verdict:
Smell: Fresh and appetising
Appearance: Not great when first put in pan but looked good on the plate
Taste: Salty, but not unpleasant. Heat just right, not too hot and not too mild, although tikka masala isn’t supposed to be hot anyway (according to The Meat Eater – my curry knowledge is limited). The whole chilis were nice and fresh.
Texture: Good texture with just about the right consistency but a bit gungy in places, could be it needed a bit more stirring.
Colour: A natural looking orangey red.
Overall: Very nice but not as good as the real thing.
Available in fine food outlets and available to order online at www.bibijis.com
3 comments
I’m not a fan of packet stuff either, and I’ve never found one that tastes like the real thing (or managed to cook my own from scratch), but if this one’s not too bad then I might give it a go. I know they’re not authentic Indian cuisine, but I’d still love to find a recipe for a real restaurant curry.
Hey, thanks for reviewing my Tikka Masala. If it’s ok, I’d like to address a couple of points – this is the ‘real thing’, taken from my mum’s own tikka recipe; it doesn’t taste like restaurant food as we don’t eat like that at home – this is a real Punjabi home-style sauce – you only have to ask an Indian friend to get the low-down!
Second, the packaging is perposefully minimal – a decision we decided to take as we’re concious of the waste the average person generates. The label is card (recyclable) and the pouch is a definite improvement on plastic tubs etc. We’re a locally produced food and don’t intend to compete with the globals on the supermarket shelves.
We just aim to supply quality fresh food that’s low in fat but tastes great!
Thanks again, Baljit.