Indian curry sauces and pastes

[hathairat2711]

I have heard from Patak's in the UK that their pastes and sauces are no longer available in Thailand.

I was in my local Lotus store yesterday and discovered that they stock their own brand of Madras and Korma curry sauces. Has anybody tried these?

http://shoponline.tescolotus.com/groceries/en-GB/search?_csrf=HVewiyhG-HfofdejtWwlxA8-BcKG45P9WFJQ&query=madras

Are there any Indian curry pastes available anywhere in Thailand does anybody know? I know that you can make your own pastes but are all the ingredients available?

[Oxx]

To be pedantic, the link shows an imported Tesco's curry sauce - not a Tesco-Lotus own brand.

Anyway, even without tasting it I can assure you it's disgusting, and nothing remotely like an Indian curry. It also contains lots of yummy, traditional Indian ingredients such as: cornflour, rapeseed oil, concentrated lemon juice, lactic acid, calcium chloride, acetic acid and wheat flour.

As for "are there any Indian curry pastes available", Indian cuisine (unlike Thai) is not based upon pre-made curry pastes. They are a foul western invention, so the answer is almost certainly not.

And yes, almost without exception, the ingredients for Indian cuisine are available here. Asafoetida and fenugreek are a bit hard to find, but it's doable.

[hathairat2711]

How can you assure someone that it's disgusting without having tried it. I suggest therefore you purchase a jar and then post your comments.

In the meanwhile, I will try it myself at only B79 a jar.

A very unhelpful post.

Enjoy.

[Oxx]

How can you assure someone that it's disgusting without having tried it.

I have an ability to read a list of ingredients and to understand the resultant taste profile. That's how. Cornflour, rapeseed oil, concentrated lemon juice, lactic acid, calcium chloride, acetic acid and wheat flour have no place in an Indian curry.

I wish you luck with your 79 baht jar. As for "Enjoy", well you'll either be miraculously lucky or have an atrocious palate.

[hathairat2711]

I would of course prefer to make say vindaloo curry paste by using the following ingredients;

Dried red kashmiri chillies, tumeric powder, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, garlic, ginger and vinegar.

I'm pretty sure I can obtain the above from Phahurat market.

I will post again once I've tasted the 'disgusting' Madras sauce and make a vindaloo curry from the paste.

[Mojomor]

The new delivery service being advertised on radio ---- No Q offers Patak indian sauces. Perhaps the OP has been misinformed. They have a website.

Also Sharwoods sauces are available in many of the supermarkets ---- expensive though. Friendship are probably the cheapest.

[tutsiwarrior]

Makro useta be good place to find whole and powdered spices to prepare whatever you need but I haven't been in awhile...other than the money the wide availability of all indian spices is one of the few benefits of working in the middle east and I usually bring home to Thailand what I need with me...

[Torrens54]

How can you assure someone that it's disgusting without having tried it. I suggest therefore you purchase a jar and then post your comments.

In the meanwhile, I will try it myself at only B79 a jar.

A very unhelpful post.

Enjoy.

Maybe the Oxx is really a PORKER? Don't be put off by his/her Asinine comments.

I'll be trying the Paste and thanks for the tip. Have been trying for years to find all the ingredients for a decent Indian Curry in Chiang Mai but without luck.

Thanks again!

[teacherofwoe]

How can you assure someone that it's disgusting without having tried it. I suggest therefore you purchase a jar and then post your comments.

In the meanwhile, I will try it myself at only B79 a jar.

A very unhelpful post.

Enjoy.

Maybe the Oxx is really a PORKER? Don't be put off by his/her Asinine comments.

I'll be trying the Paste and thanks for the tip. Have been trying for years to find all the ingredients for a decent Indian Curry in Chiang Mai but without luck.

Thanks again!

Try Indian Gourmet Kitchen for really good curries and sides. All frozen and heat up just great. They deliver too. Here is the link: igkcm.com

[intacome]

How can you assure someone that it's disgusting without having tried it. I suggest therefore you purchase a jar and then post your comments.

In the meanwhile, I will try it myself at only B79 a jar.

A very unhelpful post.

Enjoy.

Maybe the Oxx is really a PORKER? Don't be put off by his/her Asinine comments.

I'll be trying the Paste and thanks for the tip. Have been trying for years to find all the ingredients for a decent Indian Curry in Chiang Mai but without luck.

Thanks again!

Try Indian Gourmet Kitchen for really good curries and sides. All frozen and heat up just great. They deliver too. Here is the link: igkcm.com

I've tried Pataks and Sharwoods and I have to say I don't care for either of them. I tried the large frozen packs of sauces from Makro and I don't recommend them. They one I tried wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. Add to that, the messing about of defrosting, either refreezing in smaller bags or cooking a large batch and freezing them. Then you end up with a freezer full of one type of curry.

Since then, I've been ordering from Indian Gourmet, a Chiang Mai delivery service of frozen curries. I've ordered five times now and everything has been superb. Their food is so much better that the frozen curries you get in Rim Ping or Tops and you get more for your money. It's almost as good as being in an Indian restaurant back home!

[teacherofwoe]

How can you assure someone that it's disgusting without having tried it. I suggest therefore you purchase a jar and then post your comments.

In the meanwhile, I will try it myself at only B79 a jar.

A very unhelpful post.

Enjoy.

Maybe the Oxx is really a PORKER? Don't be put off by his/her Asinine comments.

I'll be trying the Paste and thanks for the tip. Have been trying for years to find all the ingredients for a decent Indian Curry in Chiang Mai but without luck.

Thanks again!

Try Indian Gourmet Kitchen for really good curries and sides. All frozen and heat up just great. They deliver too. Here is the link: igkcm.com

I've tried Pataks and Sharwoods and I have to say I don't care for either of them. I tried the large frozen packs of sauces from Makro and I don't recommend them. They one I tried wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. Add to that, the messing about of defrosting, either refreezing in smaller bags or cooking a large batch and freezing them. Then you end up with a freezer full of one type of curry.

Since then, I've been ordering from Indian Gourmet, a Chiang Mai delivery service of frozen curries. I've ordered five times now and everything has been superb. Their food is so much better that the frozen curries you get in Rim Ping or Tops and you get more for your money. It's almost as good as being in an Indian restaurant back home!

Agreed, the bottled and bagged sauces just don't cut it. About 30 years ago, I tried a range of curry sauces from Sainsburys. Only the korma was edible. Pataks had way too much sugar (you can smell it when you cook it.) Sharwoods should have gone bust decades ago. Using "authentic" in their advertising to con people has obviously worked. I can't see the point of using mediocre/disgusting sauces and then trying to convince myself that "I" made a curry. Especially when I can go to the freezer and get a restaurant standard curry, dal, onion bhajis, naan bread and chutneys for about B200. Indian Gourmet is better than anything else out there.

[hathairat2711]

Yes. some weeks ago I was in communication with the owner John of Indian Gourmet in Chiang Mai but unfortunately he doesn't deliver to Bangkok.

All what I've heard about these pastes and sauces, I have decided to make my own (there's a first for everything). I think once you have mastered how to make the onion base gravy, the rest of the cooking is rather quite easy and of course can be adjusted for taste.

Thanks for the responses.

Enjoy

[meatboy]

Yes. some weeks ago I was in communication with the owner John of Indian Gourmet in Chiang Mai but unfortunately he doesn't deliver to Bangkok.

All what I've heard about these pastes and sauces, I have decided to make my own (there's a first for everything). I think once you have mastered how to make the onion base gravy, the rest of the cooking is rather quite easy and of course can be adjusted for taste.

Thanks for the responses.

Enjoy

after the dissapearance of little india i too have been making my own,if you can get hold of everest indian spices your 80% there.

the best 2 are MEAT MASALA AND CHICKEN MASALA.

[tutsiwarrior]

anyone ever notice how quickly loose spices go off in the local humidity? even in containers with screwed lids it's about 2-3 months max...makes it difficult to simply keep things 'on hand'...a curry paste can be prepared quickly with fresh garlic and ginger but no dice without fundamental cumin, coriander, tumeric, etc...

[meatboy]

anyone ever notice how quickly loose spices go off in the local humidity? even in containers with screwed lids it's about 2-3 months max...makes it difficult to simply keep things 'on hand'...a curry paste can be prepared quickly with fresh garlic and ginger but no dice without fundamental cumin, coriander, tumeric, etc...

try and find some everest spices,it comes in a 100grm.box,in a foil pkt.in total 15different spices.and it doesnt loose any of its strenght like most.

the recipe says to use curd,myself i use fresh coconut milk off the market.

[RupertIII]

To be pedantic, the link shows an imported Tesco's curry sauce - not a Tesco-Lotus own brand.

Anyway, even without tasting it I can assure you it's disgusting, and nothing remotely like an Indian curry. It also contains lots of yummy, traditional Indian ingredients such as: cornflour, rapeseed oil, concentrated lemon juice, lactic acid, calcium chloride, acetic acid and wheat flour.

As for "are there any Indian curry pastes available", Indian cuisine (unlike Thai) is not based upon pre-made curry pastes. They are a foul western invention, so the answer is almost certainly not.

And yes, almost without exception, the ingredients for Indian cuisine are available here. Asafoetida and fenugreek are a bit hard to find, but it's doable.

Asafoetida and fenugreek available at Asoke Market along with just about everything Indian. Can't remember the name of the shop but on the left if entering from Sukhumvit Rd.