Absolutely gutted!

[abilicious]

Mr Licious and myself had a curry cook-off with a few friends at the weekend, and it turned out the winning one was from a jar of curry sauce. I'm still seething. Anyone else swear by curry sauce jars?

[Quizmonster]

Not so much curry 'sauce' jars as curry 'paste' jars. Patak's ones are wonderful and I say that as someone who can make a mean curry himself.
The last time I praised these on AnswerBank, the lady questioner concerned claimed she found pastes too 'artificial' tasting. Perhaps she did not follow the Patak family court-case at the Old Bailey a year or so ago. The case was all about inheritance and whether daughters had a right to shares left them by their father. In the course of the case, it was made clear that 90% of Britain's 'Indian' restaurants actually use Patak's pastes.
I imagine, therefore, that the questioner had had many a meal/take-away that she thoroughly enjoyed - with no notion of 'artificiality - little realising it, too, had come from a Patak's jar!
Give them a try, Abi.

[abilicious]

Thanks, QM, will give them a go. It's certainly easier than cooking from scratch. My lamb was marinading for 36 hours before Saturday night. I think I need to get a life ...

[waimarie]

Absolutely, you can always add a few fried sliced onions, peppers and garlic to alter the basic flavours. We usually have a variety to hand, Rogan Josh, Balti, Madras, Tika Masala etc. Lightly sauteing the meat/chicken as well as any vegetables before adding to the sauce also improves their flavour. Keep your eye out for 'specials' and 'two for the price of one' offers. Two jars of Pateks for �1.29 is hard to beat. Can't remember the last time we made a curry from scratch. Go for it - Be Bold !!

[don1]

I used to cook from scratch using fresh ground spices but it's very time consuming so now I buy Morrisons own brand usually Rogan Josh or Jalfrezi, they are excellent.

Little tip if you prefer your curries with chapatties rather than rice and like me you find it difficult to get them quite right, try Morrisons Tortilla wraps when cooked it's difficult to tell the difference

[Gef]

Agree with Quizmonster that Patak's curry pastes are ideal. However, I wouldn't dismiss the sauces out of hand. Sainsbury's Taste the Difference range are good. Also I find that 'making from scratch' is not that time consuming if you use dried spices as long as they are reasonably "fresh" if you know what I mean. Favourite at the moment is Madhur Jaffrey's 'Delhi-style lamb cooked with potatoes'.

[lizwizz]

I feel a bit left out as my daughter hates spicy food-maybe if we dished hers up then added the sauce, would that work??

[Quizmonster]

I totally agree with Waimarie about browning meat before cooking the curry, which the instructions on the jar do not suggest. Not so much chicken, but - with beef, lamb and pork recipes - I brown the meat in oil, then drain it before proceeding. That way, you do not get the rather unpleasant liquids that sometimes appear and go on to make the curry too sloppy. Also, I do not just put the tinned tomatoes in...I put them in a bowl, mash them down a little with a fork/potato-masher then drain them. Again, this avoids an excess of liquid. You can always add some of the saved tomato-juice if the curry seems too dry. I also 'fiddle' with ingredients and finish up telling my partner-lady that "We're having Patak's Prawn Madras plus this evening."
Good luck, Abi

[chinois]

Abilicious, marinading the meat is the key for a lot of curries! I bet the texture was good... Anyway, it's not as if you were busy for 36 hours is it? ;-)

[chazza]

Have you tried the Tesco Finest Thai green curry jar sauce? It's the best I've tried in a long time!

[hundreddolla]

I know he's a peerick but Loyd Grossman's Balti & Madras cooking sauces are the monkey's conkers!