Good indian curry spice kits

[snowman99]

Anyone got a particular brand of curry spice kit they’d recommend? I was convinced they’re just the spices we have (we have quite a few) but a couple we’ve tried have been a lot better than our quick curry recipes. Maybe a proper curry would be better but two children under 3 so quick is good.

[timbo999]

Spice Tailor, although they include the sauces as well. Made in India and (to my taste at least) seem very authentic tasting. Often on offer at Saino's particularly the veggie ones which come with the lentils/chickpeas etc so are complete, although I do add other veg.

[Gandahar]

" but two children under 3 "

What an excellent expression whilst talking about spices. I wish I had been introduced to spices at such a young age.

I'd simply recommend this

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/255...

just to see how they got along, and considering you probably still have to change the odd nappy at that age ????

[Roboticarm]

We've been using these guys, had various different ones and all are good
https://www.spicentice.com/collections/indian-spic...

[zygalski]

Best way is to get the spices is the plastic pouches the supermarkets often sell.
Natco or Fudco are 2 brands I've seen. They're about £1.00 per 100g in Sainsburys.
Ground Coriander, Cumin, Tumeric, Chilli powder and Garam Masala are all the spices you really need for 90%+ curries. £5 spent and enough for months.
Avoid the small glass bottles like Schwarz - they're well over twice the price.

I store all mine in plastic 180ml lock & lock containers.

[dapprman]

zygalski said:

Best way is to get the spices is the plastic pouches the supermarkets often sell.
Natco or Fudco are 2 brands I've seen. They're about £1.00 per 100g in Sainsburys.

Try Morrisons instead - mine does not have the largest range of them but often does have 2 for the price of 1 deals.

[snowman99]

Gandahar said:

" but two children under 3 "

What an excellent expression whilst talking about spices. I wish I had been introduced to spices at such a young age.

I'd simply recommend this

https://www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/255...

just to see how they got along, and considering you probably still have to change the odd nappy at that age ????

The younger one eats everything, the toddler mostly pasta, cheese, ketchup and chocolate. Anything not resembling those is viewed with great suspicion but she is offered everything we eat. It’s more the lack of time to follow a long recipe.

[nikaiyo2]

Not exactly what you are asking for but these http://holycowfc.co.uk/ are really good curry sauces, just add your protein.

[HTP99]

zygalski said:

Best way is to get the spices is the plastic pouches the supermarkets often sell.
Natco or Fudco are 2 brands I've seen. They're about £1.00 per 100g in Sainsburys.
Ground Coriander, Cumin, Tumeric, Chilli powder and Garam Masala are all the spices you really need for 90%+ curries. £5 spent and enough for months.
Avoid the small glass bottles like Schwarz - they're well over twice the price.

I store all mine in plastic 180ml lock & lock containers.

This and build up a few more over time but the basics are as described above and glad to hear that you are getting your young kids into this kind of food, so many are just fed the basics or "kids food" and then end up so bloody picky like my niece and nephew.

Mine are adults now but they ate pretty much what we ate and they've never been fussy and have always had a varied diet.

[NorthDave]

Not a direct answer to the op but to source spices try and visit an indian supermarket if you have one local to you.

The turnover means you have more chance of stuff being fresh and the price is a lot lot better than the normal supermarkets.

[normalbloke]

These guys. Mail order only, but very,very good and simple.

https://www.currytree.co.uk

[Bacon Is Proof]

zygalski said:

Best way is to get the spices is the plastic pouches the supermarkets often sell.
Natco or Fudco are 2 brands I've seen. They're about £1.00 per 100g in Sainsburys.
Ground Coriander, Cumin, Tumeric, Chilli powder and Garam Masala are all the spices you really need for 90%+ curries. £5 spent and enough for months.
Avoid the small glass bottles like Schwarz - they're well over twice the price.

I store all mine in plastic 180ml lock & lock containers.

I cook a lot of Indian food and invested in cheap as chips 400g bags of spices , including turmeric.
The result is that it is now impossible to retrieve anything out of the spice cupboard without looking like an 80-a-day smoker.

Coconut oil
Black mustard seed
Curry leaf
Onion
Ginger and garlic
Meat
Turmeric and garam masala
Tomatoes
Any other veg you fancy
Water

That is an authentic doddle, and not too hot depending on your garam masala. I've cooked it without curry leaves before as they are hard to get hold of. You can substitute the water for coconut milk if you like, and I'd often chop up some fresh coconut in there but that is a massive pain in the arse.
I like to do it with beef, chili powder and whole dried chilis, but they're probably best left out for the nippers.
Use ginger and garlic paste to save time; they often do in India.

[PorkInsider]

Bacon Is Proof said:

Use ginger and garlic paste to save time; they often do in India.

Presumably it's just mashed ginger and garlic in India, though, rather than the vinegary preservative-laden nonsense we get in the U.K.

[PorkInsider]

Kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves) is great too, if you can get hold of it.

Rubbing the dried leaves and sprinkling into the dish towards the end of cooking releases an amazing 'curry aroma'.

[Scantily]

Tastesmiths makes some great ones, all fresh ingredients and you can freeze them if needed.

[i4got]

PorkInsider said:

Bacon Is Proof said:

Use ginger and garlic paste to save time; they often do in India.

Presumably it's just mashed ginger and garlic in India, though, rather than the vinegary preservative-laden nonsense we get in the U.K.

If you want ease of use, frozen pouches of chopped ginger and chopped garlic are available in all supermarkets. I also keep a couple of pouches of chopped chillis.

[hotchy]

i4got said:

PorkInsider said:

Bacon Is Proof said:

Use ginger and garlic paste to save time; they often do in India.

Presumably it's just mashed ginger and garlic in India, though, rather than the vinegary preservative-laden nonsense we get in the U.K.

If you want ease of use, frozen pouches of chopped ginger and chopped garlic are available in all supermarkets. I also keep a couple of pouches of chopped chillis.

I freeze my bags of fresh coriander and it works a treat.

[chris116]

I enjoyed a couple of Patak's meal kits that I had recently, picked them up in my local Co op.

https://www.pataks.co.uk/products/meal-kits

[hyphen]

NorthDave said:

Not a direct answer to the op but to source spices try and visit an indian supermarket if you have one local to you.

The turnover means you have more chance of stuff being fresh and the price is a lot lot better than the normal supermarkets.

+1

[Bacon Is Proof]

PorkInsider said:

Presumably it's just mashed ginger and garlic in India, though, rather than the vinegary preservative-laden nonsense we get in the U.K.

I've never actually used pastes, always use fresh.