Spice of life: Top 8 chicken curries
But keeping some whole spices to hand means we can follow a new recipe and experiment with exciting flavours. Just don’t expect them to last forever. Store in an airtight jar for not more than a year. Date the jars — time flies.
Chicken and other meats don’t have to be browned or cooked ahead. Just drop into a heated readymade sauce. I often add some grated carrot, finishing with broccoli or spinach. I also add a can of chickpeas or frozen peas. At the last minute if it still lacks flavour, I add some finely grated ginger and garlic and cook for a few minutes.
The biggest challenge with chicken is to find some with flavour. Leg meat usually tastes richer, but takes a bit longer to tenderise, so if you plan ahead you can let it sit in the sauce before cooking. Go for free range chicken if you can. And definitely look for Irish reared birds or pieces. Read labels to be sure they are not just packaged in Ireland.
Some of our samples here make a decent meal for busy diners and can be served with fresh vegetables on the side for extra nourishment.
Tasty, generous chunks of chicken sit in a tomato-based sauce made with Green Saffron Vadagem spices, which come from southern India. There is quite a lot of punchy spiciness from funugreek seeds, curry leaves, nutmeg, mace, and green cardamoms topped up with ginger and garlic. There is plenty here for sharing if served with rice or naan bread. From the Princes Street, Cork restaurant and food shop.
8.25
This was the closest to a curry we could find in this store. ‘Tikka style’ chicken breast pieces (15% of overall weight) were cooked in a medium spice tomato sauce which had little flavour. More disappointing were the cubes of cooked potatoes which were spongy in texture while the spinach had no flavour at all. There are peas and onion pieces too, but tasters still put this dish at the bottom of their lists.
3
This mildly spiced curry with a mix of creamed coconut and tomatoes, comes with cumin, turmeric, coriander, paprika and ginger. At 15% it had a low enough amount of tasty chicken breast with quite a few cubes of potatoes. There was a little sweetcorn, chickpeas and rice to make this a satisfying complete meal for those who don’t like it too hot.
7.75
Bought in Dunnes Stores, this has a portion of white rice with long strips of chicken in a thick brown sauce. The thickening comes from too much modified maize starch which makes it gloopy. There are some peas for extra colour. The flavours are a bit harsh, but those who like their chips with curry will identify with them. A generous amount of chicken, the rice was too chewy and not favoured by tasters who relish a more authentic curry.
4
This box had a nicely spiced chicken tikka masala with a fresh ginger flavour. The chicken Korma portion as expected was creamier and more mildly spiced. The chicken is sourced in Thailand and was tender, but with little flavour. Four onion bhajis were light and crisp, and the rice had some cardamom pods, which gave a gentle, warm spiciness. Two naan breads had little flavour. Good value, but if you eat all of your half, you will clock up at least 1,300 calories.
7.75
The package is divided equally into rice and chicken in a sauce which has 58% chicken — higher than many samples. Cubes of chicken sit in a sauce which tastes of green peppers, along with other less noticeable spices thickened with cornflour and a little yogurt. The rice had little flavour but absorbed the sauce well. Tasters were divided about the overall flavour, some not liking the green pepper dominance.
6.75
Equal divisions of basmati rice and chicken for this meal for one had nicely chargrilled chicken dominated by spicy red peppers and red chilli. The flavour was lively and the single cream didn’t quite mollify it enough for the unwary, but it was liked by those who favour hot spiciness. The chicken is tasty and comes from farms in the UK/EU.
7.75
I thought this was worth taking a look at as a storecupboard food which might be useful on a cold night. At 42% there is a fair amount of chicken, very gently spiced with cumin and coriander. The sweetness is delivered by mango chutney, sultanas and apple purée. It disappoints a little for rich flavour, but tasters thought it a good idea to keep for emergencies, and suggested adding ginger and chilli flakes.
6.75
