In addition to saving yourself a small fortune, here are nine eminently sensible reasons to ditch many of the takeaways, deliveries and supermarket sauces, pastes and ready meals.
1. SAY NO TO FAKE
Most Indian food from takeaways, curry houses, or supermarkets wouldn't pass muster in India - trust us!
2. SAY NO TO BLAND
Curry sauces and pastes in supermarkets are mass-produced, developed based on their profit margins, their shelf life, and on much blander, safer flavours that are supposed to have a wider appeal. Whereas we know you're more discerning than that.
3. SAY NO TO GREASY
It's one of the oldest tricks in the book... do you know how much excess oil and salt many takeaways use to cover up thefact that they don't have proper culinary skills!
4. SAY NO TO STALE
Most spices used in the food industry have passed through multiple companies from auction houses to exporters, importers, distributors, and retailers or restaurants: combined along the way... and are up to two years old before you experience them?!
5. SAY NO TO MEDIOCRE
Most multinational spice companies are based on very commendable trading and business skills. Few to none have truly authentic culinary credibility for the mixes they make.
6. SAY NO TO UNHEALTHY
When you cook at home with your trusted ingredients you know not only exactly what is going into your homemade curries, but can also tailor them to you and your family's dietary preferences.
7. SAY NO TO POTENTIALLY UNSAFE
Who knows what goes on in 'dark kitchens', 'virtual restaurants, and on 'ghost menus' - even Uber Eats closed 5000 of those down recently. There's a lot of pressure to make money - and sometimes it comes at a compromise for us consumers.
8. SAY NO TO OVERSPICED
Please don't order curries just based on heat levels. We don't really do that in India for the most part. Indian food is full of dish-specific, regional, and cultural nuances. There are some amazing restaurants that excel at that, and our spice blends of course.
9. SAY NO TO EXCESS HEAT
AND YES TO MORE FLAVOUR! Seek out and enjoy the true tastes of India... and if you like it hotter, add some chopped chillies of your choice, with or without the seeds, to your taste!
MrsBalbir Singh Award-winning godmother of Indian home cooking, and author of Mrs Balbir Singh's Indian Cookery, as featured in "The Best Indian Cookbooks Ever, as Judged by the Experts" - The Telegraph (UK)
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