Pataks sauces

[ceresa 3]

my husband and I stumbled across an indian shop in fort worth yesterday, on the window it said "european groceries" so i had to go in... sure enough there was custard, chocolate hobnobs, tetley tea... and some patak sauce mixes !

so, having dying for a balti for the last 6 months i got the "pataks balti paste" in a jar... but yuk ! i cooked it yesterday and its nothing like a balti (i know its not gonna be like a good old birmingham balti back home but at least a bit similar)

anyone else tried pataks??

[Lou Lou 1]

Yeh the Pataks stuff is not as good as at home. I think it's made for a US palatte so they've toned it all down as the poor buggers can't cope with real food

I gave up and make it from scratch with all the proper spices. Of course it takes longer, but it tastes sooo much better. We also have a good Indian take out and I ask them to make it English hot rather than American hot and they get it just right now

[ceresa 3]

ohh I didnt realise they were changing the taste of it, that explains why my husband likes it then! lol

hes actually gonna eat it for his lunch today... i chose to eat a peanut butter sandwich rather than that, and told him when we go to england we'll try real baltis.

that reminds me... we live in texas, and my husband likes all the hot chilis such as haberneros, sorrentos etc (i dont know which are the hotter ones)... i wonder if he will find a vindaloo hot or not in england considering hes used to hot peppers here. Isnt there a hotter curry than a vindaloo? (im determined to get him to try the hottest thing there is england!)

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Yeh the Pataks stuff is not as good as at home. I think it's made for a US palatte so they've toned it all down as the poor buggers can't cope with real food

I gave up and make it from scratch with all the proper spices. Of course it takes longer, but it tastes sooo much better. We also have a good Indian take out and I ask them to make it English hot rather than American hot and they get it just right now

Isn't the Patak's sold in US and Canada imported from UK?

[Lou Lou 1]

Yeh the Pataks stuff is not as good as at home. I think it's made for a US palatte so they've toned it all down as the poor buggers can't cope with real food

I gave up and make it from scratch with all the proper spices. Of course it takes longer, but it tastes sooo much better. We also have a good Indian take out and I ask them to make it English hot rather than American hot and they get it just right now

Isn't the Patak's sold in US and Canada imported from UK?

Yes, but it's definitely different ingredients and different curries. I've even done a comparison with one bought in the UK

that reminds me... we live in texas, and my husband likes all the hot chilis such as haberneros, sorrentos etc (i dont know which are the hotter ones)... i wonder if he will find a vindaloo hot or not in england considering hes used to hot peppers here. Isnt there a hotter curry than a vindaloo? (im determined to get him to try the hottest thing there is england!)

Yeh, the Phal is hotter than a vindaloo. Way hotter in my opinion but I guess it depends where you get it. You were in the curry capital of the UK. Lucky you

[Sister Fracas 5]

I love how Brits think that Anglicized Indian food is REAL Indian food...hehehe

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Yeh the Pataks stuff is not as good as at home. I think it's made for a US palatte so they've toned it all down as the poor buggers can't cope with real food

I gave up and make it from scratch with all the proper spices. Of course it takes longer, but it tastes sooo much better. We also have a good Indian take out and I ask them to make it English hot rather than American hot and they get it just right now

Isn't the Patak's sold in US and Canada imported from UK?

Yes, but it's definitely different ingredients and different curries. I've even done a comparison with one bought in the UK

Maybe the tamarind used in almost all Pataks I've seen sold here?

(as acids such as vinegar and that contained in tamarind are known to dampen "hotness").

that reminds me... we live in texas, and my husband likes all the hot chilis such as haberneros, sorrentos etc (i dont know which are the hotter ones)... i wonder if he will find a vindaloo hot or not in england considering hes used to hot peppers here. Isnt there a hotter curry than a vindaloo? (im determined to get him to try the hottest thing there is england!)

Yeh, the Phal is hotter than a vindaloo. Way hotter in my opinion but I guess it depends where you get it. You were in the curry capital of the UK. Lucky you

Best yet, try a desi grocer there and see if they stock Tezpurs (there ain't a hotter pepper than that).

[ceresa 3]

Maybe the tamarind used in almost all Pataks I've seen sold here?

(as acids such as vinegar and that contained in tamarind are known to dampen "hotness").

Is that a sweet ingredient? because the sauce was definately sweeter than in the UK. even my father in law tried some (a country Texan who doesnt like trying new stuff haha) but he didnt like it either because it tasted too sweet.

[ktun 0]

I got a Pataks Korma from World Market here and it was pretty good, not as good as in Britain, but like you I've been dying for some Indian food for the past 6 months. We did try an 'Indian' restaurant around here and it was truely awful, absolutely terrible, they have no idea what Indian food should taste like and didnt even know what a Nann bread was!!!

During the 3 months we spent in England last summer, I got my Hubby hooked on Indian and now he cant wait to go back just to have some.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Maybe the tamarind used in almost all Pataks I've seen sold here?

(as acids such as vinegar and that contained in tamarind are known to dampen "hotness").

Is that a sweet ingredient? because the sauce was definately sweeter than in the UK. even my father in law tried some (a country Texan who doesnt like trying new stuff haha) but he didnt like it either because it tasted too sweet.

Tamarind itself is not sweet--and in excess, it is horribly sour (according to an old Tamil proverb, excess of tamarind can be lethal). Tamarind ("imli") chutney in restaurants contains brown sugar or molasses to give it both its "sweet-and-sour" taste as well as its texture.

A refresher of jr. high chemistry for you: "all acids are sour, and most bases are bitter".

[Lou Lou 1]

I love how Brits think that Anglicized Indian food is REAL Indian food...hehehe

I certainly don't! But it's sure better than what Indian food passes for over here. Half the Indian dishes in the UK are simply that. Indian UK food. I know real Indian food for sure

[Sister Fracas 5]

We did try an 'Indian' restaurant around here and it was truely awful, absolutely terrible, they have no idea what Indian food should taste like and didnt even know what a Nann bread was!!!

If they didn't know what Nann bread is, I'd say it wasn't run by Indians...

I guess living near an area that is almost exclusively Indian, I'm fortunate to taste REAL Indian food and really good Indian food, that even Brits will accept We've been to Brit expats meetups and the place always looks like locust have swarmed through when the Brits dive into the curries. I find it fascinating that Indian food is the most popular food of the great British public. Makes one go hmmmm....what happened to Brit cusine?

Edited March 10, 2006 by Frances

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

Our local indian restaurant in LA is better than our local in Acton, that is for sure.

For some reason I am reminded of the episode of Goodness Gracious Me where they go for an English and brag about ordering the blandest thing possible

[Sister Fracas 5]

Our local indian restaurant in LA is better than our local in Acton, that is for sure.

For some reason I am reminded of the episode of Goodness Gracious Me where they go for an English and brag about ordering the blandest thing possible

oooh, I heard about that program...AND that episode, but never saw it...

hmmm, I wonder if it will ever be on BBC America or UKNova...??

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I think they showed it in America at some point (not while I was living here) but not sure - probably check UKNova.

I also liked when sketch where the mother's were bragging about their sons, including ####### size, in an effort to outdo each other, or when they try and join the "exclusive" tennis club or "Punjabi Girl" sung to Barbie Girl...that was a funny show