The next time you yearn for creamy Thai Curry, make a dash for the supermarket, not a restaurant. WHAT's ON cooked up Blue Elephant's ready-to-cook range, and found it authentic
The next time you yearn for creamy Thai Curry, make a dash for the supermarket, not a restaurant. WHAT's ON cooked up Blue Elephant's ready-to-cook range, and found it authentic
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Nuts with Thai Herbsu00a0 |
If getting the flavours of Thai cooking right, has taken the life out of you, indulging in a little shortcut won't make you any less of a "good cook". One of the most sought-after Thai restaurant chains in the world, Blue Elephant that has branches in Bangkok, Paris, Copenhagen, London, Beirut, Moscow, Bahrain and other prime cities, has introduced their culinary skills in India. So, while a Parisian can enjoy the luxury of being served an aromatic Thai Curry on his table, a Mumbaikar will have to work a little harder to devour it.
The range: Pad Thai noodles, Jasmine rice, Curry and Soup pastes (red, yellow, green, massaman, Tom Yam and Top Kha), Dipping sauces (fish, oyster, soya, rice vinegar, sweet chilli and chilli, peanut, Thai pepper), Dry Spices and Herbs (dried lemongrass, red chilli, sweet basil, lime leaves, galangal), Dressings (lemongrass, tamarind and sweet and sour), Thai Snacks and Appetisersu00a0 (nuts with Thai herbs, dried mango and papaya slices, Thai ginger crystallised and rice crackers) and Jasmine Green Tea.
We tried: The Thai Green Curry paste (Rs 160 for 70 gm). Vegetables of your choice (and/or chicken) need to be added to the paste, with 1 tbsp of cooking oil. Along with the Coconut Cream (which is also available in the range for Rs 160 for 400 ml), add water, and set to a boil. The paste comes pre-mixed with garlic, shallots, lemongrass and other condiments; that's a relief. Only a tsp of sugar needs to be sprinkled, and perhaps a bit of salt. Make sure to empty the whole packet only if you like your Thai curry red-hot spicy, else keep half for
another time.
The Dry Papaya Slices (Rs 175 for 100 gm) were a tad too sweet, but the Nuts with Thai Herbs (Rs 320 for 115 gm) peanuts, sesame-coated crunched cashew nuts, lemongrass fried, kaffir lime leaves, green peas and rice crackers were yummy, and will go well with booze, when you feel like something more classy than chana-seeng.
Price range: Rs 80 to Rs 700
Available at: Nature's Basket outlets, the Bombay Baking Company at Hotel JW Marriott, Juhu, and other leading supermarkets
