Keep calm and curry on

With homemade ready-to-cook pastes of authentic Goan curries, a couple from Porvorim is ensuring Mumbaikars are transported to the sunshine state in minutes

Shaneta Mendes, 37, has spent the most part of her life cooking, and enjoying it. That changed when the nationwide lockdown was announced. Given that she had to supervise her children, aged five and 10, during their online lessons, there was barely any time left to step into the kitchen. “I would only reach the kitchen by 1 pm, which is lunchtime. My husband, Shaun, is very particular about eating our Goan home cooked food. So, I made curry pastes, refrigerated them, and told him, ‘Now, you cook. I’ll handle the kids.’ He did that and our life became easy afterwards,” she recalls.

Chicken xacuti made using the paste

It was Shaun who realised that having ready-to-cook pastes in the pantry might be a boon to working professionals who are struggling to juggle cooking and other responsibilities at home. Supported by Shaun’s background in hospitality, the Porvorim-based couple decided to turn their hack into a full-fledged culinary venture, Easy Curry, in August last year. Along with pickles, they currently offer 11 authentic Goan curry pastes for every palate; the vegetarian can try the sabji masala, the pork lover can choose sorpotel and those who enjoy seafood can find comfort in making ambot tik or xec xec.

The packaging is spill-free and includes instructions on how to use the paste

We decide to try two pastes: the xacuti, a personal favourite that we rarely faulted while making it ourselves, and ambot tik, a sour and spicy curry that’s traditionally made with shark and is something we haven’t had in a while. We receive the order in a day of it being dispatched. It comes in spill-free packaging and carries cooking instructions, too. It’s a three-step process although the formula isn’t the same for the two. For instance, to make the xacuti, you sear the protein for five minutes before adding the paste; while to prepare the ambot tik, you have to first fry the paste in oil for two minutes before adding water, followed by the seafood.

Since we have been consciously minimising our intake of added sugar and preservatives, we like the fact that, in contrast to mass-produced curry pastes, Easy Curry abstains from it, and also provides a list of fresh, local ingredients included in the packet. We try the xacuti first, and we cannot deny that we miss the process of making the paste that is powered by the fragrant experience of browning freshly grated coconut. The pack is meant for 1 kg protein, and we try it with 500 gm chicken. So, although the flavour profile matches what we would’ve made from scratch, we have trouble achieving the consistency we want. We would still recommend it to anyone looking for a quick-fix to xacuti.

Shark ambot tik

We use just a handful of shark pieces for the ambot tik, measuring the amount of paste accordingly. But the result is excellent. The tanginess overwhelms the taste buds right before the spice takes over, but it’s the shark or ‘mori’ that serves as the lull after the storm. Shaneta says that their goal was to enable even a cook who has never attempted Goan fare to make it without a hitch. And we’re sure this cook won’t disappoint the patrons.

Log on to: www.easycurry.in
Cost: Rs 150 (Rs 50 for shipping, all over India; free delivery for a pack of five)

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