Eating out was all about Italian and Chinese cuisine, but the last 30 years have seen a rise in all things Asian – travel, dress, and food. The nationwide spread of Indian restaurants and the introduction of this cuisine has encouraged home cooks to try duplicating the dishes they love, but the combination of unusual spices and ingredients caused a few problems.
Enter ‘Indian sauces’; these products hitting our market are taking all the guesswork out of preparation. With this in mind, we decided to give KFI sauces a try. They are a family-owned Canadian based (Brampton, Ont.) company called Kataria Foods Inc., producing Indian sauces.
We had a wonderful time using KFI sauces one weekend. They make Indian meals so quick and easy.
Chicken Tikka Masala
Chicken Tikka Masala’ Recipe which requires only 1 lb. of chicken and a jar of sauce.
Ingredients:
1 lb. chicken breast cut in ½” cubes
1 Tbs. oil or ghee (the lighter option is oil)
1 jar Tikka Masala
Cilantro or parsley chopped for garnish.
Preparation:
Stir Fry the chicken in oil for 5 minutes.
Add the Tikka Masala sauce, stir, simmer for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
You can substitute tofu or mixed vegetables for a vegetarian version.
Rogan Josh Channa Masala
Ingredients
1 tin of chick peas (or kidney beans)
1 Jar Rogan Josh Sauce
Cilantro and chopped green onions for garnish
Preparations:
Rinse the chick peas and pour into sauce pan.
Add the Rogan Josh sauce and stir, simmer for 5 minutes
You can substitute lamb or beef for the chickpeas for a non-vegetarian version.
Recipe for Homemade Naan
The following is our traditional recipe for homemade Naan plus an optional ‘quick & dirty’ version.
Ingredients:
1 tsp dry-active yeast
1 tsp sugar
¾ cup warm water
3 Tbs. yogurt
2 Tbs. oil
2 cups flour
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp sugar
1/8 tsp baking powder
Preparation:
Dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water and wait until it becomes frothy. Stir in the yogurt and oil.
Sift the flour, sea salt, sugar, and baking powder into a bowl and add the yeast mixture, stir until it becomes a sticky dough. Separate dough into 6 balls and roll each out, one at a time, on a floured surface to about ¼” thickness.
Heat a heavy skillet on high heat and fry each piece (1 at a time) in a little butter for 1-minute flip over, put a lid on the pan and cook for 30 seconds. Repeat with the rest of the balls. Keep naans warm, wrapped in a tea towel until all are cooked. Serve immediately or warm later to serve with the meal.
Serving Suggestions
These dishes should be served with plain (Jasmine) white rice. Optional condiments would be plain yogurt, chutney (we used home-made plum chutney), and naan. As a matter of fact we serve all of the above options, along with KFI mango chutney, and make a celebration out of the meal by adding a little white Sangria.
Recipes tested by Maureen Dahl.
KFI Sauces are is sold in stores in Canada, check pricing and locations on the KFI Canada website www.kficanada.ca.
I know how to cook Indian food [primarily Punjabi] and never buy sauces but I made an exception and bought some KFI butter chicken sauce.I was curious about how butter chicken is ‘supposed to’ taste. I used it the typical way and it was just okay. Not better than what I make myself. It was a large jar so I froze what was left in smaller jars
Yesterday I decided to use one of the smaller jars and add it to a sort of casserole with some beef and various veggies and beans in a tomato sauce and sort of turn that into a curry. What I did was fry up a diced onion and minced garlic and add grated ginger, and then add part of the small jar of sauce to the pan. I kept cooking that until the oil came out from the sauce and then I added my mixture of beef and veg [and beans].
You would not believe how delicious it was when the sauce was cooked down that way with onions and garlic and ginger. I could not believe it. You should try this! It’s definitely a reason to buy more of this sauce. I have no idea what the difference is between the various kfi sauces but I’d probably stick with the butter chicken variety.
I am looking for a recipe for prawn Marsala as I have the jar of sauce.