Pre-use product review

[Peripatetic Phil]

Waitrose had the Spicetailor range on special offer yesterday, so I purchased one packet of Rogan Josh mix (plus some lamb to go with it) to try.  I haven't used it yet (sadly got instant food poisoning from one of their own-brand packs of chilled paella (remaindered), which will be going back for refund and microbiological analysis) but thought I would review it in advance, and then continue once I have used it.

The mix comes in three sachets :  RRJ ("Rustic Rogan Josh") base, sauce and spices.  The base is a pale brown, finely particulate fluid; the base a good orangy/reddy brown liquid, and the spices include dried red chilli, Indian bay, black cardamom, green cardamom, cinnamon, black peppercorns and cloves.  All spices are whole.  All looks good so far, particularly the use of Indian bay rather than European.  The only negative so far encountered is in the cooking instructions, where it reads "3.  Stir in the sauce and simmer for 3--5 minutes or until the lamb is cooked through (1--1 1/2 hours for lamb cuts and 30 -- 35 minutes for mince)".  One is forced to wonder for which variant of lamb the "3--5 minutes" applies, and I very much fear this is just recycled from a more generic text that applies to chicken as well as lamb.

More when I have cooked and eaten it !

** Phil.

[vinotinto]

Food poisoning..from Waitrose?! .  Not familiar with chilled paella, does it have seafod or chicken in?  (Sorry off topic I guess!)

[goncalo]

how can you be so sure what the cause of the food poisoning was, when the symptoms of food poisoning rarely affect you immediately?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Food poisoning..from Waitrose?! .  Not familiar with chilled paella, does it have seafod or chicken in? 

Both !  Not at all a good paella -- too spicy, no flavour of saffron whatsoever.
** Phil.

[Peripatetic Phil]

how can you be so sure what the cause of the food poisoning was, when the symptoms of food poisoning rarely affect you immediately?

Because in my case, because my stomach acids are kept artificially low with proton-pump inhibitors, my gut reacts within 30 minutes to any food toxins.  It is a very useful defence mechanism, in that the pathogens are generally expelled before they get much of a chance to multiply, and it does mean that I can be completely confident as to which particular food was responsible if I have eaten nothing else within that period (as was the case with the paella).

** Phil.

[goncalo]

how can you be so sure what the cause of the food poisoning was, when the symptoms of food poisoning rarely affect you immediately?

Because in my case, because my stomach acids are kept artificially low with proton-pump inhibitors, my gut reacts within 30 minutes to any food toxins.  It is a very useful defence mechanism, in that the pathogens are generally expelled before they get much of a chance to multiply, and it does mean that I can be completely confident as to which particular food was responsible if I have eaten nothing else within that period (as was the case with the paella).

Ah, I see. For what reason do you use PPIs?

[Peripatetic Phil]

Ah, I see. For what reason do you use PPIs?

Barrett's oesophagus
** Phil.

[RubyDoo]

Ah, I see. For what reason do you use PPIs?

Barrett's oesophagus
** Phil.

is that too many liquorice all-sorts? 

Sorry, just couldn't resist that one.

[adamski]

I have tried both the Rogan Josh and the Punjabi tomato products from the spice tailor. They are probably the best supermarket curry product I have had.

They are hard to describe more like a cross between BIR and Homestyle Indian.

[goncalo]

Ah, I see. For what reason do you use PPIs?

Barrett's oesophagus
** Phil.

Sorry to hear that Phil. I suffer of gastric reflux and I'm taking omeprazole 20mg because of over-indulging in spicy food for my time in Cambridge. I don't take it too often yet, but occasionally I need to. Generally after a jalfrezi and because I didn't have anything since last weekend, I'm gonna start again tomorrow taking these.