Topic: Aldi Chicken Tikka Masala

[George]

I ate half my Aldi butter chicken this evening, heated in the oven for 25 mins with no additions. It's good but I think the M&S butter chicken is better, albeit quite a lot more expensive. Moreover, Aldi's butter chicken is quite similar to their chicken tikka masala (CTM) in the same range. But, for my taste the CTM is better so Phil, I'd urge you to try the CTM.

[Peripatetic Phil]

None left, George — only (about) ten butter chicken ...

[George]

Phil - thanks for participating in this thread. It's a pity nobody else has expressed an interest so far. Aldi's CTM is quite similar to their butter chicken, like I said. It is nothing like I expect from a CTM if ordered in a BIR. The restaurant CTMs tend to be bright red, often with quite a prominent taste of coconut. I don't think there is any coconut in the Aldi version and maybe that is why it is so good. An interesting ingredient in the Aldi CTM is oak smoked water. I think you can taste something like that, helping the sauce to be moreish. I intend to try and make some oak smoked water myself, to add to a dhansak, for example. The butter chicken has honey instead and is not quite as good, for my taste.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Incidentally, if you are interested in trying the butter chicken once again, George, I strongly recommend not heating it in the oven for 25 minutes.  I re-heat mine in a shallow wok, in an excess of garlic-infused and chilli-infused rapeseed oils, and to my mind the addition of these oils (in excess) is a significant factor in the excellence of the dish, as is the addition of kala namak.  I estimate that the dish needs heating for no more than eight minutes, and probably less — however long it takes to cook a frozen paratha from scratch.

P.S.  Managed to acquire 2 x butter chicken and 1 x beef Madras in the Bodmin branch today.  I won't make any further report on the butter chicken, since I now know that I like it, but will report on the beef Madras once I have tried it.
--
** Phil.

[Robbo141]

Although we have Aldi here in North Carolina, I’m guessing there’s only a slim chance of anything curry in them.  If anything, butter chicken and CTM are what the vast majority of people here would even have heard of.  Good for my missis, but not hot enough for me.
Now, if they happen to bring out a vindaloo….


Robbo

[Peripatetic Phil]

I fear that you are correct, Robbo.  A Google search for 'gastro' +site:aldi.us finds nothing.  Your only hope is to see if your local store carries this sauce (the second one down in the list), and try making your own (with your preferred degree of heat, of course) ...
--
** Phil.

[George]

Phil - thank you for your suggestion for cooking the butter chicken in a pan on the stove. I will certainly give it a try. I put it in the oven for 25 mins because that's what it specified on the pack. Their preference was a few minutes in a microwave but I am trying to eliminate my use of microwave as an attempt to save money on energy by using my gas stove, instead.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Just returned from Aldi with a £24-99 shallow cast-iron casserole (in blue)¹, and used it to re-heat (?cook?) an Aldi Butter Chicken on an induction hob.  Very successful indeed — required only 20% heat for a few minutes (probably fewer than five) to bring the contents — plus an excess of spiced oil, of course — up to optimal temperature.  And the whole thing washed clean very easily, with nothing seeking to stick to the enamelled cooking surface.
--------
¹ The link is to the more recent 30cm version; mine is 26cm, and was £5-00 cheaper.
--
** Phil.

[Robbo141]

I love a cast iron pan Phil.  We have a couple of Le Cruset that are hideously expensive but just perfect to cook with.  The missis just invested in a new pan from the Our Place company which does the same job but less pricey than the French pot.  Really, really lightweight too. 


https://fromourplace.co.uk/products/home-cook-duo?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=uk_brand_search_gen_na&utm_term=our%20place%20pots%20and%20pans&utm_version=1&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI063hrdWp9AIVx7KGCh1zJgPuEAAYAiAAEgJHcPD_BwE

Robbo

[George]

Robbo - you sau Le Creuset are hideously expensive. I agree, so why do you waste your money? I bought a few Le Creuset items decades ago on day trips to France. At the time, their prices were more like Phil paid at Aldi. Regardless of price, they were nothing special to cook with and the enamel chipped away to leave rusting iron underneath, when they were not treated any worse than other brands of cookware. Here's a casserole dish via John Lewis:
https://www.johnlewis.com/le-creuset-signature-cast-iron-round-casserole/cerise/p5349564?sku=234142494&size=20cm&s_ppc=2dx92700055668775893&tmad=c&tmcampid=2&gclid=CjwKCAiAs92MBhAXEiwAXTi252Z8HEuxu0RUMTmZrSRIgiiwvXdMfRrHXv5n0PvI1H4KhMuu3VCAHBoCu9gQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&irclickid=yMNVGfwLdxyIR811SZ0SoyHbUkG22i29A2uOwY0&irgwc=1&tmcampid=99&s_afcid=af_2916367
I think anyone paying that sort of money must be out of their mind. God bless Aldi.