Dont gasp, but I do cheat alot with Patak's curry pastes but I do add my own secret combination of ground spices to give it a little something extra!? and chillies - oh, lots of chillies!!
Hi Sistermoon,
I think you may find quite few of us resort to Patak's pastes from time to time................I do. And there are a large number of BIR's, some near me that use Patak's pastes in all their curries, they have rows of large jars above the cookers so we are not the only cheats!
It's strange we don't often hear of people using Sharwoods products isn't it! I wonder why?
I like pastes but not the jars of sauce which are as far from a BIR curry as can be.
My favourite is the Patak's Madras paste which makes super curries and as you say adding some extra spices, tomatoes and fresh coriander can make it extra special. It goes to show curries are open to interpretation and experimentation isn't a bad thing at all.
Enlighten us a bit more on your methods with the paste and let us know what your favourite is. But do have a browse and select a "from scratch" base and get making your own from the ground up, it is certainly well worth it!
Good cooking,
Ray