Taste Drive: Sandhu’s Frozen Butter Chicken and Basmati Rice

When I was young good Indian food was not very easy to find in Thailand (unlike nowadays, I must add) – although we had Biryani but it was more Islamic than Indian. I remembered having one of the best Biryani at a Muslim wedding at family friend’s place on the riverside in Bangkok. That one was a real McCoy accompanied by ox tail soup.

When I travelled to the UK as a grown-up – I was introduced to frozen food section at Mark and Spencer’s and I thought I was in heaven. My favourites were Chicken Tikka Masala and Butter Chicken. Both came with rice as a heat and heat complete meal.

Now we have many kinds of Indian sauces so life is a lot easier. When you cannot think of what to cook or what to eat you just open the pantry door and there they are- Butter Chicken Sauce and Korma Sauce- looking back at you invitingly. You just have to cook rice and add meat into the simmering sauce.

Recently I have even taken an easier and lazier route – having frozen butter chicken with rice for lunch. I bought a packet of Sandhu’s Frozen Butter Chicken from Countdown on impulse. I didn’t expect much when I first put it in the microwave but 6 or 7 minutes later – the smell and the taste brought me back to those wet cold days in London and those wonderful Mark & Spencer’s Indian meals.