06 July,2015 08:17 AM IST | | The Guide Team
Burgundy Box, a new ready-to-cook meal kit offers a variety of tasty cuisines that can be whipped up in no time
Khasta Ghosht Ki Shikhampuri
After pop-ups, do-it-yourself cooking kits with recipes seem to be the latest fad to tease and tempt adventurous home chefs. One such service that arrived at our office this month was from Burgundy Box. The recipes have been conceived by chef Ajay Chopra and cover cuisines such as Indian, South East Asian and European.
Burgundy Box with ingredients for the Khasta Ghosht Ki Shikhampuri
The ingredients in the kits include readymade sauces and chopped vegetables. Amateur cooks in our team loved that the dishes required very little prep but those who prefer making dishes from scratch (including sauces for the dishes) might find this process too simple.
A smart addition to the kits would be to label ingredients in the ready sauces (help those who have food-centric health issues). Also, they currently deliver only to a few locations in the Western suburbs but plan to expand soon. Excited, the guide team members picked their boxes, and had a fun time in the kitchen as they whipped up these tasty dishes.
Khasta Ghosht Ki Shikhampuri (Rs 330)
Making the Shikhampuri Tikka, involved flattening the ready balls of dough (found in the box) with our palms and making them slightly concave so that they could hold the pre-made stuffing that we found in the box. Once the stuffing was filled, we flattened another one of the dough balls and used it to cover the top, as per the instructions.
We took more time than expected to do this, to ensure that the ball doesn't break. The next step was to deep fry the tikkas. We added half a teaspoon of oil more than the quantity provided as the tikkas seemed to stick to the non-stick pan. The end result: even with an overpowering flavour of pepper, the tikka was delicious. The chat masala was a good idea. Sprinkling it on the hot tikkas added to the yum factor. The instructions were helpful and the timing, accurate. Priced at '330 for 5 kebabs, we found the box a tad expensive.
Thai Fried Rice (Rs 310)
We realised there was little to do when we saw the ingredients in our shoe box-style box. With the sauce ready, cooked rice, we had to merely put it all together on a high flame. In 8-9 minutes, our dish was ready to eat.
High on spice, flavour and taste, the Thai Fried Rice was a meal for two. What we loved the most about the dish was the cooking time, we have never had an Asian rice dish with its many ingredients ready so quickly.
Moroccan Chicken Steaks (Rs 410)
Hot and juicy chicken steaks over spiced rice and vegetables. To complement it, a layer of orange glaze spread across the plate. All the vegetables were neatly labelled and packed. The vegetables, for a change, were washed and cut as per requirement. The rice was cooked too. All we had to do was follow the steps as mentioned in the recipe. Unfortunately, there were a few hiccups. Firstly, the recipe that came along with the box, didn't mention the part about adding two very crucial ingredients - salt and pepper. Had we not remembered it, we would have had to taste a plate of bland Moroccan Chicken Steak. Secondly, some of the items fell short of meeting the requirements - oil and orange glaze - and we had to use our own stock. Some of the omissions in the recipe could jolt a novice, but if you're a bit of an experienced cook, you might love the idea of playing chef, with some help from Burgundy Box.
Javanese Paneer Satay (Rs 240)
Whipping up a grilled dish at home can be cumbersome. From dicing veggies to making the marinade and finding the right grilling apparatus. So, imagine our delight when we checked out the meal kit: it included a box of neatly diced veggies - paneer cubes, bell peppers, broccoli and zucchini - and separate containers with Javanese marinade, peanut sauce, pickled vegetables, a tiny bottle of oil as well as toothpick-like skewers.
The cooking time mentioned in the recipe was 10-15 minutes. It was spot on. While the grilling time mentioned was a minute, it took us a little longer to ensure that broccoli and zucchini were char-grilled well. We loved how the creators ensured this exotic dish was simple to cook. This dish had strong Thai seasonings, unlike the usual tangy Paneer Tikka. We tucked into the satay, bearing a strong mustard-like flavour, with the peanut dip and pickled veggies. While the dip added to the taste and made up for the lack of salt in the satay, the pickled veggies weren't as tangy as we like. It scored due to its unusual flavours and ease of prep. An ideal starter for a house party.
Log on to: www.burgundybox.in
