When it comes to cooking sauces in jars, I am like a moth to the flame. Time and again I dive in, maybe this is the one, one of them has to be outstanding right? So far, I’ve come up blank. Each and every time I find this style of cooking sauce insipid and a poor rendition of the real deal.
This Indian curry sauce from Patak’s is par for the course. It’s not bad or unpleasant by any means, but it’s not even close (in my mind) to what you’d taste at a restaurant. A rogan josh is usually characterized by lots of warm, bold spices like cardamom and clove. The flavor here is more generic-Indian spices with an overt tomato base that dominates everything.
I suppose this format of sauce needs to have some level of preservative to be shelf stable – for my money – I’d look to the freezer aisle for a quick curry option. The flavors of several frozen Indian dishes are much better.
For reference I cooked a little Sitka salmon with my Patak’s sauce. I finished it by air frying the salmon skin as a fun crispy topping. On the side I have some pan fried spiced chickpeas and a whole wheat naan from Deep foods.
Patak’s Rogan Josh Curry Simmer Sauce nutrition
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Overall
Is Pataks Rogan Josh Curry Simmer Sauce any good?
Honestly, I would personally pass on this one. It’s not unpalatable per se, but I’m hard pressed to say it reminds me of a typical restaurant’s Rogan Josh. This is a fairly timid sauce in terms of seasoning and overall flavor.
Hi, I’m Stuart, nice to meet you! I’m the founder, writer and wrangler at Gastronomic SLC – Utah’s biggest and oldest online food magazine; I’m also a former restaurant critic of more than five years, working for the Salt Lake Tribune. I’ve worked extensively with multiple local publications from Visit Salt Lake to Salt Lake Magazine, not least helped to consult on national TV shows.
I’m a multiple-award winning journalist and have covered the Utah dining scene for the better part of fifteen years. I’m largely fueled by a critical obsession with rice, alliteration and the use of big words I don’t understand. I started Shop Smart to catalogue my adventures in the grocery store and kitchen. Follow along on Instagram too!