Can Tikka Masala Simmer Sauces Taste As Good As Takeout?

By

Diksha Basu,

a writer at the Strategist

and also the author of the novels 'The Windfall' and 'Destination Wedding.'

Walking through Whole Foods uninspired and sick of cooking one day, I found Gymkhana simmer sauces on sale. One of the best meals of my life was at the two-Michelin-starred Gymkhana in London, so I had to give it a try. I picked up the tikka masala sauce because I don’t make it at home — while I am from India, tikka masala is technically a British dish and something I order from restaurants when I have a craving for a certain type of takeout Indian food. That jar made me think of simmer sauces in a whole new way, and I wondered about the other ones out there, especially because I sometimes appreciate having shortcuts for getting dinner on the table. So I set out to compare the ones I see most frequently in supermarkets and that would be the most widely available: Gymkhana, Kalustyan’s, Target’s house brand Good & Gather, Maya Kaimal, and Trader Joe’s.