If you’re a beginner to intermediate level cook, you’ve probably found out by now that there are certain regional dishes that are best left up to the experts. Sure, there are a handful of international standards that are easy to replicate, or to add your personal touch to and call your own – a great meat sauce, perfectly seasoned taco meat, grilled lamb, to name a few. There are other sauces, marinades, cooking techniques, and complete dishes that will remain as foreign to most as the land from which they hail. Many of these said dishes come from the East, and contain specific spices, oils, and cooking methods that aren’t easily procured here in the US, or are to intimidating to even try in one’s own kitchen. Try as we might to replicate the aroma, consistency or taste of Asian and Indian dishes, they tend to turn out ‘good’, but a little ‘off’ in one way or another.
It’s for these dishes that we turn to prepared sauces or spice blends to help us capture the true essence of international cuisine. We’ve recently discovered Patak’s Original sauces and have had great success with every type that we’ve tried! Not only are they delicious and sooo easy to make, they also don’t contain artificial colors or flavors, and little to none of the unpronounceable chemicals that often accompany many conventional jarred or canned sauces. While they are a departure from our normal mantra of ‘only eat real, whole foods’, they are a close second choice. 
The preparation and cooking is so simple.
1. Choose a sauce that you think you’ll like. Take a look at the ingredients, and pick up a few different types, if you are undecided.
2. Dump the whole jar of sauce over some boneless chicken breasts or thigh cutlets ( cut them into small chunks) and store in the fridge overnight in a resealable container. 
3. About 30 minutes before you’re ready to eat, put the sauce and the chicken into a pot with a lid. Let it heat up on high for about 5 minutes, then lower to simmer for an additional 20-25 minutes.
4. For a complete meal, serve with some vegetables. Pictured here is some kale that we chopped, tossed in olive oil and sauteed in a pan with some diced red peppers, as well as some parsnips that we boiled while the chicken was cooking, and seasoned with pepper.
These delicious sauces can help you to savor the flavors of Indian cooking without venturing too far from our dietary recommendations, and without spending $$$ on a meal prepared at a restaurant. Try one this week!
