One of my favorite foods is curry...OK so I have lots of favorite foods but curry is definitely up there and usually I cannot bear to eat a ready meal version. But I have been so impressed with the new products in the Tesco Finest range that I have been sampling that I decided I would give their Chicken Dhansak a try. I was sent some vouchers from Tesco so that I could review the Finest range so I had nothing to lose by giving it a whirl.
If you are not familiar with Dhansak it contains lentils and it is a dish that I usually go for when I go out for curry. The Tesco Finest version is described as tender chicken in a rich sauce made with urad and masoor lentils, tangy tamarind and fresh coriander with roasted sweet potato. It comes with Pilau rice, contains 720 calories and costs £4.50.
You can cook the dish for approximately 7 minutes in microwave or for 25-30 minutes in the oven. I got home late the other evening so I went with the microwave option...curry in a hurry! Sorry I couldn't resist!
One thing I have noticed about the Finest prepared meals is that you actually get decent portion compared to cheaper ready meals, this was a nice plate-full!
The chicken was excellent, nothing worse than a bit of ropey chicken in a curry and there was certainly none here. The Dhansak sauce was really tasty, not at all greasy and I loved the addition of the sweet potato. My only feedback would be that I am used to a bit more heat in a Dhansak, this was quite mild.
Verdict
Not as good as my local curry house but it wouldn't be fair to compare the two. For a prepared curry Tesco Finest Chicken Dhansak was actually pretty good and I probably would buy it again. It was filling and the ingredients used were obviously good quality.