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I had never heard of them but if you like British style Indian takeaway curries these do the job.

M&S got me a four pack box of the spice mixes for Christmas. - Jalfrezi, Bhuna, Moroccan and Sri Lankan. I should get 14 to 16 portions out of the set at a cost of about 95p for the spices and then whatever for the meat and an onion.

I am just doing the Jalfrezi for tea and it tastes so authentic. 1 for today and 3 for the freezer.

If you are not confident at making curries from scratch with raw ingredients and are not keen on the jars or pouches of sauces these are worth a go.

Thanks for the tip! I have to be careful of curry, but Mick loves them and now he's not eating dairy a lot of curry sauces are a no-no!

Kaz, they are gluten free and all the ingredients are natural - no chemistry set involved as is the case with a lot of the jar and pouch sauces - I have never been a fan of those.

The only allergen I have seen is mustard - it is well marked and not in all - and it is so far down the list of ingredients as to be minuscule. If you use vegetable oil (rapeseed) and can eat sprouts, broccoli and cabbage you should be OK.

I just got some lamb for the Moroccan and if it is as good as the Jalfrezi it will be a delight.

Per portion they are only a few pence more expensive than the sauces, and a fraction of the cost of a takeaway. Once a batch is made and frozen they are also quicker.

Sorry, only just seen your reply Frank He can eat mustard, so I will have a look at them.

Thanks Frank, I’ve bookmarked the page.

I’ve got some spices which Tom brought me back from a market in Fez, no idea what they are and neither does he

Jo, the Moroccan one with a portion of couscous was outstanding.

I just looked at the spice list and there is nothing particularly 'strange' in there. Mind you it does have chilli, cardamom, nutmeg, star anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, bay, turmeric, and black and white peppers - quite a mix!

Nice combination which obviously works!

Frank, I looked at stockists and it appears that Dobbie’s at Penkridge have them - in normal times I’d have gone to pick some up tomorrow for our Saturday tea!

Jo, I cook from scratch so have more than 30 herbs and spices in, plus other bits and pieces, but people are not confident so go for jars or pouches - and the same curries..

These are a sort of half-way house. The spices and base are raw but pre-mixed for you, just follow the instructions and you are there, and in not much time.

But once people gain confidence using them they can get in the spices and tweak them to their own taste.... and that for me is the key. They can then move on to karahis, pasandas, dhansaks and makhanis which we do not normally get.

With the exception of a few 'stews' the actual cooking style does not change much between most dishes - think wok / balti.