Cassia executive chef and owner, Sid Sahrawat launches new at home range of sauces and spice blends.
New Zealand’s home cooks can now bring the flavours of one of New Zealand’s most celebrated restaurants to their own dinner plates with Cassia at Home, as Auckland chef Sid Sahrawat launches his range of sauces and spice kits this week.
Sahrawat and the team at his award-winning modern Indian restaurant Cassia have bottled their coveted signature sauces so fans of Indian cuisine can create restaurant-quality curries in their own kitchens – and lap up all the praise from their friends and family.
The new Cassia at Home range includes three flavoursome sauces: Korma (a beautifully thick, mild sauce made with almonds and cardamom), Makhani (a medium spiced “butter chicken” sauce made with cashews instead of dairy for the ultimate velvety finish), and Karahi (a spicy, tomato-based sauce).
The sauces are prepared in the same way they are at Sahrawat’s restaurant, and are gluten-free, preservative-free and vegan-friendly. Home chefs need only cook their favourite meat, fish, vegetables or other protein before adding the sauce to the pan and enjoying a taste of Cassia at their own dining table.
The Cassia at Home range also includes two spice kits, the Essentials Spice Kit and the Spice Blend Kit. The Essentials Spice Kit contains an array of Sid’s favourite vibrant whole, ground and blended spices, along with his definitive guide and tips to using them. The Spice Blend Kit contains Sahrawat’s favourite spice blends used in the Cassia kitchen – garam masala (essential spice mix for those who love to eat and cook Indian food), chaat masala (a staple found at street food vendors across India), and tandoori masala (which is ideal for yoghurt or oil-based marinades and rubs).
The final item in the Cassia at Home range is a Cassia candle to complement the delicious cooking that will be going on at home. The beautifully packaged Agni candle (meaning Hindu God of fire) is made with 100% soy wax, has a 40-hour burning time and burns notes of orange, mandarin, ginger, cinnamon leaf and vanilla.
Sahrawat says this year’s lockdown paved the way for Cassia’s new business venture and while he will be providing recipes and tips it is all about experimenting and having fun.
“The Cassia takeaway menu proved so popular when Aucklanders couldn’t eat out, we found it hard to keep up with demand. Launching this range of sauces and spices seemed like the logical next step in the evolution of the restaurant,” he says. “We would obviously much prefer to cook for our customers in the restaurant, but the Cassia at Home range means we can give Kiwis nationwide an opportunity to cook, experiment and enjoy their favourite dishes wherever and whenever they like.”
The Cassia at Home range is available from today (9 November) directly from the restaurant and online from the Cassia website, with the sauces also available at all Farro Fresh stores. The Agni candle, Essential Spice Kit and Spice Blend Kit come in beautifully packaged boxes and are ideal for gifting.
Cassia at Home sauces
$14.99 each for 500ml jar of Korma, Makhani or Karahi sauce. Available from Farro Fresh, Cassia Restaurant and Cassia online (nationwide delivery)
Cassia at Home Essential Spice Kit
$99.95 – 16 x 100g sized jars
WHOLE SPICES: Bay leaves, Cassia bark, Whole cardamom (green), Whole cardamom (black), Whole cloves, Whole cumin, Whole coriander seeds, Whole mustard seeds
GROUND SPICES: Dried fenugreek leaves, Ground coriander, Ground cumin, Ground Kashmiri chilli, Ground turmeric
SPICE BLENDS: Cassia chaat masala, Cassia garam masala, Cassia tandoori spice Available from Cassia Restaurant and Cassia online (nationwide delivery)
Cassia at Home Trio of Spice Blends
$45 for 3 x 200 g jars of Cassia garam masala, Cassia chaat masala and Cassia tandoori masala
Available from Cassia Restaurant and Cassia online (nationwide delivery)
Cassia at Home Agni Candle
$69.95. Available from Cassia Restaurant and Cassia online (nationwide delivery)
About Cassia
Chef and restaurateur Sid Sahrawat has spent 10 years making his indelible mark on the Auckland dining scene. In 2014 Sid and wife Chand opened sophomore restaurant Cassia, a popular and bustling contemporary Indian offering in Fort Lane. The couple had a long-held desire to showcase their heritage through contemporary cuisine. At Cassia Sid marries his creative culinary skills with the traditional dishes he has grown up with in India – classic spice and flavour combinations reworked with contemporary and local New Zealand ingredients.
Sid and Chand own and operate three Auckland restaurants: Sidart (Ponsonby), Cassia (Fort Lane) and Sid at The French Café (Eden Terrace). They have a team of 60 plus talented hospitality professionals.
Cassia at Home is an extension of Cassia with a range of sauces, spices, blends and a bespoke Cassia candle all available to purchase online or from the Cassia restaurant. For more information see www.cassiarestautant.co.nz
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