One of our favourite restaurants outside of the neighbourhood, Cassia was applauded for its stellar take on modern Indian cuisine from the moment it opened its doors.
Now fans from all over the country can 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 launched his range of sauces and spice kits online this month.
Sahrawat and the team 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 we love the fact that they 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 without leaving the house. 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. Sid 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 Farro Fresh, directly from www.cassiarestaurant.co.nz