Vicar's Kitchen: The Spicery

A while back I wrote about my new years resolution to cook more curry which, thanks for asking, has been going swimmingly. Curry is now a regular feature in our house and I swear my Korma is (channelling Tina Turner...) Simply the Best! My interest in spice cookery was really sparked though by a really great little company here in the UK that I thought I'd bring to your attention if you too are new to the world of spice.

The Spicery is a bit of a revelation really(and I'm not getting paid to say this!!). Each month, if you take up a subscription, you get a box with spices and recipe cards for a three course meal for four. We had a subscription for Friday Night Takeaway which was a different classic Indian takeaway dish for you to make at home.

The name of each dish is pretty much where the comparison to takeaway ends, however, because the dishes you produce with these gorgeous little sachets of freshly ground spices bears so little resemblance to what can often be a bland and same-y experience of ordering a take out. Instead they are absolutely bursting with flavour and knock the socks of every ready made sauce going.

The Spicery also have a World Foods option which is just great for expanding your food horizons. This was how I discovered Indian flatbreads coated with egg, fried and stuffed with lovely chicken We recently ordered a jumbo lucky dip box and are now looking forward to a night of Jamaican food and working our way through the most amazing ginger cake I have ever eaten.

But one of the great things about The Spicery is that it is an easy way to become confident with spice cooking, with ready measured sachets and easy to follow instructions, which opens up a whole load of new culinary possibilities. Learning to cook the Indian favourites opened up a whole new way of cooking for me and I am now happily whipping up South Indian curries mid week from my own little spice store.

So if you fancy trying something new then I'd say they are worth a go. It makes a great date night and a cheaper alternative to eating out. Love it!