Home > Categories > Food > Sauces and Condiments > Cuisine Scene Tomato Kasundi review
A smooth tomato-based Indian-style chutney which is packed full of the flavour of spices such as mustard, ginger, chilli, cumin and poppy seeds, as well as a good hit of garlic. A traditional accompaniment for curries, it is also tasty with cheeses or meats and adds punchy flavour to any casserole or stir-fry mix.
A little mixed with sour cream makes a great dip too.
Product reviews...
Ohhhh, I love almost ANY kind of tomato-based relish... and if it's spicy and flavourful as well, then I know I will be experimenting with it... and so it was with this. A rich, spicy, fruity flavour with a great texture and no mouth-blistering heat... almost as though it was dreamed up especially for me.
My first and most immediate thought was to try it on a basic wrap pizza. Wrap, kasundi spread on it, some grated cheese to act as a binder, then the salami, chopped ham, sliced tomato, some more cheese, more ham and a little more cheese. Popped in the oven for 10 minutes and out it came... the smell imparted by the kasundi was incredible... I felt like one of Pavlov's dogs hearing a bell ring! It was astounding how I suddenly went from "hungry" to "anyone who gets between me and that pizza will get eaten too!" Lucky I am the cook in the household, so no human being were injured in the making of this snack.
The next day, I thought I would try it as a dip, so mixed it with some sour cream and a little cream cheese, added some finely chopped spring onions and scooped it with some corn chips, toast points and carrot sticks while sitting on the back deck in the still-rare sunshine. As I watched the bird playing in the compost pile, all I needed was a cold beer and I would have been in bliss. The spiciness was toned down by the dairy products, but still lent a good solid flavour to the dip and it looked amazing. I didn't even THINK about snapping a photo until it was all gone, and what's the use of a photo of an empty bowl and plate. "This used to be really yummy food. Ummm, sorry." is not my style of instagram tag!
Overall, a wonderful product I hope to get more of, probably at trade shows when I can save a few dollars and use it to buy even more Cuisine Scene goodies. :) Since the dip, I have also used this in a favourite savoury mince recipe of mine, as-is on meat and cheese sandwiches, and even as a tomato-sauce replacement on pies and some BBQ sausages the other day. So I know it's a condiment that will always have a place and a usefulness in my household.
Was offered to try some Cuisine Scene Tomato Kasundi and it took me a while to work out what I was going to do with this. I have never really had this kinda food in my house before so had no idea what to do with it.
After giving the ingredients a read and working out it could be used in a dip, I thought this would prob go good on crackers, so off to my nanas place with the whole family and popped this on the table with all the crackers, dips and cheeses. Everyone had a go at it, there was some that loved it and others not a fan of it.
It really does have a indian taste to it, with mustard, ginger, chilli, cumin and poppy seeds. For me it was a bit to hot, I had a couple of tries with different things, crackers, a dip of a chip here and there. I can really taste the spices, even though it wasnt for me it was a hit at the dinner with family enjoying the flavours and spices. I reckon we could use it for a base of a pizza too, which my family think I should be making for them next with this.
I would buy this again for summer BBQ's for family and friends that love it a little hot and different. For $7 a jar I would hope it would last more than one BBQ but proving tonight there is still 3/4 left in the jar after 4 hours of it being on the table. So for less than $2 a setting this is good value.
{pic^https://fbcdn-sphotos-a-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-prn2/s403x403/1381511_10151716431684353_112353042_n.jpg^pic] I wasn't sure what a Tomato Kasundi was when I first received this to review so I had a wee google to find out what it was and what you would use it in. After finding out it was a spicy indian chutney I was quite excited as I love indian spices and feel this product would have so many uses from curries to stir fry's and also just served with some tasty breads and cheese.
I made some kofta's using this to flavour the meat. I stirred through a good few dollops of the kasundi into the mince before cooking so it added a great depth of flavour and colour to the mince. When cooked they had a mild tomato and spice taste which turned plain boring mince into something a lot more interesting. I probably would of served them with more of the Kasundi on the side to dip but I had made an aioli dip so used this but would definitely use this in future.
I also had some of this with crackers and cheese to try it this way and it was great, although it has the great indian spices in it cumin and chilli as well as some mustard it is not too spicy so you don't burn your mouth when eating it. I could of quite easily eaten quite a bit with the crackers.
I think the flavours work so good together and have so much taste as well as a bit of a kick so this would be awesome used in the place of tomato paste in so many recipes like casseroles and savoury mince dishes. The Kasundi is great and would add so much flavour. I would definitely buy it again but it would be more for using in cooking like what I have done than as a chutney with cheese.
When I was first offered Cuisine Scene's Tomato Kasundi to review I had to ask what a kasundi was as I had never heard of it. I am really pleased that I have had the chance to try it as I have gone through over half a jar in a week. Unfortunately for my waistline most of it has been with cheese. I have had it on scones with cheese and crackers with cheese. I have also used it to dip raw carrot in and enjoyed that too.
The kasundi has a lovely mix of Indian spices but is not too hot and for someone like me that doesn't like Indian food or mustard I surprised myself by really enjoying it. it is quite thick so I had to remind myself not to use too much as the jar was emptying fast.
I also used the kasundi in a pastry pinwheel with potato and cheese. These were very easy to make using puff pastry sheets and using up the cooked potato left over from the night before. This was very popular in our household both hot and in the lunch boxes the following day. I found that once cooked the kasundi had a much milder flavour.
Thank you to Cuisine Scene and KIWIreviews for allowing me to try a product that I never would have tried if I hadn't been given a sample.
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