Ayuvā, a unique food brand created by the owners of famous Essex restaurant Tandoor at the Chambers, is introducing frozen tarka cooking blocks designed to make flavourful Indian cooking at home easier.
The blocks provide the prepared curry base, taking care of one of the most time-consuming stages of Indian cooking while leaving customers free to add their own chicken, lamb, fish, paneer, pulses or vegetables.
Drawing on the bases made from scratch daily at Tandoor at the Chambers in Buckhurst Hill, Ayuvā brings the restaurant’s cooking expertise into home kitchens. The concept offers a convenient starting point for recreating its signature flavours, combining the appeal of an Indian takeaway with the flexibility of a home-cooked meal.
Developing a well-balanced curry base requires time, careful cooking and an understanding of how to build flavour. Ayuvā does that groundwork in advance, helping customers skip the preparation of the base and focus on finishing their dish.
The blocks contain no added meat, fish or paneer. Customers choose and add those ingredients themselves, giving them control over the finished meal and allowing the same base to be used in different ways.
Customers just need to add water and/or cream or butter to achieve the desired sauce, alongside their selected ingredients. Customers can also elevate the base by adding other ingredients like coconut milk for a south Indian flavour or cream for a thicker creamier flavour. The website will have variations but if the customer wants a traditional homemade curry water is all they need.
Ayuvā offers a restaurant-created product positioned between cooking sauces and complete frozen meals. Its appeal combines convenience, flavour and flexibility: a prepared foundation for customers who want to cook tasty, healthy meals but have less time to start from scratch.
"The base is where so much of a curry’s flavour begins," said Manisha Bagga, creator of Ayuvā and co-owner of Tandoor at the Chambers. “At the restaurant, we make ours from scratch every day, giving it the time and attention it needs. We wanted to make that part of cooking easier for people at home – people don’t always want to order or go out to enjoy a tasty curry so we’ve made it easy to create at home.
“With Ayuvā, we’ve done the groundwork but you still make the meal your own. You choose the chicken, paneer, fish or vegetables you want to use and finish the dish to suit you. It’s about having the pleasure of cooking something delicious without having to start every element from scratch.
“We’re proud of what we’ve built at Tandoor at the Chambers and it’s exciting to share that experience beyond the restaurant. Our ambition is to make Ayuvā something people keep in their freezer and turn to when they want a good curry at home.”
RRP of £10.99 for a pack of six blocks