The brain child of two bankers and a marketer, Burgundy Box has
long been serving ready-made and DIY (Do it Yourself) gourmet meals, appetisers and
desserts. The DIY (Do it Yourself) variety requires a bit more time and
effort but judging from my experience, it's worth it. So without much
ado, there are three steps to enjoying a DIY Burgundy Box (Do it
Yourself):
1. Order it
1. Order it
My motive for doing the review was to give my mother a much-needed break and my
family a nice Sunday treat. Since we are a family of four, I chose two main
courses for lunch - Vegetable Thai Red Curry with Steamed Rice and Aloo
Bhukhara Kofte with 4 Laccha Parathas. The DIY boxes are not cheap (ranging
from Rs 300 to Rs 500) but when you see the quality and quantity, you'll know
why. There is a good selection of Indian and international appetisers, side
dishes, mains and desserts to choose from.
2. Cook it
2. Cook it
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| Ingredients for Thai Curry |
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| Ingredients for Aloo Bukhara Kofte |
I asked for the boxes to be delivered at 1, completely overlooking the fact
that we'd need time to prepare the dishes! And on top of that, there was a
delay due to the weather and the fact that my residence is far away from
Goregaon. The boxes arrived at 1:45 and I was feeling really guilty about
making my family wait. But all our faces broke out in smiles when we opened the
boxes and saw the neatly packed ingredients, all measured, chopped and numbered
as per the steps in the recipe card. The Burgundy Box team had done everything
possible to simplify the cooking process.
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| Preparing the Vegetable Red Thai Curry |
For the Vegetable Thai Curry, they had provided everything from the curry
paste, coconut milk and vegetables to the little items like stock and oil. All
we had to do was roast the items and put them together in a pan in the right
order. The rice was already cooked but I sprinkled some water on it and microwaved
it for a minute as per the instructions. The result was a beautiful large bowl
of fragrant Thai Curry and rice that was as good as freshly cooked.
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| Cooking the Kofta curry |
The Kofta Curry didn't go as smoothly as the first dish, probably because we
switched to a non-stick pan which tends to heat very quickly. The box contained
the gravy, the koftas and packets of spice powder, a carton of ghee and
seasoning consisting of cream and coriander. What we had to do was roast the
gravy in ghee, add the koftas, simmer and then season with cream and coriander.
The only problem was the instructions said "roast the ghee for 30
seconds" and on the non-stick pan, the ghee browned in mere seconds. A
burning smell rent the air and my mom and I went into hysterics. We rushed through
the rest of the steps. The koftas were excellent but the gravy didn't taste as
good as expected. The Burgundy Box team had done a great job with the laccha
parathas - all we had to do was cook them some more on both sides and apply
some ghee.
3. Eat it
3. Eat it
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| Final dish: Vegetable Thai Red Curry with Steamed Rice |
We managed to have both dishes ready (even with all my photography) by 3 PM. It
was late but the food was so scrumptious and filling that all was forgiven. I
rate the Thai Curry and Rice 5/5. Be it the taste, quantity or freshness, this
dish was perfect and as good as any A-grade Thai restaurant. Following the
recipe card served as a great trial in case we wanted to make it again on our
own. I was afraid that the red curry would be too spicy but it was just right.
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| Final dish: Aloo Bukhara Kofte with Laccha Paratha |
It was with some trepidation that we ladled the kofta curry and parathas on to
our plates. But the koftas were dreamily perfect - full of creamy cottage
cheese and rich dry fruit filling. The parathas were crisp and delicious too.
But the gravy was a bit of a let-down. I don't know if it was because of our
over-roasting the ghee or the gravy itself. But the experience proved to me
that if you're an absolute novice, you might end up making errors even with all
the assistance provided.
The quantities were gigantic and we were completely full with the meal. It's tough to get that feeling in a restaurant without paying through your nose. And if you attempted complicated dishes like aloo bukhara from scratch, you'd take really long.
So, there you have it. You have a gourmet meal ready in 30 minutes at half the price of a restaurant item (since the quantity is equal to two portions). Do I recommend it? Certainly. I only have two suggestions for Burgundy Box - change the preparation time from 10-15 to 20-30 minutes because it does take that much time. Secondly, provide boxes made of water-resistant material during the monsoons. Ready to order?
The quantities were gigantic and we were completely full with the meal. It's tough to get that feeling in a restaurant without paying through your nose. And if you attempted complicated dishes like aloo bukhara from scratch, you'd take really long.
So, there you have it. You have a gourmet meal ready in 30 minutes at half the price of a restaurant item (since the quantity is equal to two portions). Do I recommend it? Certainly. I only have two suggestions for Burgundy Box - change the preparation time from 10-15 to 20-30 minutes because it does take that much time. Secondly, provide boxes made of water-resistant material during the monsoons. Ready to order?
