Indian Takeaway — Mint Sauce

Irish_Tom

Irish_Tom

Irish_Tom

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18 Oct 2002
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Hi all,

Does anyone know where I can get the sweet yellow mint sauce that you get from Indian takeaways?

I've had a thorough search of Tesco and Asda but to no avail.

Could I get it from an Asian supermarket? If so what would I be looking for?

Cheers for any help.
 
I always just think its curry powder, mint and yoghurt.

Google says it maybe mint and tamarind sauce. But I just can't see cheap takeaways using tamarind.
 
In the meantime, it might be worth giving this a whirl. Seems to be a fairly solid recipe that contains all the right ingredients.

I can't help but feel that the tamarind will make or break the taste - perhaps the cheaper version is more widespread, as AcidHell commented upon earlier.
 
the trick with making a decent mint related sauce/side is not to buy cheap mint sauce.

cheap mint sauce is easily distinguishable from a decent mint sauce, so much so, that i could tell if someone had used a cheap mint sauce in any raita recipe.

you can skimp on other ingredients but make sure the mint sauce you buy is of a high quality. it tastes acidic/tangy if its cheap.
 
I've been trying to replicate something similar for a while, I'll have to give tamarind a whirl as it's something I've been meaning to add to my pantry :)

There's definitely a vinegar taste in the takeaway stuff, but that's probably from the mint sauce. I might have a go with:

Yoghurt
Mint
Coriander
Cider vinegar
Tamarind water
Turmeric
Sugar
 
Panzerbjorn said:
I agree, I think they use more/stronger vinegar in the cheap stuff.
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its horrible, i told my staff to stop using the mint sauce in the raita when our suppliers switched to a cheaper brand.

i did complain with the suppliers that i didnt want their "new" mint sauce, but they said thats all they had.

it's only used in spiced onions now and mint/coriander dip, where the taste isn't so noticeable.

raita tastes just as good without mint sauce in it, just upped the coriander, garam masala and chilli to make it more flavourful.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
its horrible, i told my staff to stop using the mint sauce in the raita when our suppliers switched to a cheaper brand.

i did complain with the suppliers that i didnt want their "new" mint sauce, but they said thats all they had.

it's only used in spiced onions now and mint/coriander dip, where the taste isn't so noticeable.

raita tastes just as good without mint sauce in it, just upped the coriander, garam masala and chilli to make it more flavourful.
Click to expand...

Do you work in the indian restaraunt business? if so do you have any curry tips? :p specifically how they make their Korma/Passanda type dishes.
 
Maximum Triceratops said:
Do you work in the indian restaraunt business? if so do you have any curry tips? :p specifically how they make their Korma/Passanda type dishes.
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my family/friends are, but i know it all inside and out, i managed a place for several years.

korma is mingin and easy, it depends on the korma theirs literally 100 different types, the basics though are, curry sauce (water, onions and spices blended into a brown soupy paste on heat), cream, chicken, almond powder.

then you can add stuff like coconut cream, pineapple, mango, etc.

it's really unhealthy due to the amount of cream used, and its extremely bland, i tried it once and felt sick. the only reason why almond powder is used is to thicken it up, otherwise it would be extremely runny.

it's not a proper curry, a proper curry has tharka in it for a start, and zero cream. its a made up dish and really doesn't have a proper recipe. it's 50% cream.

my gran made keema peas today, a proper authentic indian curry, it was amazing.

i'll take some pic's tomorrow and put it in the picture thread, if there's any left over.
 
Last edited:
Bit of an update.

I finally got around to trying to make this using the following:

  • Plain Yoghurt
  • Coleman's Mint Sauce
  • Tamarind
  • Turmeric
  • Coriander Leaf
  • Caster Sugar

The results were mixed — it's not as yellow as the stuff in the takeaway (although they probably use food colouring) it's also not as smooth despite blending.

It terms of flavour, I think it's pretty accurate but unfortunately the texture isn't quite right. It's a bit gritty (I think from the Tamarind) and it leaves a sort of 'chalky' aftertaste.

Despite buying the Coleman's mint sauce, which had the highest % of actual mint, it still tastes quite vinegary until you add the caster sugar.

If I could get it smoother and get rid of the chalky aftertaste it would be perfect...
 
try this

chop cucumber, tomato and onion into small pieces (more cucumber altogether than tomato and more tomato than onion)
throw into plain yogurt
add garam masala, blended fresh green chilli (or red chilli powder), salt, pepper, turmeric, a tiny bit of mint sauce, and fresh finely chopped coriander
mix and leave in fridge for at least 2 hours
then mix again before serving

leaving it for at least 2 hours is vital imo, completely different taste to it, especially the salad which is in it.
 
Psycho Sonny said:
try this

chop cucumber, tomato and onion into small pieces (more cucumber altogether than tomato and more tomato than onion)
throw into plain yogurt
add garam masala, blended fresh green chilli (or red chilli powder), salt, pepper, turmeric, a tiny bit of mint sauce, and fresh finely chopped coriander
mix and leave in fridge for at least 2 hours
then mix again before serving

leaving it for at least 2 hours is vital imo, completely different taste to it, especially the salad which is in it.
Click to expand...

Thanks, will give this a go. :)

Glaucus said:
Just use mint, use icing sugar if you need the sweetness
What tamarind did you use? Try paste or making tamarind water.
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Yeah it was tamarind paste — I'll give it a go with plain mint rather than mint sauce next time.
 
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