ITC All-Purpose Gravies Review – We Tried Three Variants!

In 2001, ITC entered the ready-to-eat segment of the food industry with Kitchens of India. From instant noodles to frozen snacks, ITC has recently come up with #Readyin123.

This category of products contains pre-seasoned and cooked gravies where all you need to do is add ingredients of your choice and have the side-dish ready within minutes. And needless to say, all your hours standing in the kitchen- peeling, cutting, chopping, seasoning, stirring are eliminated.

We ordered three variants –  cashew onion, tomato makhani and korma gravy. Team Mishry discussed several features, including taste, texture, convenience, during the ITC Master Chef All-Purpose Gravies review.

All that you need to know about the ITC all-purpose gravies we tried and tested.

What are we looking for? We were looking for some quick and convenient all-purpose gravies that cut down on cooking and prep time. They should also taste good and offer apt texture.

1. Taste

Korma, tomato-makhani and cashew-onion – all these gravies have a distinct flavor. We were looking for those characteristic flavors in each – 

• Tomato makhani – Fresh tomato tang along with buttery undertones
• Cashew onion – Nutty with a fried onion flavor.
• Korma masala – Rich nutty flavor with whole spices.

2. Texture

Unlike homestyle gravies these should be smooth and luscious with no graininess. How did all three gravies perform during our review? 

Is the consistency as per the desired level?

3. Cooking Experience

Were they genuinely quick and easy to make? Do they require too many extra ingredients? Does the prep time reduce?

4. Aroma

A pleasing, inviting aroma is what we were looking for. Are the hero ingredients highlighted when we smell these gravies? Do they make for an inviting dish?

5. Appearance

We eat with our eyes first, so how do these look? Colors, oily residue and much more is covered under appearance. 

6. Others

Price

Keeping a homemade dish and its quantity in mind, do these gravies prove to be value for money? How many people does a single pack serve? 

Ingredients

Colors, additives, preservatives. What all ingredients do these all-purpose gravies have? 

Shelf life and packaging were also supportive parameters.

The Mishry test kitchen was filled with a restaurant-like aroma during the preparation of both these gravies. The ITC all-purpose gravies are quick-cooking and definitely a value-for-money option.

However, do the flavors do justice to the names? Do the ITC all-purpose gravies taste authentic? Is this something we would recommend our readers to try out? Check the table for a detailed analysis of the two variants we tried. 

Price, Packaging & Shelf life

A 200 gm pack is priced at Rs 100/- and makes a serving enough for 1-2 people as a side dish. If serving this to two people, you will definitely need another dish alongside rotis/rice. 

The shelf life of the product is 12 months. 

Ingredients

The main ingredients include  onions (40.8%), water, watermelon seeds, refined palmolein, and spices and condiments amongst other things. We liked that this has no preservatives or added colors.

Appearance

This looks just like a regular korma masala with a yellow-brown color. Pre and post-cooking, the color remained the same. The gravy looks semi-coarse.

How We Made It 

As per the instructions given on the pack – 

• We added 1 measure korma masala to 3/4th measure of water (milk optional).
• Simmer for 2 minutes and your gravy is ready to use.
• At this point you can add vegetables, paneer, chicken or dal of your choice. Adjust salt if needed. We used paneer.
• You can use this masala to make mutter mushroom, bhindi masala and methi murgh. 

Aroma

When we were cooking this masala, the aroma was not inviting at all, like it should have been. It smelled primarily of raw onions, ginger and garlic paste with a sharp pungency.

Taste and texture

When we think of korma, we think of rich flavors of whole spices. Typically, in a korma, the onions are boiled or deep fried and then turned into a paste with a lot of nuts/seeds like almonds, cashews, khus khus and more. These too, are deep fried or soaked and then turned into a paste. The gravy is usually fine and isn’t chunky.

Was this able to replicate these flavors and texture? 

Taste wise, we felt that this is very average. The taste of raw onions, ginger and garlic doesn’t mellow down even after appropriate cooking. This inhibits the flavor of the spices to shine in the dish. 

We used this to make a paneer dish and felt the need to adjust salt. 

Although the consistency and color of the korma masala is fine, the texture is somewhat grainy. It is very close to what a grated onion masala would feel like.

The ITC Master Chef All-Purpose gravy in the Tomato Makhani flavor in a word sweet. As you take the first bite, there is a mild sweetness that tastes pretty decent.

Towards the end, you feel a garam masala kick.

If this product is marketed without the tomato makhani tag, it is a good product. However, since it does have the tomato tag, the absence of the tangy flavor you want from a tomato-based dish makes this an average product.

If you don’t mind the absence of a tangy flavor or you are comfortable with adding that yourself, this ITC all-purpose gravy might be something you would like.

Additionally, individuals that prefer their gravies or side dishes a little on the sweeter side with a balance of some heat coming from masala are sure to enjoy this.

One recommendation from the team- relish this with roti/paratha instead of rice.

The ITC Master Chef All-Purpose gravy in the cashew onion flavor has a finely ground consistency. Though the list of ingredients used gave us high hopes, the final result disappointed a bit.

Strong on the ginger-garlic flavor, this ready-to-use gravy seems to be made using boiled onions. Since the cooking methods have a huge impact on the overall taste of the dish, the way the onions were cooked before adding them to the dish brought the overall taste and experience down. 

The visual appeal of any food item is significant in all Mishry Reviews. Whether it’s a frozen food product or a ready-to-eat pack, the way it looks adds to the overall value. The cashew onion gravy had a dull beige color that we found was not too appealing. 

After our taste test, we strongly felt something was missing or something wrong with this recipe. This gravy has a long way to go before it becomes a frequently used product in our pantry. 

Here are some interesting FAQs on ITC Master Chef all-purpose gravies.

A sweet-tasting gravy that does not deliver on the tangy promise, one that tastes like store-bought ginger-garlic paste and another which misses out on korma essentials. 

Unlike a lot of other ITC Master Chef ready-to-cook pastes we have tried earlier, these failed to impress us. These either lack the correct flavor, texture or freshness.

Have you tried these ready to cook gravies yet?

Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.