11 homegrown simmer sauces that will cut your kitchen time by half

Often, you think of whipping up a grand meal for that upcoming dinner you'll be hosting soon or treating yourself to a self-made spread you made from scratch, but when the day comes, you find yourself reaching for that all-too-familiar stack of takeout menus. Enter a benevolent saviour: simmer sauces.  A simmer sauce, when chosen correctly, lifts up an average, quickly put-together meal and makes it go from so-so to outright delicious. Whether you fancy an elaborate Lucknowi curry, want to toss up a quick pasta meal or simply dress boring broccoli with gourmet frills, this list will ensure you spend the least amount of time in the kitchen.

Wonder Foods and Farms

If you're looking for a pesto that stays fresh for hours after you’ve left it waiting on your kitchen counter, your search ends here. Wonder Foods and Farms specialises in simmer sauces, so you can pick from a new menu every season. During the colder months, the garden pesto reigns supreme. It works well with spaghetti or penne, but also as a salad dressing to toss warm salads. Besides, they always have classics such as cafreal, pomodoro and Malvani sauce for other nights.

Moi Soi

Want to make a restaurant-like Asian meal in a jiffy? Moi Soi's simmer sauces should be your go-to. Their hot garlic sauce works well with meats like chicken and lamb, but can also be used to braise tofu and pak choy. Add a whole lot of veggies to make a saucy gravy that can be eaten with homemade fried rice. Besides this, Moi Soi also has other Asian sauces like sapo, kung pao and a fiery chilli oil that mean business and can instantly lift a plain bowl of noodles. For fans of Indian fare, bring home their package-filled pantry to take food trips from Delhi-style butter chicken to Kolkata's favourite Kosha Mangsho. 

Beauty Eats

For any Thai food cravings, head here. If you want to toss a perfect pad thai, pick this rich, ready-to-cook sauce. It serves as an aromatic base that can change the face of flat noodles, once you toss in the spring onions, peanuts, peppers, tofu or meats. It can also be used to make gluten-free noodles by substituting carbs for shaved zucchini.

Pasta Dalcuore

This label does ready-to-cook sauces that promise a full Italian experience without doing much. Their pomodoro Aglio olio is a combination of roasted garlic, cherry tomatoes and herbs like basil and parsley infused with olive oil, and can be added to a plate of store-bought spaghetti or even their own variety of handmade pastas such as the flower-shaped quattro formaggi raviolis.

Saucery

Saucery’s USP is simmer sauces that can be used to make meals from scratch or to toss warm stir fry. Their harissa is made on a base of bedgi chillies, Kashmiri chillies, jalapenos and bell peppers, and carries beautifully from breakfast to dinner. You can top it on your morning shakshuka, toss a salad with it for lunch or a tagine with couscous for dinner; it won’t disappoint. 

Arugula & Co

Arugula & Co specialises in salad dressings that also double up as sauces to toss a stir fry. Their chilli and jaggery dressing hits the spot with its balanced sweet and spicy flavour profile. Add this to make a Buddha bowl with steamed veggies such as carrots, sprouts, pak choy, mushrooms, spinach and other Asian greens. You can also use it to warm-toss greens such as kale and mustard. The versatile sauce works well to marinate meats and tofu as well before grilling. 

Mamacita

Their baby spinach pesto is apt for pastas and huge bowls of salad you’ll want to whip for a weekend brunch. It is light and generously green in colour, and considering it uses baby spinach leaves, it is surprisingly herbaceous as opposed to being bitter. The sauce can be used to cook fusilli, farfalle or any pasta that will hold it well. Besides this, Mamacita also makes nut-free pesto and original Genovese basil pesto. 

Farm two one

Made using a traditional Greek recipe, this sauce is tangy and ideal for those who like a kick of garlic in their meats and veggies. It works well to cook potatoes or to slather on meat roasts right before you pop them in the oven. The sauce has refreshing Mediterranean notes and the best news is that it can be used as a dipping sauce ( for fries!) or even as a salad dressing. 

Wingreens Farms

One sauce, two benefits. The pizza and pasta sauce by Wingreens Farms can be used as a base to make a pizza margherita and also toss a basic red sauce pasta with penne on a very busy weeknight. The sauce works well to flavour grilled sandwiches with roasted meats and vegetable wraps as well. 

Sprig Gourmet

Craving for elaborate Indian fare but want to make it minus all the fuss? The Riwayat range of sauces by Sprig Gourmet saves the day. The Indian sauce jars come in flavours like rogan josh, butter chicken and korma, but their nihari sauce ranks highest with its earthy flavours and spot-on balance of spices. All you have to do is simmer your meats and veggies in it. 

Struggle Butt

A mixture of coconut cream, coriander roots, onions, garlic and green chillies, this Bangkok curry base has the sweet aroma of kaffir lime, lemongrass and galangal. There is also a balanced supply of umami in their shiitake mushroom powder. Cook it in a pan and dilute it in coconut milk or water. The sauce can be used as a marinade for your meats, to create a base for an Asian-style curry or to top up a warm salad.

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