Sharwood’s Curry & Rice Chicken Tikka

I did not have high hopes for this.

The portion size when you lift the lid is tiny. The rice looks like a meagre bowl of rice crispies: small, crunchy and yellow.

But worse than that, you need a degree in mathematics to follow the instructions. “Fill to the fill line”, it says patronisingly, like I’m five years old – which would be fine, except the line is on the outside of the opaque container. You can’t see the water through the plastic, so you end up slowly moving your head up and down the pot like you’re examining some fascinating painting, trying to line up the lines in your mind’s eye. It’s harder than it looks.

I was really ready to hate on this, but actually… the end result tastes surprisingly authentic! Actual chicken pieces, and the rice has the same spongey texture you get from… well, microwave rice, but this is better than I expected.

All in all, too much work, not enough food – I can’t give it more than 2*.