Review - Kala's Kuisine Salsas and Chutney
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Kala's Kuisine is an Austin, Texas-based company that has been around for a while - 1994, according to their website. They strive to serve up Nepalese-fusion vegetarian food in the form of gourmet chutneys, salsas and sauces. I'm certainly not a vegetarian, but I'll try most anything, and I don't think I've ever had food that was billed either specifically or partially as "Nepalese". Since the country of Nepal is situated between China and India, a melding of their cuisines could be very interesting with whatever else the company may dish up. Kala's Kuisine was kind enough to send me some samples of their Mirchi-Masala Salsa, Sweet & Spicy Chutney, Extra Hot & Spicy Curry-Chipotle Salsa, and their Curry-Tabasco Sauce - the last of which I was told was still in the process of having it's recipe finalized, so I did not review it.
Mirchi-Masala Salsa
Ingredients: Tomatillo, jalapeno, serrano, bell peppers, onion, garlic, habanero, mint, vinegar, water, olive oil, salt, herbs and spices.
Taste: This resembles other green, semi-thin tomatillo-based salsas both in terms of appearance and taste. This has a decent tomatillo and peppery flavor, with trace overtones of cilantro and garlic. I think this could have easily used more zestiness in the form of a bolder chile pepper taste or even more cilantro.
Shockingly, despite the fact that Mirchi-Masala Salsa contains three medium-to-hot chile peppers (including habaneros!), there was nary any heat in this. Only the weakest would find the small smoldering from this salsa too offensive.
This is servicable and may have some applications (just about all I can conjur up are Mexican-style foods), but overall this is a bit too bland for my palette. This would rate 2 out of 4 stars.
Sweet & Spicy Chutney
Ingredients: Mangoes, brown sugar, vinegar, onions, red bell peppers, water, fruit pectin, olive oil, sea salt, herbs and spices.
Taste: This was my favorite out of the three Kala's Kuisine products. Unlike the name, this spread is only sweet - very little spiciness is to be found. This would be suitable as a glaze for chicken, pork, as a additive in rice or a noodle dish. Its easy-going and fruity nature would serve well as a topper on a variety of chips and crackers for a semi-sweet dessert or snack.
I would give this 3 out of 4 stars.
Extra Hot & Spicy Curry-Chipotle Salsa
Ingredients: Crush crushed tomatoes, tomato juice (water, tomato concentrate, salt, ascorbic acid), fresh jalapenos, fresh habaneros, fresh serranos, carrots, onions, bell peppers, white vinegar, lime/lemon juice, crushed red pepper, chipotle peppers, cilantro, olive oil, sea salt, herbs and curry spices.
Taste: I swear, if there was no label, most Westerners would not guess that is in any way, shape, or form an "Indian" or "curry"-style salsa. You could slap a label that read "Cowboy Rex's Smokin' Amarillo Chipotle Salsa" and they would be none the wiser. It's a good salsa, so if you're not crazy about curry in your foods, there's not a whole lot to worry about. Just enjoy it with some fresh tortilla chips and you'll be fine.
It's a medium thick and quasi-pasty salsa that has a strong performance by the chipotle peppers' trademark smoky flavor. There is a tinge of heat to this, and the burn would rate around a 2 on a heat scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the hottest.
I think overall the taste and experience would get 2.5 out of 4 stars.
Clockwise from top left: Mirchi-Masala Salsa, Extra Hot & Spicy Curry-Chipotle Salsa, and Sweet & Spicy Chutney
In Conclusion
I think that Kala's Kuisine products I've reviewed here might be like what Taco Bell is to authentic Mexican food - it may taste good, but is it really representative of exotic food found in the geographic area? Again, I can't claim to be an expert of Nepalese food at all, so maybe it's supposed to be as, well, Western-tasting as it is? Or perhaps Kala's Kuisine expects it's customers to simply add their salsas and other products to a larger pool of ingredients that would be closer to the distinctive flavors of either Indian food or Chinese food. I suspect the later. Let's not forget the "fusion" classification, either; under that umbrella just about any taste in foods, herbs and spices can be found.
Kala's Kuisine products can be found at numerous health food grocery outlets around the country. To find out where, just click here.
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