What do you do when you have friends or family over for a party? Of course, you will be serving food; but how do you keep the food warm before it’s served? Today I have a great solutions for you! Global Gourmet’s Electric Indian Curry Buffet Server and Naan Warmer is what we’ve been using.
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We were recently asked to review this Indian Curry Buffet Server and it’s so much more than just that. I tend to be a practical person, but I do also like things to look lovely. I also enjoy trying out new kitchen gadgets of various descriptions, and I thought this would be something a little different and fun for the whole family.
One day a big box arrived, with another large box inside…which was what we’d been waiting for. It arrived on Thursday afternoon and we put it to use on Saturday night. Saturday nights are when Phil and I typically enjoy a curry and watch a movie together. I work as a virtual assistant other nights so I always look forward to spending time with my husband on Saturdays and really relaxing.
Phil prepares our meal on this night after the kids are tucked into bed, so he had the pleasure of unpacking and the pieces and washing them up before their first use while I did a few last posts on social media. When it was time, he carried in the warmer and turned it on for a few minutes. (Sometimes when using an electrical appliance for the first time you can get a burning smell, so he’d already taken care of this earlier so we didn’t have to worry about that).
There are 5 different heat settings on the detachable electric cord. 1 is for keeping already heated food warm, 3 is for slowly reheating food, and 5 is for grilling and warming breads directly on the heating plate. Now although the heating plate/base does have handles, I wouldn’t recommend carrying it while hot or with anything on it.
The whole set is much lighter in weight than I was expecting! It isn’t heavy at all which will make it easier to transport to parties. There are shallow indents on the top where the min pots sit. I say mini pots, but with a capacity of 750ml each, they aren’t so mini at all – that’s 3.5 litres in total.
The pots are a lightweight non-stick aluminum with cool-touch handles to make moving them easy. You can use the pots directly as bowls for a little fun, but I would recommend putting them on a plate or cork coaster as the pots do get very hot. The pots and toughened glass lids are dishwasher safe to make clean-up easier. The hotplate itself can’t be washed, but it can be wiped clean with a damp towel once it’s cool.
We’d purchased a special curry dinner from the supermarket earlier in the day as a special treat. Once everything was ready, Phil brought out the pots and served us each a little of the pilau rice and curry. Now I had the luxury of eating leisurely, knowing that I didn’t have to rush to finish before my meal was cold.
Phil also whipped up a batch of his delicious homemade naan; each time he makes it, it gets better. The naan was kept nicely warmed on the hot plate so it didn’t get soggy or stodgy. I don’t like my naan soggy with steam or tough; or too crispy if it’s been left in the oven. This worked out very nicely. In this photo it’s sitting to the back right. Once we’d emptied two pots, they were moved to the hotplate.
It was a real treat to use something so nifty for our date night, it helped to make the mood more special.
My daughter has just come up to me to make sure I also let you know that this can be used for many things, not just curry! This week the kids used it for their homemade soup at lunch time. We often have soup; sometimes I make two big double-batches of different types and then we freeze it for later days. Having this buffet server means that when after I heat it up, I can keep it warm while another serving is being prepared so everyone can enjoy a different variety of soup at the same time without any of it getting cold. And using the pots makes the kids feel like it’s a treat.
I’m thinking of other uses as well. Fondue would be fun! Kallista says porridge, which would be a great idea in a B&B. Sauces such as gravy, apple sauce, custard, etc. Keep them all warm and ready for those big family celebrations.
The only downside is that this is a bit on the large size for compact cupboards. I was a little worried about that. However, if you’re only using it for special occasions it isn’t really a problem to store it in the back of a closet or in the attic and bring it down when needed. For more regular use, you may have to be more creative; on top of your kitchen cupboards, or elsewhere. Or have a spring-clean and go through all those other gadgets that you’ve collected over the years and see if you really do need them.
My dilemma was solved for me as fate would have it…our breadmaker stopped heating and we’re not able to fix it as the element is no longer in production and the company has told us they no longer have stock. So as much as I hate to do it, we must get rid of it…which now means we have space for our buffet server 🙂
Because I like to be honest in my reviews; why would you trust me if I wasn’t? I will tell you that one of the screws that holds the hot plate onto the base was missing when we opened our box. We are still able to use it, but for safety, I did contact Global Gourmet and they swiftly sent out a replacement screw. So I can also say that their customer service was quick and efficient.
What would you use your buffet server for?
If you’d like to purchase an Electric Indian Curry Buffet Server for yourself or as a gift for someone else, you can find it on Amazon.co.uk
