Bolst’s curry paste does in one jar what a spice cupboard does in six. Ground spices already cooked into oil, so the work of building a base has been done for you.

It is a genuine shortcut rather than a compromise.

Fry a spoonful with onion, add your meat or vegetables, then tomato or coconut milk, and you have a curry inside half an hour. Use it in marinades too, where it clings better than a dry powder.

On the shelf at Curry Corner, North Melbourne.