Gymkhana Fine Foods: Michelin-Starred Indian Cooking at Home

Gymkhana opened in London's Mayfair in 2013 and became one of the city's most celebrated restaurants. It earned its first Michelin star in 2014 and a second in 2024, for cooking drawn from the regions of India: smoky tandoori dishes, slow-cooked curries, biryanis and chaat.

Diners kept asking how to recreate those dishes at home. Gymkhana Fine Foods is the answer: cooking sauces and marinades made by the team behind the restaurant, and recognised with multiple Great Taste Awards.

The cooking sauces

Each comes in a 300ml jar. Brown your meat, vegetables or paneer, add the sauce, and simmer.

Butter Masala. Tomato, butter and cream, gently spiced. The one for butter chicken, and the best place to start. Try our chicken butter masala or the butter chicken chops.

Tikka Masala. A rich tomato and cream sauce for pieces of grilled or roasted chicken. Best with chicken that has been charred first.

Rogan Josh. A deep red, aromatic curry from Kashmir, traditionally made with lamb. Slow-cook it with lamb shoulder until it falls apart.

Madras. A South Indian style curry with more heat and a tangy edge. Good with beef or lamb.

Goan. Goan curries are known for coconut, tang and warmth, and they suit fish and prawns well. A good choice for summer.

The marinades

Tandoor cooking is at the heart of Gymkhana's menu. The marinades bring that to a barbecue or a hot oven. Each 190g jar marinates about 500g of meat, fish or vegetables.

Classic Tandoori. The red, smoky marinade for tandoori chicken. Use it on chicken thighs or drumsticks, lamb chops or cauliflower.

Green Tikka. A fresh, herby green marinade. Very good on chicken, prawns, fish and paneer.

Roasted Chilli and Garlic. Deep, garlicky and warming. This is the marinade in our lasooni chicken skewers, which are built for the barbecue.

How to get the most from a marinade

• Use thigh, not breast. Chicken thigh stays juicy under high heat.
• Score the meat. A few shallow cuts let the marinade in.
• Give it time. At least 30 minutes, and overnight in the fridge for the most flavour.
• Cook it hot. A very hot barbecue, chargrill pan or oven at 240°C, so the edges char before the inside dries out.

Building an Indian dinner at home

A Gymkhana curry and a marinated grill make a proper spread. Add steamed basmati rice, warm naan, a cucumber and mint raita, sliced red onion with lemon, and a good chutney. Most of it can be ready in 40 minutes.

For a dinner party, serve the tandoori or tikka as a starter straight off the barbecue, then bring out a curry with rice. Both can be prepared the day before.

Why a restaurant sauce is worth it

A good curry sauce is built in stages: whole spices bloomed in fat, onions cooked slowly until deep brown, ground spices toasted, then tomato and stock reduced. It takes hours to do properly. A sauce made by a restaurant kitchen gives you that depth on a weeknight.

Shop the full Gymkhana Fine Foods range and more gourmet meal kits, sauces and marinades.