chicken curry - two gf convenience meals

I wrenched my foot badly a couple of weeks ago and haven't been able to go grocery shopping.  I think we had got down to one lemon and some frozen peas.   I walked to the local garage which has a small Spar convenience store attached (only just made it home!) to test the progress of my foot.  They only had lettuce and tomatoes in the vegetable section, so I just bought eggs (essential for our morning pancakes) and two chicken curry meals.

One was frozen, by Birds Eye, and the other was in the chilled section, by Spar.  Both were gluten free, both contained milk.  I heated both for supper, and we set out to compare them.

The Birds Eye curry was very cheap, only £1.50.  The rice was yellow and firm, with little flavour.  The curry had the chicken peices added after the sauce was cooked.  The flavour was so uninspiring we ate enough to taste it but didn't finish the pack.

The Spar curry cost £3.50.  It was much better. The rice had whole spices visible, and was a better texture.  The curry had that seperated-out oil that I would expect in a curry I made myself.  The flavour was good, the texture and appearance more appetising, and the chicken seemed to have been cooked in the sauce.

I wouldn't normally buy this kind of food, but for a meal in a hurry the Spar curry was acceptable.  The Birds Eye one was really very poor.

Both of these are gluten free.  They both contain milk.  I am very lactose intolerant.  I didn't take any lactase with these and did have a little colic but nothing unmanageable.  I had no gluten reaction.