Justin Bateman is public relations manager of Information Resources Red Mill's range of Patak's snacks and dips is aimed at bringing Indian colour and spice to the savoury snacks sector. As a regular Patak's curry paste buyer and perennial snacker in general, the idea of combining these two ingredients appealed enormously. Bearing the familiar Patak's logo, the packaging suggests class, quality and probably a premium price too. Gathia Sev, the chilli and lemon noodles, immediately reminded me of something you'd find in a bombay mix. Quite a heavy, salty snack, it tasted more of cheese than chilli or lemon. Having said that, it was tasty, if a little rich, so definitely one to share. The cylindrical shape didn't really lend itself to being dipped in either the Takali (tomato, mango and ginger dip) or the Raita (yogurt, cucumber and mint dip). The Takali was totally delicious and moreish, while the Raita was a bit runny and tart. Fresh yogurt as an ingredient instead of powdered would probably have helped. Bombay Mathri, or spicy curry crackers, were far more suited to dipping because of their shape and size. The texture was almost identical to Chinese prawn crackers and were just as easy to scoff. The black pepper and cumin Mini Pappadums were deliciously light, with a subtle flavouring. While the bag size might suggest sharing, I could quite easily have wolfed the lot down myself. They went particularly well with the Takali. However, each mini pappadum was so small and fragile that while it was a good shape in theory, it made dipping tricky if you didn't want to get your fingers covered in dip too. The garlic and coriander pastries, or Jeera Para, were tasty if a little greasy ­ no chance of troughing this pack in one sitting. Like the Gathia Sev, they weren't ideally shaped for dipping but put them on the table in front of the boys and they'd be gone before you could say "Don't forget to save room for the meal". If Goan Kasoori really is a local delicacy of Goa, I'll definitely be going there soon. These vegetable curry lattices had a light, waffley texture, a subtle, spicy flavour and an addictive quality that made them hard to put down. The slightly offputting green colour was soon forgotten and they were equally tasty with both dips. Overall, a fine selection, with the highlights being the Mini Pappadums and the Takali. {{MARKETING - P&P }}