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Ready to eat Indian food


Episure

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Frozen Indian foods catch on in US

General Mills, a long time player in the international market, began offering frozen Indian flatbreads with the familiar Pillsbury Doughboy on the wrappers four years ago. Its whole-wheat roti, puffy naan, and flaky parathas are available plain or stuffed with paneer, cauliflower, or other fillings. They cook in just a couple of minutes on a hot frying pan or griddle and, at only $1 to $3 for a package of four to six, they're an easy way to round out a meal or provide appetizers for a hungry crowd.
In Indian grocery stores throughout the Greater Boston area, heat-and-eat treats like samosas and spicy vegetable curries crowd the freezer cases along with pre-fried chunks of paneer, a soft Indian cheese used in many vegetarian dishes, and ice creams in flavors that are popular among Indians such as mango and pistachio. Most conventional grocery stores have a few jars of pre-mixed spice paste or simmer sauces from UK-based Pataks in their ethnic-food aisles, and Trader Joe's carries a wide variety of its own vacuum-sealed curries and condiments.

So, have you all tried any of these?

I fry by the heat of my pans. ~ Suresh Hinduja

http://www.gourmetindia.com

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Yeah, absolutely! Before I started taking a serious interest in cooking, I bought a lot of those things Trader Joe's would carry -- Tasty Bites I think. Vacuum packed things. They were kind of pricey, but very tasty. I used them mostly for camping trips, for which they were absolutely perfect -- I mean, even if it came out of a space age vacuum plastic bag, it sure was far more impressive to dish out some veggie dishes like amazingly flavorful Dahl or Bombay Potatoes, than some old grilled sausages -- even amongst people who really, really like meat.

This stuff wasn't frozen though -- just some special packaging with some kinda explanation about how it was scientific or developed by NASA or something along those lines. Haven't had that stuff in years, though.

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This is hardly something new, no idea why they just

caught the eye of the writer.

Brands like Deep have had frozen rotis, parathas etc.

for years now, and before that many brands had

frozen dishes of all kinds (chhole, kormas, whatever).

I've tried many of the frozen parathas / rotis,

and while nothing beats a freshly made roti,

the frozen ones are not bad.

Milagai

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Apparently the flexible four layer retort packaging is quite stable and has a shelf life of 12 months at ambient temperature. I find them quite useful if you have unannounced guests and works out more economical than ordering a takeaway. I just put the pouches in boiling water and serve.

I wont mention any brand names but here are some that I have tried:

Kerala style Seer fish Moilee, Mackerel, Sardines, Mussels and Prawns.

Goan Pomfret Curry.

Punjabi style Chana Masala, Yellow Dal, Palak Paneer and Dal Makhani.

I dont think one can make out the difference between these and freshly made versions.

There were some Biryanis which I didnt like at all.

Edited by Episure (log)

I fry by the heat of my pans. ~ Suresh Hinduja

http://www.gourmetindia.com

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  • 1 month later...

I've tried a couple of things from Amy's:

http://www.amys.com/products/category_view...rod_category=18

Found them at Publix in Florida.

The Samosa wraps were quite decent.

I couldn't bring myself to finish the Palak Paneer.

Not listed on their website for some reason, but they also have Tikka Masala, which was good.

They're not cheap, is my only complaint. They were, if I recall, $3, now they're almost $5 a piece. Decent, but not really worth it.

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  • 2 weeks later...
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