Muslim Matters.org

Posted by Kanika Aggarwal • March 25th, 2011

I was recently contacted by Saffron Road to review their halal, all natural, gluten-free frozen Indian entrees. At first, I was amused by the idea of frozen Indian food. Growing up, my mom (my primary Indian cooking teacher) highly stressed the importance of fresh ingredients playing a crucial role in the savory flavors that define Indian cuisine. I quickly visited Saffron Road’s website and noticed that the company boasted of authentic taste and exotic flavors. Their confidence in their products made me curious to try them. As a specialist in Indian cooking, I took up the responsibility to review their products without a second thought.

I was sent four Saffron Road entrees – Chicken Tikka Masala, Chicken Biryani, Lamb Saag, and Lamb Vindaloo. I’d like to clarify for the sake of full disclosure that these products were sent to me free of charge for review purposes. I was not paid anything to write this review nor was MM. Rest assured, I will be thorough in my review and if I have any criticism then I will gently mention it below.

About the company
Saffron Road, a pioneer in natural and organic food movement, is a praiseworthy brand for its pasture-raised and 100% vegetarian-fed livestock. They cater to the needs of health conscious consumers. Adnan Durrani, CEO of American Halal (parent company of Saffron Road), said in a recent press release, “We had this intuitive vision over a year ago – that with Saffron Road we could build a Halal brand based on ethical consumerism, which embodied the timeless values of the natural food movement our team had embraced over the last two decades: antibiotic-free, hormone-free, sustainably-farmed, and Certified Humane®. …”

Their website mentions, “To ensure the sanctity of our Halal preparation, Saffron Road’s products are fully certified by IFANCA, which is the largest Halal certification agency in the world. We are also proud that our chicken is Certified Humane® by Humane Farm Animal Care. All of our meat is sourced from small farm operations that treat the animal humanely and never use antibiotics and growth hormones. Even our Basmati rice is selectively hand picked from farmers who share our sustainable “tayeeb” values.”…

…I am sure many of you will agree with me that a common complaint with frozen meat dishes is that the meat is usually chewy, rubbery and seems uncooked even after it has been cooked for the prescribed time. One of the first things I noticed, as I sat down to eat the chicken biryani and chicken tikka masala, was that the meat was extremely juicy and tender. The curry was ample in quantity and held perfect consistency to be eaten with rice. The overall taste was rich and reminded me of homemade food. The raisins and cashews in chicken biryani were a sheer treat….

http://muslimmatters.org/2011/03/25/review-saffron-roads-halal-entrees/