A Vegetarian ‘Balancing’ Act

TANDOOR CHEF DEBUTS LINE OF INDIAN ENTREES

Balanced Vegetarian is a new line of vegetarian Indian entrees from Tandoor Chef now available in supermarket freezer cases.

The vegetarian Indian meals were created “to provide vegetarian consumers with smarter and healthier at-home dining options,” say officials with Tandoor Chef, a brand manufactured and marketed by Deep Foods, Union, N.J.



Palak Paneer is one of five varieties in the

Tandoor Chef Balanced Vegetarian line.

 Balanced Vegetarian offers complete Indian meals with lower sodium, higher protein and fiber, and no trans fats, says the company. All five of the Balanced Vegetarian Meals are made with olive oil and select dishes are also vegan and gluten-free. Each item sells for $3.99.

The five Balanced Vegetarian meals are: Kofta Curry with Channa Masala & Spinach Basmati Pilaf, Mutter Paneer with Dal Palak & Cumin-Infused Basmati Rice, Palak Paneer with Dal Makhani & Tumeric-Infused Basmati Rice, Paneer Tikka Musala with Rajma Dal & Onion Basmati Rice, and Vegetable Korma with Dal Rajasthani & Cumin-Infused Basmati Rice.
Each dish offers multiple nutrients that are particularly beneficial for those following a meatless diet.
“Vegetarian consumers make up a large percentage of both the Indian and American population, yet truly healthy vegetarian dining options remain limited—especially when it comes to eating at home,” says Mike Ryan, vice president of sales and marketing, Tandoor Chef.

“That’s why we we’ve introduced Balanced Vegeterian, a better-for-you initiative and an industry first,” says Ryan. “We’re proud to share this with the vegetarian community as a way of letting them know that we have their best health and interests at heart.”

TFFG SAYS: Tandoor Chef has indeed struck a balance here, as these Indian entrees are flavorful—encapsulating the spices of Indian that identify a dish as “Indian”—but not overly spicy or pungent, which could easily put off the less “spice aware” American consumer.

Editors Swoon Over Naan Pizza

GETS HIGH MARKS FROM REAL SIMPLE, COOKING LIGHT

Accolades are pouring in for the new Naan pizza line launched by Tandoor Chef. Real Simple magazine included the Roasted Eggplant flavor of Tandoor Chef’s Original Naan Pizza as one of 10 frozen pizzas that it “road tested” in its September issue.

As the subdeck in the article asked, “pizza guy can’t come soon enough?” and answering itself, “then try one of these store-bought shortcuts. Real Simple baked up 79 pies* and found 10 that delivered.” The asterisk is explained on the page, “that all pizzas tested were free of partially hydrogenated oils and trans fats.”

The 10 pizzas each fall under a category with Tandoor Chef listed under “Best Eggplant.”

The editors at Cooking Light magazine are also ga-ga over Tandoor Chef’s Naan, as they named the Margherita flavor as Grand Prize Winner in the Pizza Category in its first Taste Test Awards.

Cooking Light conducted a blind test of 200 products in 32 categories to find the best tasting products on grocery store shelves.  The winners were included in the October issue of Cooking Light which hit the newsstands on Sept. 17.

Tandoor Chef, produced by Deep Foods, Union, N.J., is a maker of all-natural frozen Indian foods. The all-natural, vegetarian Naan pizza is hand-stretched and then fired in a clay Tandoor oven at 1,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

In addition to Roasted Eggplant and Margherita, the other flavors in the four-flavor line are Cilantro Pesto, and Spinach & Paneer Cheese.

TFFG Says: Those headline writers at Real Simple are pretty clever with their word play (pizza guy coming and 10 “that delivered”). I like that.

This Naan pizza is very tasty, as I sampled a few bites at the Fancy Food Show in New York a few months ago while having a nice chat Mike Ryan, vice president of advertising, for Tandoor Chef and Deep Foods. Looks like some of these New York magazine editors might have also been sampling at the Tandoor Chef booth!