Good Indian Prepared Brands

[kindofabigdeal]

I'm looking for some good indian, or indian inspired prepared foods for work lunches. Have some suggestions?

[wayne keyser]

If canned goods are OK to mention, Jyoti's.

[Cinnamon]

Ah, finally the thread where I obligatorily have to mention instant korma's gonna get you.

[Sra. Swanky]

LOL!!!!!!!

[Boccone Dolce]

I really enjoyed Tandoori NAAN that I got on a BOGO offer at Publix: http://www.fabulousflatbreads.com/pro...
I was shocked at how good it was when heated - it did not taste like a lump of dough. We tried the Original- and ate both packages in a week!

[LeahBaila]

Yep...It's good stuff, indeed. I enjoy the garlic naan.

www.thelunchbelle.com

[Val]

Is the Tandoori NAAN a frozen item? Thanks.

[LeahBaila]

Yes, it is.

www.thelunchbelle.com

[beachmouse]

Though in my local Publix, they put the naan out on the shelf to thaw with the pitas and other flatbreads.

[Boccone Dolce]

Not in my store Val- it's kept on racks in the deli, near those Hawaiian buns that I always have to fight the urge to squeeze.
I didn't grow up eating Naan (or hawaiian buns!) but I'm hooked.

[Val]

Thanks! Will check both the freezer section and the pita breads in the Deli area!

[pie22]

i am indian and surprisingly the bottled sauces that whole foods stock are quite tasty - i think the brand name is patak's but i can;t recall at the moment.
i've had the jalfrezi, tandoori and makhni and they were all great - next on my list is the saag.
also there is a green foil packet of bread that's very similar to kati rolls that the indian store my parents shop at and they are sooo good too!
you can't really go wrong with any of the samosa brands out there.

[JungMann]

If you are talking about curry pastes, Patak's is indeed a good brand. We used nothing but Patak's for tikka when I was small and the Madras isn't half bad. Vindaloo, however, isn't quite what I want.

[pie22]

def not paste (but good to know) this is a bottled sauce - you cook up some veggies, paneer or chicken etc and pour the sauce on and simmer a few mins and serve - super easy!

[JungMann]

I usually buy Swad ready to eat meals. Their baingan bhartha and dal makhani are particularly good. Sarson ki saag as well, though it's hard to mess that up.

[LeahBaila]

I live on frozen Indian meals. Check out these brands: Ethnic Gourmet, Deep Foods, Tandoori Chef, Sukhi's. Most are available at Whole Foods .

www.thelunchbelle.com

[OnkleWillie]

I have been eating some of Ashoka’s foil pack foods for lunch a couple of times a week for the past few years. I find them much superior to the canned versions of the same meal. My personal favorites are the Punjabi Chole, Dal Makhani, Shahi Rajma, and Pav Bhaji. The MTR brand packets are also good.

A little pre-prepared rice and some mixed pickle and you have a great lunch in about 5 minutes.

[ceekskat]

Trader Joe's has redone their frozen Indian foods & they are much better now. I have their chicken tikka masala in my freezer as we speak, really tasty. In addition, they have a vegetarian masala burger (masala potato cutlet) that is absolutely delicious. At the Indian grocery store, I've never been disappointed with anything made by "Deep" brand, frozen or otherwise. Mind you these are not necessarily the healthiest foods out there :)

[jcmods]

Where do you live? I haven't seen Trader Joe's Chicken Tikka for at least three years (at the Ardmore PA and Scarsdale NY Locations). I had assumed it was gone forever although WHY I do not know. I am about to try the Channa Masala which I somehow managed to overlook. Hopefully that is good although I wish they could cut back on the sodium.

[coney with everything]

I'm in Michigan, we have the new TJ frozen Indian stuff here...and I agree with ceekskat that it is very good.

[ceekskat]

SF Bay area...

[Katherine H]

I used to like Green Guru frozen meals, especially the palak paneer and kofta curry. I got them at Whole Foods in DC, but now that I've moved to New York, I can't find them.

[Densible]

If you have a Trader Joes, go for the boil or microwave in a pouch curries, dals (Dal Makhani is particularly good) and other goodies. Can't remember the brand name but they come in little boxes and are arounfd $2/each. I also like Sherwoods Papadums-can pop individually in the microwave-lovely.

[whs]

If you live around Boston, the Stop & Shop chain has Asian store brand frozen entrees including Butter Chicken for $2.99. My absolute favorite though, is Patel's Baingan Bharta--Roasted Eggplant. This is sold vacuum packed in the ethnic foods section and to my taste is as good as anything you'll get at your neighborhood Indian restaurant.

[Pollo]

Best source I found so far for Indian is Maya Kaimal (http://www.mayakaimal.com/index.html)... 4 choices of sauces but v. good quality....not "over the top" spicy and if you can get them at Costco...it's a deal....

[fauchon]

big 2nd...these are excellent!

[whs]

Of course Stop & Shop discontinued the line of Indian frozen entrees...will have to try Trader Joes.

[Sra. Swanky]

Amy's frozen prepared mutter paneer and palak paneer are pretty good. Until I can make them myself, they do the trick for me!

[boogiebaby]

I'm Indian, so I cook most of my indian food from scratch, but I do keep some Ashoka ready made foods in my pantry at all times. They come in handy on weeknights when I don't have time to cook, or as an addition to something I've already made. We like the Palak Paneer, the Muttar Paneer and the Tarka Dal. The Navratan Korma is a bit too sweet for us. They come in a box and cost about $2 at the indian store (I've seen the same ones for $4something at my local grocery store!).

I use the Patak's pastes as a base for some dishes -- The Garam Masala paste makes a mean chicken curry, and I use the Biriyani Paste as a base for my chicken biryani (everyone always asks me to make it). If you have time to cook the food but just want to speed things up a bit, the Pataks pastes are great.

[C70]

Patak's and Sharwood's (both British) make great cooking sauces. I can't speak for prepared Indian meals- I make 'em myself.

[lgss]

My husband made Indian food last night with Patak's Tika Masala sauce on mine (Vindaloo sauce on his). Good, not too hot for me. Took leftovers for lunch today.