As we all move forward in this brave new era of increasingly visible South Asian influence in America (an era henceforth referred to as Post-Sepia, or Post-Sepiaism), I would like to point out the kudzu-like ubiquity of Deep Brand foods. In the last 2-3 years in particular this stuff has just exploded. In the early 80s South Asian Americans were relegated to going to the lone Indian store in town when they wanted to get their samosa or “Hot Mix” on. Now this stuff is everywhere. I dare any of you to find a reasonably sized grocery store that doesn’t have multiple lines of Deep branded food. Hot Pockets, shhmott pockets. Why not Babu pockets? Yes, I know I am going to hell for pointing people to processed packaged food that I myself will hardly ever touch. Still, there is something comforting knowing that in the future “Abhi junior’ will have the option of having a Babu pocket as an after school, pre-dinner snack. Deep Brand in particular (among all other brands of packaged Indian food) bares mention as it seems to be aggressively cornering its market in the U.S. It is also a rather interesting success story:
Deep Foods, Inc. is a family-owned and operated manufacturer of authentic all natural Indian cuisine since 1977
In the early ’70s Mrs. Bhagwati Amin’s passion for good authentic cuisine gave birth to a hobby. Mrs. Amin had a passion for sharing the cuisine and culture from her homeland. She served up delicious food to friends and neighbors. Soon, small Indian storeowners sought her abilities. As she worked in a clothing mill on weekdays, she would work nights and weekends to satisfy her desire to make and serve high quality foods for the community. Many advised her to open a restaurant. She knew that the time required to run a restaurant would detract her from the family’s need. For this reason, she opted not to start a restaurant.
In a short time her products became popular. Mrs. Amin’s husband, working as an accountant in AT&T at the time, was always eagerly supporting her endeavors. In 1977, he helped Mrs. Amin Incorporate her hobby into a fledgling business.
As the business grew, she never lost sight of producing authentic, quality products. No short cuts were taken that would compromise the quality of the products. Her concern and personal interest for the well being of all her employees earned a great deal of respect from them…From the humble beginnings of a home kitchen, to the state-of-the-art production facilities and multiple distribution centers, Mrs. Amin has adhered to the original principles of quality and authenticity following a traditional family code of ethics. Today, Deep Foods Group has approximately 1800 employees through its seven locations and over 500,000 square feet of production and distribution space. The company follows her philosophy and believes that there can be no compromise between people, quality, and innovation. Staying within the roots of why Mrs. Amin formed the company, she and her husband Arvind have formed a Non Profit Foundation in India. Out of the success of Deep Foods has grown a foundation that helps the children of India to obtain an education where it would not be possible without their help. Deep Foods, Inc. produces the finest quality foods seeking to provide authentic taste experiences for customers while providing a sound environment and growth opportunities for its employees. [Link]
Maybe the big boys are starting to notice. I learned this past week (perhaps way after most of you) that Costco sells a 30 pack of uncooked whole wheat roti. Just fire up the pan and serve up fresh roti. Can’t be as good as my mom’s but with my long working hours I won’t complain too hard. Have any of you tried it? Is it any good? Pillsbury has been serving up this stuff for a while now.
And now for the fun part. It is time once again to share your Indian packaged food hacks. Take one part packaged food and one part home cooking and tell me about a dish I should be occasionally serving.
Sepia Surgeon General’s Warning: Abhi strongly advises against buying too much packaged food. Never let more than 15% of your weekly grocery bill be attributed to food that comes in a package. Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. Cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and other ailments are rising too quickly in our community.
Does Amardeep know the sons from his Cornell days?
I second your food-warning. The traditional desi diet is simply not appropriate unless you are doing hard physical labour, as most of our ancestors did, of course! Cut back (no need to cut out, but way back) on the roti, rice, and pulses. Go Paleo for most of your meals.
Really? Maybe I’m not looking hard enough, but I haven’t seen these at Berkeley Bowl & Whole Foods, let alone Safeway. I still get mine at Vik’s or Bombay Spice Market. But they are, ahem, Deeply awesome. I have seen weird other brands of frozen desi food, but I’m usually very suspicious. (Though Amy’s Mutter Paneer–kinda good!)
The jalapeno cheddar samosas go really well with a gingery tomato chutney.
Oh, you know what is totally ubiquitous? Tasty Bite and its Trader Joe’s spinoff. ‘You don’t need skillz, you just need scissors!’
Oh, btw, the only real frozen food hack I pull often enough to be noteworthy is to liberally dump frozen peas into most anything that can take it. Adds, flavor, color, and protein
gits gulab jamun mix + malibu instead of rosewater in the syrup (technically, i guess, that no longer makes it a gulab jamun) – my dad really likes these.
i am not a huge fan of packaged desi foods (or even crap desi food from a restaurant), but i do have to say that ashoka parathas are more than decent, especially with some yoghurt and pickle.
Abhi’s post:
This one is an oldie, dating back to the early seventies when there were hardly any Indian groceries around. Ask your parents about it. After the real chewda one had brought back from India on the last trip was all gone, one had to use Kellogg’s Rice Krispies. Just add to KRK all or some of these – a little cumin, chili powder, mustard seed, curry leaves, a little oil (mustard is the best, but any oil will do), garam masala, salt to taste and definitely some peanuts. Swish it around in a hot pan for a minute just to mix things up. You are not trying to cook anything.
A whole bowlful of this snack is probably less than 150 calories, and if you eat it the Indian way, which means taking a spoonful at a time from a central serving bowl, you will never eat a bowlful. Even though real chewda is now easily available, die-hard Indian cooks are still using KRK because it makes an instant Indian chewda snack whereas the real chewda needs some pan or karhai “roasting” to make it crispy. I recommend serving masala chai with this snack.
Abhi: Before you get all hooked up on “Indian’ snacks, take a look at this:
મારà«àª‚ વજન કેમ ઉતરતà«àª‚ નથી ?
દરેક ગà«àªœàª°àª¾àª¤à«€ ની સમસà«àª¯àª¾ !!!!!!
SNACKS SERVING CALORIES FAT Chevdo 3.5 oz (100g) 300 21
Papdi Ganthia 3.5 oz 580 52
Fried Chana Daal 3.5 oz 160 30
Fursi Puri 1 puri 200 7
Khari Biscuit 1 biscuit 428 27
Khakhara 1 khakhara 80 9
Chakari 3.5 oz 592 32
Bhakarwadi 1 bhakarwadi 466 20
REGULAR FOOD SERVING CALORIES FAT (gms) CARB (gms)
Roti 2 serving 100 2 22
Fruit Salad 1/2 cup 60 15
Khaman Dhokra 2 pieces 80 2 15
Tindora, or Fansi, or Parwal 1 cup 50 4 5
Rice 1/2 cup 80 15
Kadhi 1 cup 127 5 15
Raita 1 cup 107 4.5 12
Salad: carrot, cucumber, tomato 1/2 cup 25 0 5
Papad-baked 1 serving 29 2.5 6.9
Total 658 20 111
OCCASIONAL SERVING CALORIES FAT (gms) CARB (gms)
Puri 2 puris 105 22 15
Shreekhand 1/2 cup 178 15 30
Ladoo 1 piece 245 15 30
Potato/Eggplant Shaak 1/2 cup 75 10 15
Fried Bhinda Shaak 1/2 cup 266 21 5
Rice 1 cup 160 0 30
Kadhi 1 cup 127 5 15
Butter or Ghee 1 tsp 45 5 0
Samosa 1 369 17 15
Mango Pickle 1 tbs 22 9 0
Paapad (fried) 1 347 18 15
Total 1939 137 170
FOOD
SERVING
CALORIE Puran Puri 1 250
Magas 1 250
Barfi 1 100
Gajar Halwa 1 570
Gulab Jamun 1 100
Jalebi 1 200
Mysore Paak 1 357
Penda 1 250
If possible try and stay away from all snack food. I am hooked to them myself, and take it from me, it is a hard habit to give up. Wish Good Health to all.
Rasam podi with Ramen noodle — Maggie!
I don’t really like desi food, but I do cook a mean chickpeas – the trick is slow cook with tomato puree out of a can which you can get for about $.33, and add a dollop of oil in addition to standard spices (cumin, etc.) 🙂 not earth shattering news, i know, but it kinda fits in to what you’re talking about and mainly i just wanted to acknowledge that i can cook something indian 🙂
rice + mango thokku pickle, curds at the end..
The ultimate in comfort food for us growing up in Bangalore, India: uppu tuppa. It is simply fresh, hot, smushy white rice mixed with ghee and salt. Mom always served it to us when we were sick and needed easily digestible food.
For me it was white rice + hot milk + sugar when sick (uppu-tuppa during recovery 🙂
For me it was white rice + hot milk + sugar
What did she call this, the diabetes-inducer?!
Costco in the South Bay carries Deep rotis, Verka yogurt, Nanak ghee and rasmalais. Whole Foods goes for Taj or Sukhi’s frozen entrees. Any frozen entree is better than the ubiquitous Tasty Bite stuff. Trader Joe’s frozen choley is also good. May not be healthy as other commenters point out.
I’ve tried the Costco flour tortillas that you can cook at home (same concept as the rotis) and are very good. But nothing beats mom’s homemade rotis!
The BEST indiaan snack is one you can make at home…spicy cereal (almost like a chevdo/hot mix…but healthier, no frying!) I make mine with Cheerios and it is great and hits the spot when I want some spicy snacks.
My brunch on Saturdays – Frankies, Mumbai style. Whip 2 eggs plus assorted veggies into an omelette. When the omelette’s about halfway cooked, throw a tortilla on top. Flip the whole thing over, and cook. When the tortilla seems done, take off the frying pan. Garnish some chopped tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lemon and chaat masala and roll into frankies.
Also Masala Papad. Microwave some lijjat papad, sprinkle the same garnish as above. This is a huge hit at parties, especially as low-cal, low-fat starters.
Gotta go now… beginning to get hungry.
@ Floridian.. I was born in the last 80’s, so nothing really to add to this. but I think the recipe you mentioned was also in Lahiri’s the Namesake. the mother tries to replicate the recipe when she’s homesick ( I think that was in the lat 60’s?)
12 · Jes on July 11, 2010 8:36 PM · Direct link The ultimate in comfort food for us growing up in Bangalore, India: uppu tuppa. It is simply fresh, hot, smushy white rice mixed with ghee and salt. Mom always served it to us when we were sick and needed easily digestible food.
My mom served me Coca-Cola or Sprite whenever I got sick and needed easily digestible food.
Guys, Ready-made Indian foods are lousy. They are made for a western audience, and hence, the flavors are not authentic. In fact, it’s basically everything that I’ve complained about regarding Indian restaurants in Boston: Too sweet, too rich, and of a cheaper quality.
The ready made foods that are made locally and distributed to the local Indian desi shops are better, but they are still quite oily.
Absolutely none of these foods are good for my standards.
Also, are there any tiffin-services in the Boston area that you can recommend for me? They charge about $50/week, and some are pretty good, I hear.
I wonder if the trend towards poorer food taste is inevitable given our lifestyles and changing roles for parents at home. Arguably, ready-made food has improved in taste over the years with better ingredients and food production but it will probably never match fresh home cooked food.
As each generation grows up with weaker food tastes, never knowing the benefits of in-season and unadultrated produce – will they even know what they’re missing? Spices and salt often mask what is lacking in taste and cooking skill and hence, like the line in the movie Matrix, all meat tastes like chicken. How long can you try to preserve your taste buds with organic produce and Michelin-star-dining, given the limtations on your cooking time and wallet?
The trend, if true, is ironic given the surging popularity of cooking shows.
I think it’s more than changing parents’ roles. Seems it’s part of the fast forward culture globalization has imparted. For example, I don’t know many families that make their own paan on a routine basis (usually special occasions/dinners), but I know way too many Indians (ok, men) who chomp on the disgusting, incense-flavored, tinned/foil packed paan parag and gutkha on a regular basis.
Avoid Kashi brand crap whether it’s american or asian or indian influenced dishes. Their advertising may look appealing, but the food tastes awful. Their pizzas are inedible.
I tried those Trader Joe frozen food items for Vindaloo. Meh. Edible, but forgettable.
Why is it that canned Rosagollas taste so bad? In fact, I have a hard time finding decently made fresh rossagollas, let alone the canned ones. What I do with the canned ones is I throw most of the syrup away, add water, reheat, and it ends up making a diluted sugar syrup becuase ther is still too much sugar left. Any suggestions for light tasting rossagollas in a can?
“regarding Indian restaurants in Boston”
Boston Mahesh I’ll be in Boston in August..any good desi restaurants you might suggest?
How long can you try to preserve your taste buds with organic produce and Michelin-star-dining, given the limtations on your cooking time and wallet?”
Home cooking is less about time than about planning aand motivation…many of our parents worked full time and cooked. I think they were just motivated to do so. The younger set may not be.
I’m 90% sure that most Kashi food is really just cardboard.
I don’t really get the appeal of canned Indian food though. With the exception of finding some more exotic ingredients, most stuff is pretty easy to make once you stock up on the necessary spices. Sure it takes a bit of time, but most of that is just chopping and waiting for stuff to boil. It’s not that involved. If you spend a Sunday making a giant pot of sambaar or chicken curry and it will last you the rest of the week.
Or the fact that women have jobs now and can’t spend all day in the kitchen chopping the veggies they bought at the market early that morning. And in the US most people can’t afford cooks to help out in the kitchen either.
I think this is just a rose-tinted look at the past. Your average Indian farmer isn’t going to have “strong” food taste. He’s going to eat the same 4 or 5 things that are grown in his village for his entire life. The sum total of your typical village’s culinary menu would have probably constituted 20 or so dishes–only 4 or 5 of which are practical for making on non-feast days–all utilizing whatever handful of ingredients they happen to be able to grow, raise, or forage in the immediate area. There is a reason canned food took off in the US. A settler who moves out to Oklahoma would have appreciated the chance to eat a peach. Even if that peach was canned, vacuum sealed, and soaking in sugar syrup to the point that it barely tastes peachy anymore how would he know the difference?
Saute with RUM – (Captain Murugan would be ideal)….especially veggies like Okra/Eggplant – before adding all the spices enchilada.
Is it just me or is it hard to cough up 7 or 8 bucks for A SINGLE DOSA at a restaurant? I know it’s a bigger and crisper version of the one you eat at home. Still, 8 bucks???? I am referring to Madras Saravabhavam in Atlanta. Don’t know how dosas are priced in other cities.
Dosas are expensive because it is laborious to make them. Most mandir cafeterias (like the one at Aurora, IL) charge $5/piece. I was at the Balaji Mandir in Aurora last weekend and it was the biggest crowd I have seen. When the dosa took too long to arrive to be ready (you take a number for it) I asked for a refund which was gladly offered. The volunteer cashier asked me to send as many people as I could find for a dosa refund, because the dosa orders were swamping the kitchen, and coming in the way of making fresh batches of other stuff.
Are they really that labor intensive? I figured the hard part is making the pindi. Once you have that you just kind of pour it onto the skillet no? (Disclaimer: My dosas kind of suck.) I see crepe stands and carts all over the place. The principle is the same. They can usually pull off crepes for $3 to $6 (and that’s usurious DC pricing to boot) so I don’t see why a plain dosa should be more difficult.
to 28. Pravin $7-8 seems the going rate in metro areas. I’ve seen similar on Roosevelt Ave in Queens, and in Central Sq, Cambridge MA. It’s more the fixed cost of the establishment– rent labor insurance– than cost of ingredients that makes for the price. Which brings me to
24. Rohit Dosa Factory, on Mass Ave in Central Sq was pretty good. No frills, lunch counter type joint at the back of Shalimar Gourmet Foods near intersection of Prospect St and Mass Ave. My desi husband and I didn’t stray from the basics– samosas, mysore masala dosa, and pav bhaji, all good, fresh and well seasoned– and the real bell weather of Indian takeout, the chutneys were likewise pretty good. Got a Mumbaikar’s approval.
haven’t tried Deep brand stuff yet; Swad and Mrs. Bhagwati’s frozen snackies and entrees have been tasty (if heavy on salt n fat). Just have to make sure they haven’t melted and refrozen.
thanks katie
Abhi: You are lucky to have all Home cooked Gujarati dishes like: Daal Dhokri, Undhiu, Khaman-Dhokra, Sukhdi, etc.. when you visit us. For you to make, when you crave Indian food, may I suggest: You buy mixed legumes packages (which usually contains seven or eight different “Kathols” in it), Put them in slow cooker in the morning when you to work. When you come home in the evening, just drain extra water, and using good Indian spice mix, do the “Tadka” with very little Oil. All you need then, for a healthy meal is some (whole wheat)Naan or Paratha warmed up in Toaster Oven, some stir fry greens, and on the side in a rice cooker make some “Pulav” in 10 minutes. The entire healthy dinner will take you no more than 20 minutes. This is how I survive when Yo Mom is away to “Homeland”. p.s. You can also roast those ready made “Papad” in microwave in one minute.
24 · rohit on July 12, 2010 1:46 PM · Direct link “regarding Indian restaurants in Boston” Boston Mahesh I’ll be in Boston in August..any good desi restaurants you might suggest?
First of all, if you have a car, and you like great food, then ignore KatieKateQNS, and go to Woburn for “Hot Breads”. SM actually did a report on Hot Breads a few years ago. The South Indian food at Hot Breads will surprise you! Their dosa is as good as my friend’s mother, and that’s saying a lot. Their ‘uttaapam’ was great. Their spice levels are on par with India’s, so this place doesn’t cater for non-Desi Americans that much. That being said, I took a date here 1 year ago, and we both loved it. I’m rediscovering this amazing place. Plus….
THEY DON’T ADD ANY SUGAR, MUCH SALT, AND NO CREAM. THIS IS ALSO NOT THAT OILY. They’re quite authentic, except no diahreal illness.
And yes…the tables are a little unkept, and the clientele there…has the highest concentration of moustaches in the North East.
I could assume you forgot to put an apostrophe s after “mother” there, but it’s funnier if I assume you didn’t.
Ugh x 1000. The sambars and chutneys on dosa factory were really hideous, and were the typically mediocre north indian rendition of south indian food. And, as usual, they pronounced it Dosa, with a hard D, and Saamburr.
Their north indian food is significantly better. Their pav bhajis and chaats are above average, and some of the other entrees were decent too. But I have no idea what combination of chutzpah and brain freeze led them to name their joint “Dosa Factory”.
I find Deep quite mediocre, to be honest. Their entrees have a strong taste of preservative, about as bad as the Tasty Bite products. The one MRE product that I don’t mind is the Trader Joe’s line. They somehow manage to make them without the taste of preservative, and their Indian food is comparable in taste to Deep’s and such without the chemical aftertaste.
Oh, and MTR’s MRE stuff is quite good too, especially their South Indian stuff (pongal, kesari etc.). They’re prettly ghee-y though, which is great for taste, but not so much for the arteries.
Indian eateries in the smaller markets of the US, are the same like India stores. They take their patrons for granted, have little or no competition, and dish out slop and swill at times. But of course there are always India experts among the non-IA clientele who get the idea that this or that place is simply playing the fool. I have asked my PA about the many nihari places in Chicago and have been advised to keep away from most of them, “If you want to have nihari, come home!”
haven’t been to hot breads, so can’t comment about that. but if you want decent south indian food, the best place is dosa temple. it’s out in the boonies though (ashland). this is the website. they have good chutney and sambar, and a decent weekend buffet. if you’re looking for the standard punjabi food type joint, the best one is kebab factory – http://www.thekebabfactory.net/ . wonderful weekend buffet. for lower on the price scale, and food that tastes very down home, there’s royal bengal – http://www.bengalicafe.com/ . if you go there, order off the bengali menu, not the traditional north indian stuff that you can get anywhere. they have great bengali food – both veg and non-veg.
haven’t been to hot breads, so can’t comment about that. but if you want decent south indian food, the best place is dosa temple. it’s out in the boonies though (ashland). they have good chutney and sambar, and a decent weekend buffet. http://dosatemple.us/
if you’re looking for the standard punjabi food type joint, the best one is kebab factory – http://www.thekebabfactory.net/ . wonderful weekend buffet.
for lower on the price scale, and food that tastes very down home, there’s royal bengal – http://www.bengalicafe.com/. if you go there, order off the bengali menu, not the traditional north indian stuff that you can get anywhere. they have excellent options both for veg and non-veg.
Hi
I think only a few among us have the luxury of home cooked traditional Indian food. I marvel at the business sense of the likes of ‘Deep’, ‘Mo’pleez’, ‘Kawaan’ etc. I agree with Abhi’s advice on controlling our pantry on overstocking with processed items, there are some sites that provide easy recipes and I often try them on the weekends. But long live Deep!
Thanks PG
Hmm Sepia Mutiny! Cool name.
I don’t know about other Deep Food products but yaar I have been buying their achaar for years now. Patak’s pickle were waaay too expensive, both for their quality and quantity. Enter Deep Foods, voila, balle balle, excellento folks!!! Mrs. Amin, you go girl!!!!
Biraj
for bostonians – i found dhaba in allston (brighton ave) to be more than decent, and their indo-chinese was quite good when i was living there. it’s been a few years, so maybe things have changed, but i can’t recall anything being less than good. i also recently ate food from minerva at a conference – amazing! never eaten in the restaurant itself, but it was by far the best home-style restaurant food i have eaten in the states (they also had some hard-to-find dishes, like chicken 65, kothu paratha, and beet halwa). i think they have branches in norwood and natick..
ak, Have you been to Malabar Hill, in Elmsford, NY? I think it’s great–recommend the Lamb Madras. Curious how you’d compare it to other Southern Indian places you’ve been in the States.
Years ago I was visiting DC when I stayed with friend of mine right across from Crystal City. Right on US-1 by the 7-11, my friend took me to a taxi-wallah style dhaba canteen style-takeout – best desi meal I have had yet outside home in this part of the world. Fresh piping hot stuff, oven fresh rotis, superb rogan josh, sabzi, dal, dahi and gulab jamun. Anyone know where this place is? It’s very close to an awesome Pakistani kabab place.
rob – no i haven’t (don;t really go up to westchester at all) – but i’ll put it on my list and let you know if i end up going. if we’re talking locally, i always liked house of dosas on LI (superb coffee and appalams), but haven’t been since my mother got into a fight with the owner. i also find the sambar at tiffinwallah to be consistently decent. but other than that, it really is hard to find decent south indian food around here. plus, the narrow dosa-idli-vada routine gets old quickly.
ak, cool, i’ll try house of dosas.
don’t ignore sri lankan places on staten island–“new asha,” for example, is spartan, but very tasty!
i have heard about the sri lankan places on staten island- any others you would recommend? i don’t mind a lack of decor – i still miss the days when jai-ya thai was in elmhurst (even the disco ball and sharpie-etched specials on the wall).
@jyotsana
Kohinoor Dhaba?