Unfortunately, most retorted food from India is inedible. Some of it has to do with the process (which involves holding the finished product at a temperature of above 121 deg. C for at least 8 minutes. This pretty much cooks everything to a uniform mush, no matter how much you compensate by under-cooking it prior to the retorting. That said, there are a few exceptions.
Try the Ashirvad Palak Paneer [1] and the Tasty Bite range [2]. As for MTR, one can only imagine that their range of processed food exists solely to dupe gullible South Indian and home-sick boys into believing that the food moderately approximates what's available in their restaurant. It isn't. And all they are doing is eroding brand value. Then again, they just sold out for close to $100 million [3]. So maybe they were the smart ones. Try the frozen/chilled stuff. It's probably a darn sight better. Sumeru [4] isn't half bad and not just because I helped out with some of their products. The Indian processed food industry is still quite rudimentary both in product and process. Maybe in a few years. But that has it's own set of problems as well, the development of a 'advanced' food processing industry. -Gautam [1] Disclaimer. I work with ITC Foods. [2] Disclaimer. I haven't tried it but have been *told* that it's the best available. http://www.tastybite.com/ [3] http://www.vccircle.com/blog/_archives/2007/2/12/2728856.html [4] http://goodwoods.safeshopper.com/170/cat170.htm?720 On 5/30/07, Abhijit Menon-Sen <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
I happened to come across some "ready to eat" meals in a grocery store a few days ago, and decided to try two of them: MTR's "Dal Fry", and a packet of "Aloo Mattar" from Ashirvaad (each in the region of INR35). I ate them with rice for dinner today. Both packets claim to "serve 3" (small children, I assume). When I poured them into saucepans to heat, I found them swimming in oil (which I'd expected). I use so little oil at home that most things seem oily to me, but I'm not above indulging in the occasional sinfully delicious and oily meal outside. But the "delicious" part is a necessary prerequisite, and both packets failed to deliver in that regard. Those "carefully selected and mixed" spices made the dal taste just short of horrid. The potatoes and peas tasted completely unlike the gravy they were forced to share a packet with, and had a curious tinny aftertaste. Everything's sitting in one solid lump somewhere inside me right now. Never again. -- ams
