Ready for the latest in ethnic fusion? Deep Foods Inc., Union, N.J., has introduced Tandoor Chef Original Naan Pizza.

"Consumer interest in Indian food continues to grow. We also know that there are Indian and [broader mainstream] consumers who are vegetarian and love to eat pizza," says Mike Ryan, Deep Foods' vice president of sales and marketing. "These consumers already are familiar with naan bread -- so we saw our break to develop a pizza using fashionable kinds of vegetarian toppings that appeal to everyone."

The frozen hand-held offering is all natural and vegetarian. Varieties include Margherita, Eggplant, Pesto and Spinach.

The single-serve offering carries a suggested retail of $2.99 and is available nationwide at Indian retail outlets, Whole Foods and through Amazon.com. Ryan says Deep also would like to expand distribution to broader supermarkets with all-natural freezercase sections.

Ryan notes that because the naan bread pizza crust is made in India -- using authentic clay tandoor ovens -- the finished product is not designed for microwave applications. Even so, at-home prep only takes about 10 minutes from freezer to oven to table.

"We learned how to produce naan bread on a large scale without compromising the old fashioned, authentic taste," says Ryan. "It's crispy on one side and soft on the other. Then we apply the toppings."

"Naan is thicker than pita but still a flat bread," he added. "And compared to French bread, there's a greater proportion of toppings to bread crust."