Tandoor Chef All-Natural Pocket Sandwiches

Authentic ethnic prepared foods give consumers a travel taste experience. Now those consumers literally can be more mobile while enjoying a taste of India. To round out its popular Tandoor Chef retail frozen food line, Deep Foods Inc., Union, N.J., has introduced two all-natural pocket sandwiches: Palak Paneer (filled with creamy spinach and paneer cheese) and Channa Masala (filled with a mixture of sautéed chickpeas, onions, tomatoes and peppers). Each is billed as “medium spiced” with authentic seasonings.

“We took two of our most popular recipes and we reoriented them to work in a pocket format,” says Mike Ryan, Deep Foods’ vice president of marketing. “It took more than a year of development and required that we develop some proprietary equipment and processes to accomplish it.”

The pocket itself is a “crispy bread,” which Deep says consumers can heat in a toaster oven, skillet or panini grill. Available nationwide in mainstream supermarkets and natural food stores (either in ethnic or all-natural product sets), Tandoor Chef pocket sandwiches come in a nine-ounce package including two individually wrapped offerings.

“We developed the [pocket sandwich] line to offer a convenient handheld item and complement our other offerings,” Ryan notes. “We now can offer consumers an entire meal solution. These new items offer portable convenience for quick meals and even appeal to kids for after-school snacking.”

Deep has a broad selection of Tandoor Chef frozen appetizers, Naan breads, vegetarian entrees, non-vegetarian entrees and chutneys. The 32-year-old company also boasts a wider range of regional Indian offerings - including frozen foods and shelf-stable ingredients - under such brands as Deep, Mirch Masala, Bhagwati’s, Udupi, Bansi and Reena’s.