Whole Story

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What is this Halal About?

By Allison Burch, July 31, 2011  |  Meet the Blogger  |  More Posts by Allison Burch
CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS KERI FROM AUSTIN, TX, SUDHA FROM MINNEAPOLIS, MN, MICHELE FROM LOUISVILLE, KY, CHARLOTTE FROM EUCLID, OH AND JESSICA FROM HALETHROPE, MD.  THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMENTS! Have you heard of halal? If so, you can skip ahead to the end and enter to win coupons for some tasty, convenient halal-certified prepared foods from Saffron Road. But if you’re scratching your head and asking, “What is this halal about?” Read on! Halal is Islamic dietary law that applies, among other things, to meat and poultry, specifically prescribing certain slaughtering and processing practices. Like some other religious dietary practice, halal prohibits pork and alcohol consumption. In order to provide more options to people following a halal diet, Saffron Road has created the first line of certified halal frozen entrees and they’re currently only available here at Whole Foods Market. Saffron Road features ethnic foods with Indian, Asian and Middle Eastern flavors, as well as chicken nuggets and tenders. All of their products are made with lamb and chicken raised on vegetarian diets, with no added hormones or antibiotics. Plus, all of their products are certified halal by the Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America (IFANCA). Whether you eat halal because of your religious dietary guidelines or you simply prefer to choose food that’s made with high-quality, responsibly farmed ingredients, then Saffron Road has some tasty offerings for you. Take a look:

Lemongrass Basil Chicken

Roasted white-meat chicken simmered in a lemongrass and basil green curry with green peppers and onions.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Prepared with tender, boneless, chicken, and baked according to authentic traditions with freshly-ground tandoori spices simmered in a savory yogurt and tomato sauce.

Chicken Biryani

Traditionally prepared by cooking Basmati rice with succulent chunks of chicken, cashews and raisins infused with an unmistakable blend of enticing spices, aromas and flavors, including a pinch of saffron salt.

Moroccan Stew

Tender cubes of lamb slowly simmered with sweet potatoes, coriander, cumin, cinnamon and ginger until every drop is perfection. Since it tops delicious couscous, no drop is wasted.

Lamb Saag

Australian lamb slow-simmered with a blend of Indian spices, ginger and yogurt and served on a thick bed of savory Saag, a traditional spinach dish.

Lamb Vindaloo

A spicy Portuguese-Indian curry dish dating back to the 16th century. Australian lamb marinated in an exotic tamarind-infused curry sauce, cumin, hot Indian spices and yogurt, then slow simmered for hours until tender and tangy and served with Basmati rice.

Chicken Pad Thai

A delightful version of the Thai favorite featuring wide flat rice noodles topped with roasted white-meat chicken and simmered with carrots and scallions in an exotic peanut sauce.

Lamb Koftis

Lamb marinated in a secret recipe of the most classic spices, and then formed into traditional koftis, or meatballs. The finishing touch? It's served on a bed of aromatic long grain white rice.

Chicken Nuggets, Chicken Tenders, Chicken Bites and Tandoori Seasoned Chicken Nuggets

Made from the meat of chickens raised on a vegetarian diet and never given antibiotics, ever!

What a line up! Are you ready to try some Saffron Road? Good, because we're ready to give some away. We’ll pick five winners at random to receive five coupons for free Saffron Road entrees. To enter, leave a comment below by August 11 and tell us which of the entrees you’d try first and why.

 

291 Comments

Comments

Jodi Trombley says ...
Kudos to Whole Foods for providing millions of Muslims with a tasty and wholesome product! I will definitely be making a trip to my local store and look forward to trying them soon.
08/11/2011 2:43:36 PM CDT
Sally Morsy says ...
I am so excited to see that a national chain has decided to sell halal items! I am thankful that Whole Foods has opened their hearts and minds to Muslims, when so many others have shut them in our faces! Thank you! That being said, I would love to try the Chicken Pad Thai. It is one of my favorite Thai meals!
08/11/2011 6:39:23 PM CDT
Nida says ...
I would try Lemongrass Basil Chicken & Chicken Pad Thai - these are the two things you can't/shouldn't go wrong with and they do look pretty good so hopefully I'll be trying all the entrees!
08/11/2011 7:00:56 PM CDT
Chelsea says ...
Today I picked up the Chicken Biryani and had it for dinner. I am in LOVE. Tomorrow I will be going out to pick up some more, plus try out a few new types (I am thinking the Tikka Masala and Pad Thai). I would recommend these dinners to anyone! *a side note: I am not a Muslim but I am very happy to see Halal options at Whole Foods. Their open-mindedness makes me a proud shopper.
08/11/2011 8:26:08 PM CDT
Lily Kwan says ...
I would like to try the Lamb Vindaloo because I love lamb!
08/11/2011 11:51:44 PM CDT
Allison B says ...
@Jonathan Freed Since both Halal and Kosher are religious dietary laws, a religious leader would be better suited to answer your question about specific similarities and differences between the two.
08/12/2011 3:20:33 PM CDT
Dr Ismail says ...
Wholefoods has made another customer. I will DEFINITELY be sharing this with all of my colleages and friends. I've often gotten questions from my patients about "halal" meat and what they have heard about it and it's benefits. Now I can point them in this direction for more info, and to your stores for a reliable place to get halal food! Thank you
08/13/2011 6:19:33 AM CDT
Amber says ...
What a beautiful, brave thing for a mainstream company to do, fighting for the cause of equality. Many thanks to Whole Foods for their dedication to fair practice. And I can't wait to try the lemongrass basil chcken - I love Thai flavors!!!!
08/14/2011 11:43:43 AM CDT
Sameer says ...
Appreciate your good work ,we will defntly buy food from you keep it up
08/14/2011 2:29:39 PM CDT
Tanweer Hussain says ...
I will try Kofta and Chicken Product as I like them. I also love Chicken Biryani.
08/16/2011 1:43:25 PM CDT
Rezbi says ...
I would try the chicken biryani or the chicken tikka masala.. It's one of my favorite dishes to order in an Indian restaurants.. I want to see if the frozen food will come close to having a dish like that!! Can't wait to try!!
08/16/2011 8:02:46 PM CDT
sajida says ...
Which stores has chicken tenders and nuggets etc ?
08/17/2011 9:32:52 AM CDT
sarah says ...
Thanks so much, Whole Foods, for carrying this fantastic line!! We are so excited to be able to buy delicious, high quality halal food at our favorite grocery store! Thank you for your support of the Muslim community - and for making our Ramadan even brighter....
08/17/2011 10:44:16 AM CDT
Bibi says ...
Have never tried this product but would love to try the Moroccan Lamb Stew. Thank you.
08/18/2011 7:45:51 AM CDT
Maryam Reimer says ...
It's a hard choice but I would probably go for the Lamb Stew or the chicken Pad Thai or the Koftis. If you want me to choose just one, then it's the Chicken Pad Thai! Really, it depends upon which entrees don't contain things I'm allergic to--all dairy, soy and oats. I thought that all of their entrees were vegetarian, I so grateful to learn that they offer ones with meat!
08/21/2011 7:43:03 AM CDT
Fahad says ...
I went to my local store, bought few of each Pad Thai, Lemongrass Basil Chicken and Tikka Nuggets. The Pad-Thai was not juicy enough for me. But Lemongrass and nuggets were tasty beyond my imagination. I am going back there this weekend to buy more of nuggets and try other items.
08/23/2011 2:13:39 PM CDT
janejohnson says ...
@Sajida Good question! Each store offers a different bevvy of goodies based on what their neighborhoods find themselves hungering. Please check with the stores in your area to learn if they can feed your chicken tender/nugget craving. The following link will help you find your closest store, follow the link to that page and you'll find the information on contacting your store. Happy hunting! http://wholefoodsmarket.com/stores/
08/26/2011 10:46:44 AM CDT
Bayyinah says ...
Thank you so much for offering halal foods for Muslim customers like me, and thank you for thinking of us this Ramadan. Never let xenophobia get in the way of your integrity and social conscience.
08/29/2011 12:20:34 AM CDT
Sana Firdaus says ...
I tried chicken biryani, yummy...it was real tasty dish. I cant wait to try other varieties. These halal frozen foods are really the reason I am frequently visiting Whole Foods. I live in a place where there is a scarcity of restaurants serving halal food, or even stores selling halal meat or poultry. So from past few months my diet consisted of only veggies. so it is such a relief to find certified halal prepared meals in Whole Foods. Thank You Whole Foods. I hope you continue to carry more such items done in certified halal manner.
08/30/2011 9:52:50 PM CDT
Kathrine A. Kohen says ...
Rachael Gruver, thank you so much for your welcoming response to my very serious question about Whole Foods rejecting products from Isreal! I'm so relieved that Whole Foods welcomes both products from Israel but Jews as well. You see my great grand parents were dragged out of their homes and lined up against the wall and shot for no other reason than they were Jews and because so many ignored the propaganda in the media that had promoted so much hatred toward Jews during WWII. In this day and age, it seems there are many groups and celebrities using the very same kind of propaganda against Jews. There's " no need " for this world to go through another Holocaust of any kind! This kind of hatred toward any group only brings the evolution of society down. Thank you again Kathrine Aliyah Kohen
09/15/2011 10:07:40 AM CDT
farook says ...
Last week I purchased four varieties of Saffron Road and it appears that the regular price of $5.69 for 11 oz is excessive. This option is okay for a once in a while convenient frozen food however if you're in a big city (like I'm in Chicago) with decent subcontinent/middle-east restaurants, you can get much better deals. Taste wise, the Saffron Road was no where near homecooked or restaurant cooked food. I'll not buy it again.
09/19/2011 1:20:24 PM CDT
Nusrath Unnisa says ...
It is really important to eat halal and pasturised chicken to our family We want to try chicken nuggets
11/16/2011 10:51:16 AM CST
Shauna Hayden says ...
I want to know the animals did not suffer prior to us killing them for food!! There's no way around harvesting animals for food, there's too many of us. They should be given the respect they deserve for giving us life! We should have compassion for those creatures! I will pay more to know they were treated humanely and I know many who feel the same.
11/19/2011 10:12:36 PM CST
Ellie Memar says ...
We tried Saffron Road halal foods we love it Thanks for good quality
12/20/2011 3:57:07 PM CST
JAN says ...
EWEEEE.....HOW can you market this awful meat!!! I spend $200.00 to $300.00 per week at Whole Foods and have over well over 10 years; However, I am discussed to learn you are sell this type of meats. Please stop selling this HALAL MEAT! I know you can find a much cleaner and better product to sell. PLEASE! Thank you.
01/20/2012 10:11:26 AM CST

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