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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

Muhammad says ...
That's great. It will make my life easier to shop for foods that you struggle to find and be sure that the quality is great
08/02/2011 4:41:49 AM CDT
Sarah Patrick says ...
I spent a month in Jordan and it really started to change my dietary habits. I appreciate all Whole Foods and Saffron Road are doing to expand knowledge and access to certain dishes and preparation methods in the US.
08/02/2011 7:36:53 AM CDT
Amna says ...
Thank you Whole Foods, for making this possible during Ramadan! I would go with the Moroccan Lamb Stew, because I don't know many Moroccans, so I almost never get to try that cuisine. I'm from a Pakistani background, so I have had opportunities to try some of the other options, but they sound great as well! Props for making a smart business move!
08/02/2011 9:16:38 AM CDT
Rabia says ...
Thank you whole foods for finally providing Halal food and helping us celebrate Ramadan.
08/02/2011 9:38:06 AM CDT
Farah silat says ...
Would definitely love to try all but first Chiken Tikka because im a tikka-ahOlic
08/02/2011 10:25:56 AM CDT
Brock says ...
These all sound delicious. The one that stands out to me is the lamb vindaloo. My good friend's mom makes a fantastic vindaloo whenever we visit their home. Her authentic Indian cooking always blows me away. My cooking cannot compare to it, and to be able to buy a tasty ready-to-eat vindaloo would be a dream come true -- my freezer would probably be full of them! It's also very exciting to see a store marketing for Islamic eating guidelines. Im Catholic, but Christian and Jewish interests are always marketed; it's both open-minded and seems like good-business.
08/02/2011 11:55:06 AM CDT
ishy says ...
Amazing how I've been looking for halal products like the ones offered by Saffron Road, and voila I came across this through a link posted by Muslimas Oasis on Facebook! I can't wait to try all of them iA! I don't get to eat much red meat at home because of my parents' health issues, but the Moroccan Lamb Stew looks super yummy! Now I have ANOTHER reason to shop at Whole Foods! Thank you Whole Foods! Ramadan Mubarak everyone! =]
08/02/2011 12:03:17 PM CDT
Sadia says ...
Thanks Whole Foods! I'm totally ready to try Saffron Road foods. I'd love to try the Chicken Biryani (because it's my all-time favorite traditional food) or the Chicken Pad Thai because it's rare that we get to Thai halal food - I think it'd be delicious!
08/02/2011 12:44:49 PM CDT
shanet says ...
I found out Whole Foods was selling halal certified food on CAIR's website and bought some Lamb Saag to celebrate the first breaking of the fast meal (iftar) of Ramadan- very good choice! I chose it to see how yummy frozen lamb could be and it is very good. I'm very happy to know my Whole Foods has another reason for me to shop there!
08/02/2011 1:11:41 PM CDT
SuSu says ...
I would try the chicken nuggets- it'd be great to have halal nuggets!
08/02/2011 1:13:20 PM CDT
Bobby Hawley says ...
@Youssef, Saffron Road is nationally available at Whole Foods Market stores, however selection may vary from store to store. Contact the store to check that they have exactly what you want and if they don’t you can always request that they order it.
08/02/2011 2:05:13 PM CDT
O. Ali Khalid says ...
Id love to try the chicken pad thai or the lemon grass basil chicken, I love thai food but there arent many halal places near me that serve it!
08/02/2011 2:45:10 PM CDT
Aaliyah says ...
I would love to try the Lamb Vindaloo. I grew up on Halal meat and truly miss it. Also there is nothing like hot & spicy curry. And have it infused with Portuguese spices just sounds extremely yummy to me. Best of both worlds.
08/02/2011 3:59:15 PM CDT
Samie Ahmed says ...
I'd go for the Chicken tikka masala. Thanks for carrying halal food products in your store. You just gained a new customer and I'll be telling my friends and family about this and we'll def be shopping here. Samie Connecticut
08/02/2011 4:29:29 PM CDT
Kareem says ...
Great job on carrying Halal products. We've always shopped at Whole Food for produce, dairy. Now we can add Halal entrees to our shopping list as well. Thank You for including muslims in your promotions. Much appreciated.
08/02/2011 5:13:13 PM CDT
imran says ...
i would try the chicken tikka first, im Indian so im interested to see if any premade dinners can get it right and this is the first time i have seen halal options.
08/02/2011 6:13:51 PM CDT
Ashley says ...
I am a chicken pad thai ADDICT, so I would loooove to try the chicken pad thai! I already know I'll love it!
08/02/2011 6:40:50 PM CDT
Robin says ...
Saucy Indian dishes like the Tikka Masala and Vindaloo are an addiction for me, but I would be most eager to try the Moroccan Lamb Stew. The taste would be newer to me, and the spices sound like a delicious mix. Also, I prefer couscous to rice, and it is a treat that I don't have often enough.
08/02/2011 8:16:29 PM CDT
Muneera N. says ...
I would love to try the Chicken Pad Thai. It looks yummy and I love pad thai! I could never have it with chicken because there are no halal thai food places near my house. This is great news for me!
08/02/2011 9:29:23 PM CDT
Ali says ...
Happy to see all the Halal options readily available at the supermarket. Looking forward to trying the Moroccan Stew, because the lamb is usually quite good and very tasty.
08/02/2011 11:27:03 PM CDT
Rania says ...
I'm so excited to hear about Saffron Road's Halal options! This Ramadan I would love to try Lamb Koftis and Chicken Tikka Masala because they sound amazing. But if i won, I'd try all the tasty sounding dishes so i can experience them all and pick my favorite! Ramadan Kareem!
08/03/2011 8:30:23 AM CDT
Birjis says ...
Glad to see interesting Halal products in the market. Timing is good with month of Ramadan too! I would love to try the interesting Morrocon Lamb stew; Chicken Pad Thai, Lemon Grass Basil chicken, Lamb vindaloo and chicken tikka masala, before I try the halal chicken nuggets etc. There are many brands of halal chicken nuggets but halal version with interesting international cuisines is something worth checking out!
08/03/2011 11:02:40 AM CDT
Tugce says ...
I jusst love Thai food and would try the Chicken Pad Thai first.. No questions
08/03/2011 11:02:49 AM CDT
javaid says ...
Happy to see that a super market is willing to tap into this good customer base while providing healthy chocies for everyone. I will try all of them especially chicken nuggets as my kids love them. Briyani and sammoos will be another thing to try as well.
08/03/2011 11:27:01 AM CDT
Small01 says ...
I'm glad that whole foods is selling Halal meals. Honestly I would like to try all of them but if I have a choice it would be the chicken pad thai. I wish a whole foods would open up near Dearborn.
08/03/2011 11:41:01 AM CDT

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