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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

marilou b says ...
I'm married to a thai and so has been exposed to different thai food from their family dishes. I have always ordered pad thai in all thai restaurants to see who has the best. So Im curious to what the saffron road pad thai has to offer.excited to also try chicken biryani. My college friend is pakistani and introduced me a while back to this amazing dish.
08/04/2011 3:40:34 PM CDT
Nasrin says ...
I love whole foods and get all my breakfast foods from here. I never tried saffron road, but now that there is a variety of halal meat options, I will be getting my lunch and dinner from here too! I love spinach so I have to try the lamb saag. And pad thai is always tasty, so I have to get the chicken pad thai too. I plan on sampling every single one eventually. When I find a food I like, I stick to it, and I hope Saffron Road becomes a favorite for me!
08/04/2011 4:38:01 PM CDT
amrah A says ...
First off, a huge thank you to Saffron Road and Whole Foods for providing this to us. Secondly, I can't decide!! They all look too good to be true. But if I had to pick I'd go with the one that sounds the most fun to try- the Lamb Vindaloo :)
08/04/2011 4:57:43 PM CDT
A A says ...
Ah! Can't choose. I shall have to resort to the oldest and wisest way of choosing known to mankind.... eenie- meenie- miny-...moe! Tandoori Seasoned Chicken Nuggets!!!!
08/04/2011 5:01:24 PM CDT
Ekram Othman says ...
Whole foods you rock, Saffron Road does too. I would like to try the Lemongrass and Basil Chicken, and then the Moroccan Lamb Stew, and after that, EVERYTHING (not at the same time of course.) I would like to try those because they sound very flavorful, plus it is all Halal. MMM. I have tried the Lamb Vindaloo and the Lamb Saag and both were seriously amazing!!!! Yum.
08/04/2011 7:11:49 PM CDT
Monisha says ...
Would love to try the chicken tikka masala !
08/05/2011 10:41:36 AM CDT
Fauzia Sadiq Garcia says ...
I'm really excited to try some Chicken Pad Thai since I've never had that before! I've always had to eat the vegetarian option in restaurants. Thank you Whole Foods for providing this option to us!
08/05/2011 12:04:50 PM CDT
Zamir says ...
I would try the Chicken Pad Thai, because I can never have that at Thai places, since the chicken is not halal. Thanks for adding Halal Products to your line of quality healthy products! I am excited to try all of them.
08/05/2011 12:06:56 PM CDT
jamal says ...
I would definitely love to try the Lemongrass Basil Chicken!
08/05/2011 3:01:50 PM CDT
Galen says ...
Hands down the Best frozen dinners I've ever had!
08/05/2011 4:10:17 PM CDT
Linda Hayes says ...
I have tried your Chicken Tikka Masala & Chicken Biryani. If you can't get to an Indian restaurant, this is the next best thing. Very tasty and very convenient.
08/05/2011 5:19:34 PM CDT
Waqas says ...
I am moving to LA next week. I was searching for Halal food options and came across this blog post. I am wondering, if Saffron Road frozen entrees are available at every Whole Food store or specific stores.
08/05/2011 8:18:24 PM CDT
ishrath says ...
I would like to try chicken pad thai, as I always ended up eating vegetarian food at any restaurant. I want to find out the distinct flavor of it. I also would love to try Moroccon lamb, for the very same reason.
08/05/2011 11:06:52 PM CDT
Sam says ...
My husband is a very picky eater and being nine months pregnant it's hard to cook this Ramadhan, so I just grabbed the Morrocan lamb stew, chicken pad thai and chicken biryani to test out for iftar. Alhamdullilah he loved it...and I'll be heading back to Whole Foods for more :)
08/05/2011 11:58:41 PM CDT
Carmen says ...
For those who have not tried Halal food, Try it! Halal meat tastes a lot better than regular meat and it is a lot healthier (if you are a meat eater that is). I haven't tried this frozen Halal food but since it is very difficult to find fresh Halal meat around here I'm thrilled and ready to try it. I'll let you all know if it tastes as good. Have a nice day and be healthy and happy! :)
08/06/2011 12:59:17 PM CDT
Cameron says ...
I just want to applaud the respect that Whole Foods shows to all cultures. This is a big step and I hope to see other chain stores adopt a similar approach.
08/06/2011 2:47:57 PM CDT
Radeyah says ...
I would drive 2 hours away to try all of the new saffron halal entrees. I just wish they would go on sale so I can buy more at a time. I love the fact that they are expanding this line of foods cause it always great to try something new & halal is an added bonus!
08/06/2011 4:20:40 PM CDT
zeeshan says ...
Chicken pad Thai. Why? Because it would save me a 25 mile drive!!!!
08/06/2011 5:01:42 PM CDT
Sincerria says ...
I am interested in trying Saffron Road Halal meat products because I am a muslim and it is difficult to find diet restricted foods in the market place and also because it is Ramadan and the prepared food makes it easy on the households to prepare the evening meal which is at the end of long days of fasting.
08/06/2011 6:11:57 PM CDT
HHB says ...
I would love to try all of these to be honest (and most likely will). But I think I will bee-line to the Chicken Tikka Masala and Moroccan Lamb first. Thanks WFM for venturing into Halal foods. It is a kind, thoughtful gesture and I'm sure it will pay off.
08/07/2011 5:28:00 AM CDT
Sami Malik says ...
Thank you Whole Foods for carrying halal foods! I plan to try the chicken pad Thai first because I love Thai food and its very difficult to find it halal.
08/07/2011 10:12:14 AM CDT
Sally O says ...
The Lemongrass Basil Chicken - green curry is one of my favorite foods!
08/07/2011 10:10:59 PM CDT
Sandy Fiataruolo says ...
Just tried the Lamb Saag, it was great. The cooking directions were a little long for a new microwave. But I knew before I cooked it and so shortened the timie. My next lunch to try will be the Chicken Tike Masala because I really enjoy it at my local Indian restaurant. I have high hopes it will be as tasty as the Lamb Saag.
08/08/2011 12:30:13 PM CDT
Azhar Bashir says ...
I would love to try the Chicken Pad Thai. A combination between chicken and rice noodles is always amazing!
08/08/2011 3:05:49 PM CDT
Donna says ...
Lamb Vindaloo! I love Indian food, especially spicy. And this entree will fit the bill very nicely. Thank you.
08/08/2011 6:26:31 PM CDT

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