Embrace The "Heat" & Celebrate!

It seems like there's a food festival every other day. Many of them are a bit too much for my taste. However, there are some that are worth celebrating like the Hot and Spicy Food Day, which was today. This festival brings lovers of fiery recipes together to enjoy heat-filled foods. Although the exact origin of the day is unknown, archaeologists believe that humans have been eating spicy foods for 6,000 years!
We celebrated the festival by cooking up some of our home grown peppers and enjoyed the hot flavors. Cooking with peppers can sometimes be tricky so it's nice to have ready made entrees handy. One of the brands we tried and liked are entrees by Tandoor Chef. Their dishes have all the right spices for heat-loving palates! Also, the spices bring extra flavor to foods, health benefits and fun!

Below are some good tips about spicy foods from Tandoor Chef:

• Sweat it Out: Ever wonder why cultures in hot climates eat spicy food the most? Spicy food raises your body temperature to match the level outside, which causes you to sweat. The sweat evaporates and you cool off. So by eating hotter foods, people in these cultures stay cooler! 
• Add a Healthy Kick: Spicy foods don't just help you sweat; they are actually good for you! Adding a natural kick from peppers and jalapenos can add flavor without increasing sodium or fat content of recipes. Chili peppers can also lower your risk for heart disease by reducing the effect of bad cholesterol. The spiciness can even help you battle a cold by clearing sinuses. Woohoo for health! 
• Nutrients Galore: Chili peppers are also high in Vitamins A and C, beta-carotene and Capsaicin, which can help relieve pain and inflammation. 
• Ease your Palate: Drink cold milk or yogurt when eating fiery foods. Dairy products can help neutralize the spices in your mouth while water or other beverages may simply move the heat around in your mouth. 

Whether for the health benefits, the thrill or just for fun, give spicy foods a try!! Tandoor Chef entrees and appetizers offer both vegetarian and vegan meals that will bring your taste buds alive. 

How did you embrace the "heat" and celebrate Hot and Spicy Food Day? We would love to hear from you!   

Celebrate For A Cause...

We believe in giving back to the community and helping the less fortunate. That is why we make time to volunteer and participate in charitable events as much as possible. Sometimes with our busy schedules, it's tough to engage in such activities and so we try other ways to fulfill that duty. In that same respect, it's great to see corporations getting involved as well. They do it by giving deals or promoting an charitable event. For example, every time someone buys their product, a percentage gets donated to charity or by hosting charitable walks and giving away products.
We would like to recognize Tandoor Chef in their efforts in giving back to the community. Tandoor Chef, the leading manufacturer of restaurant quality, all natural frozen Indian cuisine, is hosting a virtual charity drive benefiting the Deepkiran Foundation, which helps provide education to children in remote villages in India. Through the end of October, they will donate $1.00 to the foundation for every new Fan at Facebook.com/TandoorChef. This special donation comes in addition to their regular contributions to the Deepkiran Foundation. They are creating this social media and cause campaign to make a positive impact on the futures of young children through schooling.

The Deepkiran Foundation is a non-profit organization that supports children’s education in the remote villages of Gujarat, India. Education is often not a priority of village elders and the foundation works to give the children various skills, including reading and writing. Both Tandoor Chef and Deep Foods are owned by the same family, who created the Deepkiran Foundation in 2005. This new charity drive is part of Tandoor Chef’s celebration of Diwali, the Hindu New Year. Charity and gift giving are central focuses of the Diwali celebration. “Tandoor Chef is honored to regularly donate to the Deepkiran Foundation, but we want to do even more through this special drive,” said Mike Ryan, VP Sales and Marketing, Tandoor Chef. “Deep Foods is proud to support this important foundation and we hope Facebook users everywhere will be proud to rally behind it.”

Tandoor Chef's Samosas

The one thing I've learned since watching my mom cook is that sometimes, shortcuts are necessary to cut cooking time. That's why whenever we have company over, we love serving snacks that don't require a lot of assembling or heating time. Recently Deep Foods, leading manufacturers of Indian food contacted us to review some of their products and we were happy to provide our feedback. 

So today we will be sharing our thoughts on snacks, specifically samosas made by Tandoor Chef, one of Deep Foods' brands. Three varieties of samosas are available: Palak paneer samosas, jumbo samosas with coriander chutney, and tandoori chicken samosas. We tried the Palak paneer samosas and the jumbo samosas (pictured above).

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Samosas contain no artificial flavors and made with 100% natural ingredients. We liked the fact that chutney (dipping sauce) was included but the consistency was watery. We added some ketchup to make it more thicker and bring out the tangy flavor which fit well with the spicy filling. In terms of appetite pleasing, better to grab a samosa than a candy full.

Next up, Palak Paneer samosas:

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The flavor test: good taste, medium spicy, and well cooked filling. We liked the crunchy crust and crispy texture after baking them (as per the cooking instructions on the box). Another winning point is that they weren't too oily and are the perfect size for a snack. The spicy taste of these samosas go great with a "cold one" or hot beverages such as Chai or tea. The only con for this snack is that no sauce was included in the box.   

Now I will attempt to read your mind...wait for it...You're wondering where you can get some samosas. Currently, these snacks are available at your local Indian grocery store.