Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1194330
58 SPECIALTY FOOD SPECIALTYFOOD.COM Fancy Food Show Booth #6076 GLOBAL EATS says Kapoor, who describes it as a "party in your mouth experience." Bridging the Gap In New York City, Deep Foods is bridging the gap between traditional Indian foods and consumer interest in Indian street foods at its restaurants. The company operates five Deep Indian Kitchen restaurant locations, all in Manhattan. "We are having tremendous success with the concept we are offering," says Deepak Amin, president and CEO of Deep Foods, which is based in Union, N.J., and also operates a large CPG business supplying retail stores with Indian foods (see sidebar, p. 57). He says consumers are seeking flavorful foods in grab-and-go forms, whether it's from food trucks or restaurants. The menu at Deep Indian Kitchen is divided into two parts, with the traditional Indian foods making up one portion of the offerings and the grab-and-go items the other. Both sides have been equally popular, Amin says. Among the grab-and-go items are kati rolls— the street-snack portion of the menu also generates a lot of consumer interest. These include a giant samosa known as 'The Dude," which is filled with chicken biryani and a sous-vide egg. Other items include Vada Pav, which is a slider-style sandwich common on the streets of Mumbai, and Pav Bhaji, a vegetable mash served with pav bread (an Indian bread roll). Curry Up Now's burritos are made with a layer of rice on the tortilla, topped with chana garbanzo masala and a choice of protein, such as chicken tikka masala, ghee makhni butter paneer, or lamb. Kapoor says his personal favorite is the Hella Vegan burrito, which is a samosa inside a tortilla, and made like samosa chaat. The company's Deconstructed Samosa is another popular item, made using the crispy skin of a traditional samosa, topped with layers of chana garbanzo masala, pico kachumber (an Indian salad made with cucumber and tomato), chutneys, mini samosas, and a choice of protein. "It's a reimagined version of a traditional Indian street food, but with added layers and deeper flavor from the toppings," Deconstructed Samosa Kati Roll PHOTOS: CURRY UP NOW