@BierMonk @medgirl @BarneyGrubble
Anyone?
The Masala chips are a nice snack. The paratha and chapatti are not bad and convenient when you want to have something as a “side” for an Indian dish cooked at home. We tried 1-2 of the “minute khana” dishes and they are edible but take out from even an OK Indian restaurant is much better.
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Thx for chiming in. The Indian food in our town is pretty mediocre, although the newish place gets decent reviews.
They make very good quality Namkeen (Snacks)
I have tried tried a few Brands of the premade Breads they are alright.
The premade Chapati and Paratha that you cook at Home are better.
Most of the other Convenience Products I haven’t tried.
I occasionally buy MTR Rasam or Sahmbar Powder.
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Haldiram’s is a behemoth brand in India and dominates the market. But it’s by no means the best. But tends to be more expensive, I think because of packaging and marketing. My local Indian shop carries lots of Haldiram’s stuff but it’s balanced out by other brands. I tend to buy the other brands as they are cheaper and just as good if not better.
If you find a brand of frozen flatbread you like, it’s worth keeping a pack in the freezer for a quick fix. We like Humza brand parathas in the UK (I think it’s of Pakistani origin). If my teenage son is looking for a quick snack it’s been easy to fry one up in a pan in a few minutes. I try to avoid them - they are delicious but total refined carb calorie bombs.
I haven’t tried a lot of Indian convenience foods as prefer to make from scratch at home or get in a restaurant. I would argue there’s nothing ‘classic’ about veggie and paneer momos. Momos are a Tibetan dumpling that traditionally have a minced meat filling.
Maggi instant noodles were a huge treat in my late 80s early 90s childhood. Now I prefer buying plain nests of ramen style instant noodles and making them according to my own tastes with my own broth/sauce etc as I find those little powder packs too salty and synthetic tasting.
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Nepalese or Tibetan Momos, blinged up with a butter chicken type sauce or other curry sauce have become quite popular in Toronto, at Tibetan and Nepalese restaurants, as well as at Hakka restaurants. Momos are still available plain, as well.
The Tibetan restaurants in Toronto all offer several meat and vegetarian versions. While meat is probably most traditional, wouldn’t Tibetan monks choose vegetarian Momos?
The Tibetan potato Momos I’ve tried are quite good.
I haven’t tried paneer Momos. I do like the Momos in sauce, even if it’s a new hybrid thing.
I have only ordered take-out Momos, not frozen ones. The take-out Momos in Toronto are one of the best value meals in town.
The blinged up Beef Momos in sauce
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Obviously people are free to adapt the momos to the situation! Paneer in a momo is definitely some kind of Haldiram ‘North Indianisation’ of momos. In Kolkata, the ‘veg’ momos tend to have finely diced/shredded onion, cabbage, carrot type filling.
Saregama once linked to a food magazine that had a lovely article on the food cooked in a Buddhist monastery in India. I’ve tried to link it here: https://www.goya.in/blog/the-fascinating-himalayan-cuisine-of-the-monks-of-zanskar
I don’t know if momos feature in the food eaten by monks. I once watched a Buddhist monk peruse the dining options at Kolkata airport. All the stall operators were eagerly awaiting his choice. He ultimately headed to the overtly vegetarian South Indian stall where he held out his bowl which was eagerly filled and he duly gave his blessing to the chosen purveyor of his meal. As per Buddhist tradition, no payment was sought - the blessing and opportunity to serve the holy person was the prize!
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I googled and found some beautiful photos. 
https://ewenbell.com/editorial/Momos+and+Monks
I found the answers here interesting!
https://www.reddit.com/r/Buddhism/comments/101iq1m/what_is_the_typical_diet_of_a_buddhist_monk_from/
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That photo essay has some really cute photos! 
And some interesting comments in that Reddit. I like the principles of eating mindfully. I don’t think I could follow them consistently but it’s something to aspire to!
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Lucky find! I drive 30 mins for these pantry treasures.
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Thank you very much for elaborating. We have so many helpful folks on this site 
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It’s 5 minutes from our home. That store has been a really great addition to our community.
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Here’s the thread:
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Well, that’s like saying chicken vindaloo isn’t classic because it was made only with pork in Goa 
.
If there’s anything India is good at, it’s adopting and adapting food. Paneer momos are pretty common these days — as common as hakka noodles and chicken manchurian 
Momos in gravy / sauce = Jhol momos
Jhol = gravy / sauce (literally “water”) in Bengali
Thanks to Kolkata for those; also not classic — but ubiquitous.
North Indian-ization of momos also includes tandoori momos (tossed in tandoori masala after steaming and grilled like a kabab).
(If Mumbai was going to tweak them, they’d probably batter coat them into Momo-Vadas 
)
Now I want momos thanks to the two of you . Maybe I’ll buy some TJs gyoza and masala them up to make do.
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Momo vadas- ha! Momos are now ubiquitous in Kolkata - there’s a stall approximately every 100 metres. Including a stall just outside my parents’ apartment block, much to the delight of my 16 year old son, who could easily demolish a couple of dozen in one sitting (maybe leaving 1 or 2 for his mother and grandma if we made sad eyes). We used to get the steamed variety, comes with a little bag (!) of broth and container of chilli sauce. Pan-fried is nice too.
I have a friend from North Bengal who can make them from scratch. She learned how from a roadside vendor near her village. They taste like the real deal but are a bit of a project to make - if we’re lucky, she’ll knock up a batch when we visit her. She also makes knockout biryani, phuchka and Bengali style fish curry (machher jhol) - not altogether! Some people just have magic in their hands when it comes to cooking.
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My best friend in nyc has had the help of Tibetan babysitters / housekeepers since her kids were born, so we were lucky to be treated to homemade momos in the days before they became ubiquitous in Jackson heights.
They used to make the dough in the early days, but then switched to chinese dumpling wrappers that are cheap and plentiful.
Momo chutney is the hardest thing to get right imo.
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I want Momos, too, but I’m currently in butter tart country. The blingification of the classic, behold the Booty Call tart, with salt caramel and chocolate.
Leaky butter tart, top left .
Before the leak.
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The pizza has a high ALF (my imaginary “Amazon Lemon Factor”, which is the sum of low-rated reviews). About a quarter are 3-star or lower, with 14% being 1- and 2-star.
When I see reviews like that, I steer clear.
The weird thing is that over half of the reviews were 5-star, but skimming them, a lot of them are focused on cheap price for a 2 pound pizza.
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