Well if Innovative Foods Limited (IFL) does not innovate, then who will ? 
IFL the 28 year old company, markets its frozen food range under the brand name Sumeru, which is a major player in the food processing industry and well known for its frozen ready to cook, ready to fry and ready to heat and eat foods that are available both in India and abroad.
At the grand launch that took place at The Oberoi, Bangalore on Aug 10th, 2017, their heat and eat Sumeru Classiques family just got bigger with the unveiling of 4 novel flavors of Parathas under the label Paratha 2.0, referring to the version that has recently augmented their existing multitude of Paratha variants.
I remember Sumeru for its range of frozen sea food that I used to buy and hence accepted the invitation to be present at this occasion to check out these new entrants.
The event began with Mr Suraj Sharma, the GM Marketing, IFL, giving us a brief on the brand and the research that had gone into bringing forth these new products. The need for providing convenience combined with versatility and an aim to make restaurant like meals available at home without any of the effort that goes into it, is what prompted them to come up with these paratha variants. This would definitely suit the requirements of those who do not have time for elaborate cooking or even for those who are just plain lazy … like I am
Well of course while I would say that freshly prepared food would be the best way in an ideal world, the fact remains that the life is far from perfect 😀 and for those who have no access to meals that are cooked daily, food which is free from preservatives and artificial colors and which also has its nutritive value boosted by the goodness of vegetables and condiments, would be practically a boon.
The 4 new products are the Beet and Jeera, Turmeric and Ajwain, Methi and Spinach and the Multigrain paratha … and the addition of the associated natural colors, flavors and flours, enhance their aesthetic as well as nutritive appeal.
The experience was made more interesting by their brand ambassador, the celebrity Chef Ajay Chopra who was affable, entertaining and highly able to keep us all focused on what he was cleverly concocting for us, as he used the parathas to inventively recreate well known dishes that would appeal to the young and not so young, alike
Beginning with the Quesadilla stuffed with Pindi choley if you will , he showed us his true Punjabi colors as he toasted the parathas and stuffed them with the chickpea concoction. And as he presented it with a gleeful flourish and liberally used cheese, I was sorely tempted to pun in Hinglish (or is that Hi’xican) and say – Bhaiyya ye Quesadilla Kaisa’diya. But of course one does not mess with the one who is in charge of one’s food and he was certainly not done cooking yet
The Shami kabab sandwich paratha was up next, with neatly cut squares of the paratha providing the (Indian) bread component and the kababs offering themselves as the filling.
Chef Ajay also very helpfully threw in the Shami kebab recipe or as he put it – Buy one paratha pack and get a Shami kabab recipe free … Of course we Shami’lessly took down the free recipe 😀
The demo ended with the Paratha lasagna and I must say that though I was skeptical as to how the cheese and veggies would take to their strange companion, I surprised myself by actually being pleased with the resulting dish which we had the chance to taste at the lunch that followed.
The parathas are easily available at all leading grocery stores and are priced in the range of Rs 80-100 per pack of 5 which is certainly a great price for their quality.
So go ahead and innovate with Innovative foods … and create your own desi pizzas, canapes or whatever your imagination permits.
Or actually, just eat them with a bowlful of curd … if you ask me, they really need nothing more 🙂
Aug 10th, 2017
For more pictures see My Facebook – Sumeru Classiques-Launch of Paratha 2.0
