Kitchens of India frozen kosher meals
Saw these at the Star Market in Central Square, Cambridge. Available in a variety of configurations, some with naan, rice, or both. Decent price for a whole meal (about $5) and the samosas are a nice addition to the available kosher Indian appetizer options.
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I’ve seen these elsewhere, but I’m unfamiliar with the hashgacha. Do you know anything about it?
Rabbi Avraham Binyamin
Kosher Inspection Service India,
Sir Jacob Sassoon High School, Sir J.J. Road, Byculla, Mombai-400 008, India.
Tel/Fax: +91 (0)22 2533-2952
Mobile phone: +91 982-10-98394
E-mail: n/a
http://www.hechshers.info/kashauth/280.htm#696
From a November 2004 Kosher Blog post about TastyBite prepared Indian food (same hechsher):
Kashrut
All of TastyBite’s Indian products are produced in India, so I wasn’t surprised to find emblazened on the box the “Kosher Inspection Service” heksher, run by Indian Rabbi Avraham Binyamin (hence the Aleph-Bet included within the symbol). According to TastyBite’s website, he’s recognized by the Chief Rabbinical Council of Israel and certifies meals for El Al.
Shelf stable samosas? Have you tried those meals yet? I like the swad brand, and they are much cheaper.
@Hindy it looks like they are frozen not shelf stable.
Are the vegetarian or do they include meat/chicken?
All dairy or pareve.
Instead of asking if this is a reliable hechsher, I’ll invert the Q, can you point me to anyone who would tell me that I can rely on this hechsher.
This has ben discussed here before:
http://www.kosherblog.net/2004/11/15/tastybite_ready_made_indian_cuisine/
summary: None of the major orgs (which only maintain “recommended” lists) say anything about them. Omission is of course annoying because it doesn’t answer the question either way, but the major orgs have decided, for whatever reason, to do things this way. The Seattle vaad used to have a “not recomended” section where they listed them. They no longer have this section, but you can see it in the internet archive:
http://web.archive.org/web/20050215145441/www.seattlevaad.org/KosherSymbols.pdf
ASBI lists them as acceptable, but they’re the ONLY ones.
http://www.asbi.org/public/2011_KosherList.pdf
Now, can we please stop the name-calling, ad-hominem attacks, and “he said/she-said/I-head” rumor mill before it starts?
My rav, who certifies HKC says no dice on these. I wish I could eat them … Sigh.
Chavivah just because your Rav does not allow it does not mean it is a problem. He is involved in kosher and therefore has a vested interest. I am sure Nissan dealers would not have many good things to say about Toyota.
It all depends how strict you want to be. I keep kosher home but am not quite at that level out, and personally I wouldn’t serve something with a controversial hecksher at home just because I ask myself “would an imaginary reasonable member of my shul feel comfortable with this?” – kind of like driving the speed limit even if you suspect its a little too low. But that’s just me.