Saffron Road Chicken Biryani Review

Product Name: Saffron Road Chicken Biryani
Product Description: Basmati rice seasoned with dark meat chicken, onions and other spices such as ginger and garlic.
Brand: Saffron Road
Offer price: $5.99
Currency: USD
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Ease of Preparation
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Value
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Flavor
Summary
The chicken biryani from Saffron Road is a bit of a missed opportunity. The meal is relatively well balanced from a nutrition standpoint but has an underwhelming flavor profile.
There is nothing “bad” about the product but there is nothing to get excited about either.
Pros
Easy preparation.
Relatively healthy.
Low sodium content.
Cons
Underwhelming flavor profile.
Expensive for what you get.
I found the Saffron Road Chicken Biryani in the freezer section of my local Albertson’s grocery store and it looked like it could be an interesting meal.
I have had Chicken Biryani a couple of times at Indian restaurants and really enjoyed the layers of spices. The dish traditionally features rice, chicken, onions and spices such as ginger, garlic and turmeric. If Saffron Road could get close to the real thing in a frozen meal then it would be a great addition to my lunch rotation.
Chicken Biryani Nutrition, Ingredients and Labelling
Let’s take a closer look at what you get with this frozen meal.
Nutrition Facts
You get one tray of chicken biryani per package and that tray is a single serving. The nutrition facts for a container are:
- Calories: 400
- Fat: 13g (17% DV)
- Cholesterol: 50mg (17% DV)
- Sodium: 630mg (27% DV)
- Carbohydrates: 54g (20% DV)
- Protein: 19g
From a nutrition standpoint the chicken biryani is pretty healthy considering that it is processed meal. The meal offers a nice balance of carbohydrates and protein while being reasonably low in fat and sodium.
Ingredient List
From an ingredient standpoint this meal contains:
- Rice
- Boneless dark meat chicken
- Onions
- Yogurt
- Water
- Chicken broth
- Sunflower oil
- Tomatoes
- Ginger
- Garlic
- Salt
- Spices
- Butter
- Tumeric
- Chili pepper
- Fenugreek leaves
Labelling
Other labeling certifications indicate the product is:
- Certified Gluten Free
- Certified Halal
Heating and Serving
The heating instructions for this product are pretty simple.
- Remove the tray from the box.
- Peel back one corner of the plastic film covering the tray to vent.
- Microwave on High for four minutes.
- Peel back the plastic film and stir the meat and sauce into the rice.
- Replace the film and microwave for one minute.
- Let the meal stand for 1-2 minutes and serve.
How Does it Taste?
When I had this chicken biryani for lunch I was underwhelmed. The meal contained a lot of rice, a little chicken and some spices.
The meal was not bad but there was nothing in it that got me excited.
The packaging indicates the dish has a “Medium” spice level (Two Peppers!) but this was on the low side of Mild for me.
Honestly it looked and tasted like Saffron Road was trying to figure out what was the bare minimum amount of spices and chicken they could include to season a bowl of basmati rice.
On the plus side, the meal was quite filling and, while very mild, did have the general flavor profile I was expecting.
I would certainly eat the chicken biryani again if someone served it to me but it is not something I plan on buying for my freezer.