Quality in Indian home cooking is decided twice: once in the pantry, and once in the pot. This is a plain account of both — what the food from Saakshi's Kitchen is made from, how it is cooked, and where you can read the full ingredient list for every dish before you order.
Key takeaways
- The pantry is the everyday Indian one: haldi, jeera, dhania, rai, hing, ajwain, methi, garam masala — and dal, atta, rice, ghee.
- The masala is built from scratch every batch. There is no pre-made gravy base and no food colouring in our kitchen.
- Every product page carries a full ingredient list, so you never have to guess.
- Meals are cooked in small batches in an FSA 5-star kitchen and delivered frozen across UK mainland.
What is actually in the pantry?
Nothing you could not name. The spice shelf is the standard Indian household set: haldi (turmeric), jeera (cumin), dhania (coriander), rai (mustard seed), hing (asafoetida), ajwain, methi (fenugreek) and garam masala — ground and blended in our kitchen, rather than one generic curry powder doing all the work. The staples are the ones that live in every Indian kitchen: dal, atta, rice, ghee. It is an ingredient list you could read out to your mum without explaining anything.
What makes it "fine quality"? The method, mostly
The masala is built from scratch for every batch — onion, tomato, ginger and garlic, bhuno'd down properly until the oil separates — not ladled from a standing gravy base. Dal is finished the way it is finished at home, with a real tadka done at the end. It is the same recipe every time, from one family kitchen: small batches, the same hands, family recipes cooked the way our family cooks them.
And it is what is not in the pot that completes the picture: no food colouring, no pre-made gravy base. What a dish is made of is what an Indian home would make it from.
Where can you check exactly what is in each dish?
On the product page, before you buy. Every meal on the menu lists its ingredients in full. If you are ordering for someone with strong preferences — or you simply like to read before you order — it is all there in the open.
Why does the food arrive frozen?
Because that is the honest way to get home-cooked food from one kitchen across the country. We cook, we freeze, we deliver frozen. You keep the meals in the freezer, then cook or reheat straight from frozen, following the pack instructions, until piping hot all the way through. Don't refreeze once a meal has defrosted — eat it within 24 hours. There is no mystery about how the food travelled and no guesswork about how long it has been sitting in a van.
Who checks the kitchen?
The food hygiene inspectors do. our FSA 5-star kitchen holds the FSA's 5-star rating, which you can look up on the public register. The longer-running check is the customers: 4.6 stars from 800+ verified reviews, 16,000+ deliveries, and 79% of orders come from returning families — the people who would notice first if the quality slipped.
Taste the pantry at work
The point of good ingredients is dinner. Build a box of the dishes you want a freezer full of, read the tiffin guide if a weekly plan appeals, or start with the spices themselves and what each one does in the pot. We deliver across UK mainland — some areas we can't reach, so check your postcode first.
Frequently asked questions
What ingredients does Saakshi's Kitchen use?
Everyday Indian staples — dal, atta, rice, ghee — and the household spice set: turmeric, cumin, coriander, mustard seed, asafoetida, ajwain, fenugreek and garam masala. The full list for each dish is on its product page.
Does the food contain food colouring?
No. There is no food colouring in our kitchen, and no pre-made gravy base either. Every dish's ingredient list is published on its product page.
Is the food frozen?
Yes. Meals are cooked in small batches, frozen, and delivered frozen across UK mainland. Cook or reheat straight from frozen until piping hot, following the pack instructions.
Where to go next
- This week's menu — every dish with its full ingredient list.
- What is a dabba? — the tin the whole cuisine runs on.
- Build your own box — choose the dishes yourself.
- Check your postcode — where we deliver.