Saffron Fix August 2016 Subscription Box Review

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Saffron Fix August 2016 box
Saffron Fix is a meal and dinner kit subscription service that will satisfy your Indian food craving each month. The subscription costs $48 per month for 2 meals or $60 for 3, and you can choose vegetarian or non-veg, and you’ll receive fresh pre-chopped ingredients and hard-to-find spices to prepare a delicious home-cooked Indian meal. Every month they’ll send you an email for meal selection.

Note that this box delivers only to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware at the present time.  The limited geography ensures limited time in transit, which means fresher ingredients.  Hopefully they will add additional locations from which they ship, so everyone can enjoy it as much as we do!

Saffron Fix August 2016 unboxing

Everything arrived packed in a cushy, reflective, foam-filled liner.  In our first review of Saffron Fix, we noted that there was only one ice pack, and it didn’t keep everything as cold as we’d prefer.  I’m glad to see that they have upgraded their packing, adding several ice packs (three or four in total), and surrounding the food with ice instead of vice versa.

Saffron Fix August 2016 unboxed

Everything needed for each recipe is bagged together, including the meat, but it is packed in heavy duty vacuum bags with much better integrity than typical butcher bags.  The ice packs are mingled with the bags of food, but only the fresh cilantro ever seems to experience any ill effects.  I expect the packing will continue to evolve over time, as that of every meal service has.

Saffron Fix August 2016 (1)

The recipe cards note the cooking time, calories, and number of servings, and it separately lists those ingredients included in the kit and those items you need to supply (e.g. salt, butter, saucepan, etc).  Because the dishes prepared are likely to be relatively unfamiliar to the cook (If you eat gourmet Indian food all the time, I am very jealous), the color photograph is really handy for getting a sense of the desired appearance and consistency of the prepared dish.  Also useful is a short description of the dish, including notes on any unusual ingredients or techniques, as well as a guide to adjusting the heat level of the dish.

Saffron Fix August 2016 (2)

The back of the card has the actual recipe guidance, complete with pictures.  The instructions are very clear, concise, and easy to follow — I think the sentence construction is more natural than that sometimes employed in other subscription boxes, and I appreciate the relative brevity.

Saffron Fix August 2016 review

Each recipe was packed separately, and neatly, in its own bag.  Everything was surprisingly fresh for being pre-chopped — only the cilantro showed any signs of wilting (from proximity to icepack, not quality of product).  Unless noted, the following pictures of completed dishes show one of two servings.

Saffron Fix August 2016 (3)

Achari Paneer with naan. 30 minutes, 350 calories per entree serving.

Saffron Fix August 2016 (7)

This vegetarian dish infuses rich, mild paneer (fresh, pressed cheese) with smoky and savory flavor from a generous amount of potent seeds.  Cumin, fennel, fenugreek, mustard, and nigella seeds join the standard onion, ginger, and garlic, along with some asafoetida (literally “stinky resin” from giant fennel), to form a powerfully seasoned pickling spice mixture.  Instead of pickling vegetables, however, this recipe cooks the spices right into the paneer.  This dish is very easy to make, but it had a very complex and unique flavor.  I liked the way the nigella and cumin remained intact and added a bit of extra texture to the dish.  Both servings are pictured.

Saffron Fix August 2016 (4)

Chicken Seekh Kabab With Saffron Rice. 30 minutes,

Saffron Fix August 2016

These kabobs had tons of flavor from the spice mixture, and they retained lots of moisture, which allowed them to flavor the bed of rice and stay tender through cooking.  A drizzle of chutney (mainly cilantro and mint) and lime juice added an extra burst of flavor.  The ground chicken is much mushier than red meat or turkey, and the kabobs remain very fragile until fully cooked.  This dish would not have worked on a wire grill, and I am glad the instructions recommended a frying pan or griddle for cooking them.

Saffron Fix August 2016 (5)

Garam Masala Duck Tacos With Curry Cole Slaw. 30 minutes, 110 calories per taco.

Saffron Fix August 2016 (6)

These were really fantastic!  I like my duck a little more cooked than restaurant standard — the nice layer of fat kept the breast moist and tender.  The garam masala seasoning was very bold and a great complement to the slightly gamey flavor of the duck.  The slaw was a superb item to serve with the slices of duck.  It was loaded with curry spices and was very thick, so it captured the juice of the duck and added a nice bit of crunch.

We continue to be super-psyched about getting a block of Indian nights every month!  The packing of the items is very nice, and I love the quality of the ingredients and recipes.  The kabob required a little skill to put together neatly, but the other recipes were exceptionally easy to prepare.  Really wonderful flavors and textures throughout.

It’s worth pointing out very specifically that this box currently only ships once per month. We cooked our meals over 3 days but you could sign up for 2 and cook them all together. This box was really delicious and we hope you’re in their shipping zone! Taking the chopping out of the meal preparation really cuts down the prep time.  We wish more subscriptions would provide pre-prepared ingredients, because these meals were so easy to pull off!

Visit Saffron Fix to subscribe or find out more!

The Subscription: Saffron Fix
The Description: Saffron Fix is a meal-kit service specializing in Indian cuisine and flavors. We deliver fresh pre-chopped ingredients and hard-to-find spices so you can cook delicious and authentic Indian meals right at home, in UNDER 30 MINUTES!Flexible subscription delivered first Friday of every month . Skip or cancel anytime you want – no questions asked! We currently deliver to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, Washington DC, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Delaware
The Price: $48.00 per month
See Saffron Fix in the Hello Subscription Box Directory!
The Categories: , . .
The Reviews: See all our Saffron Fix Reviews.

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