ABF-owned Patak's claims its new onion bhaji mix is the first starter dish in the ambient Indian category.

Comprising a standard and hot & spicy variant, Patak's Easy Onion Bhaji for Two (rsp: £1.20 for 65g) is rolling out now and contains sachets of onion bhaji paste and dry mix, to which consumers add chopped onions and water.

The NPD follows a 5% sales rise to £46.9m for Patak's [Nielsen 52w/e 12 June 2010], which put the growth down to a growing number of people choosing to create Indian meals at home rather than eat out a restaurant.

"The launch of Patak's Easy Onion Bhaji for Two is exciting for us as we are building on the success of our single-use 'Easy' paste sachets and reaching those consumers who want delicious starter dishes to accompany their main meal to recreate an authentic restaurant experience at home," said Patak's product manager Piyank Dutta.