Naan bread's elevation into the fast food arena shows how far it has come. People have discovered how versatile it is and are using it for sandwiches and pizza bases. Honeytop Speciality Foods claims the shift from accompaniment to snack is due to the development of new flavours and different varieties. Its latest development has been plain and peshwari naan for McDonald's to make Indian style sandwiches. Tamarind Fine Foods' raft of stir-in sauces satisfies the demand for a wide spectrum of flavours from a mild fusion of spices and honey, to the piquant and spicy. Marketing director Rosemarie Macdonald says: "Product development has focused on regionality in the last few years. But we are now seeing great emphasis on exotic ingredients such as coconut, coriander, lime and mango." The company's new Spice for Rice concept consists of whole and ground spices in sachets to add to pilau and biriyani rice. A similar move has been taken by Patak's which has brought out its own Spice for Rice variant to pep up rice dishes. This blend of spices in oil comes in three flavours ­ pilau, coconut, and garlic and coriander ­ and just needs to be stir fried with rice, water added and then simmered. Unilever Bestfoods' Chicken Tonight sauce of the season, Moroccan Chicken, is based on an authentic North African recipe, while Smokey Texan, Cajun and Jamaican Jerk are the new arrivals to Sizzle & Stir. Tiger Tiger Marketing's range continues to grow across 12 different ethnic categories. Thai cuisine, said to be the next major trend, is being supported by Tiger Tiger's product development team. A range of 21 ready to use sauces, ingredients, ambient and frozen products are being launched at European Ethnic Food 2001 show at the NEC. Authentic sauces from specific Caribbean islands are on this year's menu at Caribbean specialist Grace Kennedy which will be launching four authentic cooking sauces under the Simply Caribbean banner: Jamaican jerk, Trinidad curry, St Lucia coconut and coriander, and Martinique Creole cooking sauces. Marketing manager Neil Hill says: "They emphasise our move to draw on the heritage of many of the islands beyond our Jamaican base." Caribbean specialist Walkerswood also focuses on its roots with a range of Jamaican sauces. The latest is One Stop Jerk table sauce and a Caribbean curry paste. Using celebrity chef branding still has potential. Top Scottish chef Nick Nairn is the face behind Scottish company Baxters' pouched sauce range, and Tilda's long association with Madhur Jaffrey continues with two new cook-in sauces, Kerala sauce with coconut and mango, and a tandoori sauce for butter chicken. {{FOCUS SPECIALS }}

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