Trader Joe's has the best Indian food products. Where can I find tamarind paste?
Trader Joe's has a wide selection of meals from around the world.You can find a lot of food in the store.There are many Indian dishes in the stores of the grocery chain.
I decided to put Trader Joe's to the test to see if they could match the Indian flavors I know and love.The meals you should buy, the things you shouldn't, and the dishes that are okay are below.
Who knew that a frozen fish dish that you heat in a microwave could be good?The fish Korma is one of Trader Joe's best Indian dishes.The fish is tender and the flavors are balanced.This is a great dish for people who like Indian food but don't like the heat.Korma leans slightly sweet.The basmati rice that it is packaged with pairs well with it.I would keep them in my freezer.
Traditionally biryani takes hours and hours to make as the layers in the beloved rice dish meld together.This vegetarian entree is comforting and delicious, and even features little flour dumplings that add a nice texture to the meal.It is easy to do worse than this for a microwave dinner.
This is my favorite frozen meal at Trader Joe's.The cheese is tomato-y and creamy, but not overly so.The chunks are bite-sized.The herby spinach rice is a brilliant move.I make spinach rice instead of plain basmati when making paneer tikka masala from scratch, it's so brilliant.
I almost screamed when I saw this at Trader Joe's.What a treat.The parathas of the Malabar region of South India are very flaky.The dough is folded over many times to create layers of dough that are almost translucent.These are great with Trader Joe's Indian dishes or just on their own.I paid 99 cents for a package with five parathas.
I was skeptical about the Tandoori Naan when I picked it up from Trader Joe's.The majority of shelf-stable naan tastes like bad pita bread.The texture of these naan was the best of the bunch when I heated it up on a pan at home.
Trader Joe's dry basmati rice is better than the large sacks found at your local Indian grocery store.The grains are long, fluffy, and wonderfully separated when cooked.The rice is a great addition to any meal.Palak paneer are cubes of cheese in a base made from blended spinach and spices.One of the most satisfying meals Indian food has to offer is spooned over a scoop of basmati rice and Trader Joe's makes a pretty great frozen version.The paneer has a nice texture.
It is hard to mess with butter chicken, the Indian food cannon.It is basic and boring, but it is what most people want when they crave South Asian food.The chicken is tender, the sauce has deep tomato notes, and the basmati rice is unbelievably fluffy for a meal that takes about five minutes to prepare in the microwave.
Masala veggie burgers are excellent and aren't the most traditional of foods.Unlike many veggie burgers that taste like mush and salt, these patties, which are best heated in a pan with a slick of oil until crisp, are potato based and heavily spiced with things like turmeric and mustard seeds.The result is somewhere between a hash brown and a vada pav.
Tandoori Naan are good.They are great to have on hand, and taste better if heated up on a pan and doused with butter.
There is a great Chai Tea Latte.The spices and milk combine to create a drink that is warm and comforting, but also keeps your tongue alert.The powdered mix tastes like it came straight from Starbucks.
They don't deserve this form of torture.The vegan meat chunks are almost inedible and made from wheat gluten, which is supposed to mimic chicken.The sauce lacks flavor and is heavy on coconut milk.The meal comes with cumin rice that is fluffy and satisfying.
The pouch meals from Trader Joe's are brilliant.They are cheap at my local store and are shelf stable.The only problem?They are not very good.The vegetables taste like mush.
It is a huge disservice to tadka dal to have a pouch like this.
You can have a generic Indian-tasting meal if you dump this sauce into a pot.It tastes like Ragu with a splash of cream and fenugreek instead of basil.Skip.
When done right, Garlic NaanGarlic naan is one of the most brilliant foods around.Trader Joe's version feels flimsy and dried out, even after heating it up in a pan and giving it a lather of ghee.It doesn't have the thickness of good garlic naan or enough of a garlic punch for my tastes.
Chicken Tikka Samosas are a great snack because they are stuffed with shredded chicken.It is portable and poppable.The dough never quite crisps up for the perfect flaky samosa crust and the chicken tastes like nothing.The texture of the poultry is all you can taste.
Maybe PurchaseGhee is not hard to make.It requires melting down butter, letting it boil a few times, and straining out the milk solids that sink to the bottom.It is worth the effort to make at home because the result is far superior to Trader Joe's, which feels as if it is made from cheap butter.Their version is loose and doesn't have the luxurious fattiness of good ghee.
The Aloo Chaat Kati Pouches remind me of Indian Hot Pockets.They feel like long samosas in the microwave and aren't as advertised.They make for a great quick snack, but they are very high in calories, so you might need a nap after.If Trader Joe's included packets of chutney with these, they would be one of the best Indian items.
If you're feeling ambitious, you can eat one or two vegetable Samosas.Trader Joe's made mini samosas.While they nailed the size, the rest of the snack needs work, and the filling is more bland than you'd expect from a hospital meal tray.These samosas don't come with any, but they taste better when dunked in a swirl of mint and tamarind.
The chickpeas are cooked in a tomato and onion base.Trader Joe's version doesn't hold back on the spices.It is missing the deep notes of flavor that come from letting the onions and tomatoes stew together.