Trader Joe’s BAINGAN BHARTA (Roasted Eggplant Curry)

25 Jan 2024 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in All Natural, Asian, frozen, General, Indian, New, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, review, spices, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: dinner, Food, frozen, Indian, lunch, Products, Trader Joes, vegetarian

Roasted Eggplant Curry “Northern Indian dish from Punjab. Bharta means Charred grilled/smoked smashed vegetables”

NEW ITEM: Trader Joe’s recently added one more very good “Authentic Indian Recipe” entrée to the frozen Indian dishes they carry.

Baingan Bharta (a spiced roasted eggplant dish) is dish I’ve had many times in Indian restaurants and one I really enjoy. Trader Joe’s version of Baingan Bharta is quite decent, almost like something you could get at a restaurant, though maybe not quite as smokey. But TRADER JOE’S VERSION does have a bit of the classic smokey taste this dish is well known for, and it is very nicely seasoned with lots of authentic spices and flavor.

This dish, BAINGAN BHARTA, joins two other very good frozen entrée vegetarian dishes Trader Joe’s carries which I’ve reviewed and buy regularly: the excellent PALAK PANEER and CHANNA MASALA. I love having any of these in my freezer. For whenever the mood strike for an easy yet very tasty Indian meal. Just FYI, the ones I mention are the ones that are “entrées” meaning just that dish and they don’t include basmati rice (some dishes do) I make my own Basmati rice. Plus I like that that Trader Joe’s put this dish in an Eco Friendly (reclyable) paper base instead of plastic as some other dishes use.

HEATING: Use Microwave, Oven or Stovetop (even though they don’t say that). I made it on the stove and it worked fine just heating in a pan. You can leave it out on the counter for maybe a 1/2 hr, to defrost slightly then put frozen puck in a non-stick pan and heat it on low heat, covered, till its defrosted and heated thru, stirring every five minutes. It may take 15 minutes like this.

This dish of course goes well with Basmati rice and especially some Naan or other bread to scoop it up. I made a quick Raita with greek yogurt and cucumbers on the side. Naturally a nice chutney will go well too and one can not go wrong with TJ’s excellent Sri Lankan ORGANIC MANGO CHUTNEY

Cook up this entree up with Palak Paneer or a package of Channa Masala and some rice or naan and you have an Indian feast that will easily serve two for about $7-8.

$3.49 for 10 oz. I would buy this again.

Vegetarian (but not vegan)

https://www.traderjoes.com/home/products/pdp/baingan-bharta-095249

“Our latest foray into the world of frozen entrées inspired by Indian cuisine combines the mild, slightly sweet flavor and creamy consistency of roasted eggplant with aromatic alliums like onion and garlic, savory seasonings like turmeric and fenugreek leaves, and a nice level of heat, courtesy of fresh green chili peppers. Hearty, flavorful, and satisfying, each bite of Trader Joe’s Baingan Bharta is layered with a pleasantly complex mix of tastes and textures. And though the eating experience may be complex, our take on this iconic Punjabi vegetarian dish (also known in some parts of the world as baigan chokha) is surprisingly simple to prepare: just heat, serve, and enjoy”

You can learn about this dish here which includes a recipe if you are feeling ambitious!

https://www.cookwithmanali.com/baingan-bharta/

Trader Joe’s PALAK PANEER Review: Must-Try Indian Spinach Dish

22 Dec 2023 6 Comments

by promacnyc in Asian, frozen, General, Indian, News, Pantry, Prices, Products, Rave, review, spices, Staple, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: authentic, dinner, Food, frozen, good, healthy, ideas, Indian, lunch, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian

RAVE

Here’s my “honest review” of Trader Joe’s “Palak Paneer, Spinach and Paneer Cheese Seasoned with a bit of curry and chili“.

It’s so good that Vegetarian or not, you should try this!

Trader Joe’s PALAK PANEER is good. Make that very very good. In fact I’d say this is one of my top 5 favorite frozen items Trader Joe’s has. This and at least one other Indian entrée, the equally tasty CHANNA MASALA. Both have a pretty authentic real McCoy Indian taste. Pretty much comparable to what you might get if you ordered takeout from an Indian restaurant.

Trader Joe’s really has some pretty decent frozen Indian dishes. I buy these frozen entrées constantly when shopping at Trader Joe’s (update: now along with the also good new eggplant entrée dish Baingan Bharta) I like to always have these dishes in our the freezer along with a package of Naan of course. If I have those in the freezer I know I can have a delicious really easy Indian meal ready quickly that tastes pretty much as if we ordered in from a restaurant and for a lot less!

PALAK PANEER is a surprisingly good vegetarian dish consisting of spinach cooked with spices and the Indian cheese called paneer.

Paneer is a fresh Indian cheese that is great to cook with as it is firm and doesn’t melt.

Some of the Indian dishes at TJ’s include a portion of rice. A few do not. This dish doesn’t have rice ; it’s an entree only and you get more of the spinach dish here. For me preferable. I just make my own rice. You can make some Basmati rice, which is not very hard, actually that is pretty easy and only about 15 minutes.

TJ’s Palak Paneer is cooked with a lovely combination of spices and a bit of chili giving it an authentic Indian flavor. My only complaint if any is I wish they put more more paneer in this, as I love that. But at least there is just enough so that you don’t feel like they cheated you (side note: one reader writes to say they did used to give you more paneer back when…!

The dish has a little kick from chile but just a tad. I find the spicy level just right, i mean its a little spicy, but just a little bit. It is NOT crazy spicy though of course this is a personal taste preference. If you want it spicier, that’s easy to do, just add something spicy like (Bomba or Peri-Peri)

We eat this whenever we are in the mood for some “real Indian” food because it just that. How can you tell something Indian at TJ’s is any good. Well I have seen Indian people buying the Palak at Trader Joe’s along with some other dishes.

Sometimes alongside this Palak Paneer, I like to make TJ’s CHANNA MASALA (spiced chickpeas). Also quite good, and the chick pea dish and this spinach dish make a good combo with Basmati rice.

If you serve up these with Naan or Paratha for bread and some rice you have a tasty balanced Indian dinner that almost tastes like you ordered it from a decent Indian restaurant, and for a lot less. Maybe 8 dollars for a feast that serves two well? If I’m not too lazy I will make some raita to go with these (just slice up cucumber and mix with garlic and Greek yogurt to make a cooling Raita to go with the above dishes). For a shortcut, you could just buy some the Tzatziki. That will match well too.

TIP: Though they don’t mention Stove-top as a cooking method I have made this that way. Take the frozen slab out on the package and put it in a pan with a tablespoon of water. Heat on low, covered, stirring every 5 minutes or so for about 15-20 minutes till nice and hot.

$3.99 (10 oz)

I would buy this again.

Again this entree does not include rice; some of TJ’s Indian entrees have rice and some don’t. You get more entree when they don’t include it, so I’d rather make my own Basmati rice and get twice as much of the éntree.

Perfect Basmati Rice: A Step-by-Step Guide

Trader Joe’s VEGETABLE MASALA BURGERS

25 Jul 2022 5 Comments

by promacnyc in All Natural, Asian, General, Indian, Meh, Products, Rant, Trader Joes, Uncategorized, update, vegetarian Tags: Indian, Meh, no preservatives, product, Products, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian

Ingredients include: potatoes, canola oil, carrots, green beans, bread crumbs, peppers, corn…..

Though I’m not vegetarian, I like to try vegetarian foods occasionally and see if they are any good. As far as Indian food goes, well I happen to love, repeat, love Indian cuisine. I think it’s one of the great World Cuisines. Certainly the greatest vegetarian cuisine, and I’ve eaten my fair share of Indian food in some really good restaurants which we happen to luckily have here in NYC.

Trader Joe’s does sell a few quite tasty Indian food items. Some are quite good and I’ve give good reviews to quite a few of them.

So I thought I would try Trader Joe’s VEGETABLE MASALA BURGERS. The picture on the package looks enticing plus they are are called “Masala Burgers with Authentic Indian Spices“.” Masala” indicates “mixed spices”.

To be honest when I tasted this, all I could think was that line, “Authentic Indian Spices?”. I find this very plain and lacking in spices. Yes I agree Indian food is not always highly spiced, but generally very flavorful. So my short review is these are Just OK and not terribly exciting. I gather from the feedback here that these Masala Burgers are actually pretty popular, despite what I think. Vegetarians especially seem to appreciate these vegetarian / vegetable burgers.

I just find them a bit too Meh myself. For example, in a dish like Masala Dosa filled with potatoes is basically mashed potatoes however the potato filling has a ton of flavor with assorted spices. I just wish these were a bit more like most of the potato fillings you would find inside say a Masala Dosa.

Trader Joe’s Vegetable Masala Burgers are made primarily with potatoes and to me, I think of this basically as a mashed potato burger with a few veggies. My wife how eats basically everything told me one was enough for her.

The concept is not bad, I just find the execution not as good as some of TJ’s other Indian foods. Again, many which are outstanding (and I see Indian people buying at Trader Joe’s)

One burger has 140 calories.

HOW TO COOK : These are fully cooked but you still need to brown them. Cook them in a skillet for 3-4 minutes per side in a little butter and oil until they look golden brown and delicious. They should get nice and crispy looking on the outside. The crispy texture makes these. Don’t microwave them as they will not get crispy.

TIP: If I had some curry powder I would sprinkle a bit on next time I made these.

I think they needed a little something to them to jazz them up. I think you will want some kind of sauce with these. Maybe Sriracha or Peri-peri sauce. Zhough. Bomba. Magnifisauce. At the very least I would add a little garlic or even garlic powder on these if you make them. The thing that perked this up a little bit for me was putting on a little TJ’s TAMARIND SAUCE, basically a tamarind chutney sauce. Perhaps some CHILE CRISP would be good for these?

I think these may really benefit matching with either Trader Joe’s GARLIC ACHAAR or Mango Chutney

My wife told me “one was enough” which was not a good review from her as she likes most anything I cook. So personally we didn’t find these as good as some other Trader Joe’s Indian frozen items. But again, they seem popular and a few readers have written in that they really like these Masala Burgers, especially if they do something to it to jazz it up. I have two good friends who are vegetarian who told me she loves these TJ’s Vegetable Burgers and buys them all the time. As they say, to each his own.

These might be worth checking out to see what you think, especially if you need vegetarian options.

Trader Joe’s does sell quite a few tasty Indian foods which I find quite good in the frozen section. For example, the super tasty CHANNA MASALA (chickpea curry) which I love as well as the BHAINGAN BHARTA (eggplant) and superb PALAK PANEER (spinach) entrees. All three of these I find excellent. Some people really like the Samosas too. Perhaps you could pair these Masala Vegetable Burgers with the Palak Paneer spinach dish, or Channa Masala for a good combo?

Vegetable Masala Burger $3.49 (4 burgers, 10 oz)

(NOTE: Contains Wheat, bread crumbs)

INGREDIENTS: POTATOES, CANOLA OIL, CARROTS, GREEN BEANS, BREAD CRUMBS (WHEAT FLOUR, SUGAR, YEAST, SALT), BELL PEPPERS, ONIONS, CORN, WATER, SALT, SUGAR, SPICES, GINGER, CELLULOSE GUM, GREEN PEPPER, CITRIC ACID, TURMERIC

TJ’s Indian Masala Simmer Sauce

28 Sep 2021 1 Comment

by promacnyc in Indian, Products, Rave, recipe, spices, Staple, vegetarian, WhatsGoodAtTJ? Tags: Food, healthy, Indian, no preservatives, product, Products, Rave, review, spices, Trader Joes, vegan gluten free, vegetarian

“Trader Joe’s Indian Masala Simmer Sauce makes a wonderful base for authentic Indian meals.“
Masala Simmer Sauce is a Indian style spiced tomato-based sauce which can be used as the main sauce component to easily make a tasty Indian inspired dish that could come together in as little as 15-20 minutes. We made a very tasty Indian style stewed dish with chicken and vegetables using the Masala simmer sauce. It turned out really tasty, served with basmati rice and Naan and some chutney. The sauce is concentrated so you can thin it with water as they suggest (TIP: after emptying the jar into the pot just half-fill it with 8 oz of water, shake it up and pour that into your pot). Or if you want to make a coconut milk version use 8 oz of coconut milk instead of water. I haven’t tried that yet but I know that would make a wonderful dish.

The spices used in this include: pureed ginger, tumeric, cumin, fenugreek, red pepper, cinnamon and clove. All of which combine perfectly with the tomato base to make a very delicious combo. Naturally there’s nothing stopping you from adding some more spices, and I’m in that camp. I had added additional chopped ginger and fresh garlic plus a 1/2 chopped onion which I browned up first in some ghee (butter) before adding the sauce. As they suggest on the label, this sauce works very well to make a stewed dish with boneless chicken, either breast or thigh meat. Even tastier might be chicken on the bone which one would cook 20 minutes more but boneless works fine and is easy. Add in some frozen veggies (peas, or haricot vert green beans, or edamame) during the last five minutes if you like. I do. Serve the finished dish with basmati rice and some Naan for sopping up all that delicious sauce. We ate this with TJ’s MANGO GINGER CHUTNEY which matched beautifully. Of course one can make this strictly vegan or vegetarian. Just use either tofu and/or just vegetables (veggies, plus beans for protein like chick peas or lentils….) In short, TJ”s MASALA SIMMER SAUCE can be the base of a very tasty dish which is easy and delicious. A 15 oz jar was $2.69.

TJ’s TANDOORI NAAN (frozen)

27 Jan 2021 8 Comments

by promacnyc in bread, frozen, General, Indian, Pantry, Trader Joes Tags: Asian, healthy, Indian, no preservatives, Products, Rave, review, Trader Joes, vegetarian

I really enjoy the Naan Indian breads that TJ carries. These frozen Naan breads are tasty and super convenient, only requiring warming up. They are “handmade in India”. A package of 4 Naan is just $1.99, wow! TJ sells two frozen versions, this plain Tandoori Naan and a Garlic Tandoori Naan version which includes garlic and cilantro. I buy a pack of each kind to keep in the freezer. They’re both really convenient and quite good.

Naan breads can be used for so many things. Of course these flat-breads go great with any of TJ’s pretty numerous Indian food offerings but Naan can be used anywhere a flatbread type bread would be good… with saucy foods, soups, etc. Bake these with cheese on top, or some ham or prosciutto, and you have a terrific easy creation. Pizza with sauce? Sure, I’ve done them that way*. Your imagination is the limit on what you can do with these.

To heat them you can throw these into a regular or toaster oven, or sometimes just throw them in a cast iron pan. Hit them with some olive oil or butter or ghee and they become even more tasty and a little crispier. I sometimes add butter and fresh crushed garlic and these are fab. Or just buy the excellent Garlic Naan version if you don’t want to smash your own fresh garlic. The Garlic Naan ones are really flavorful with some green stuff (cilantro or scallions).

So with your next TJ Indian feast, grab some Naan while you’re at it. A package of maybe TJ’s frozen Channa Masala ($2.29 and delicious) or foil pack of Tadka Dal ($1.99) plus some Naan and some tomato and you have a dinner in 3 minutes for a few bucks that is as good some takeout. I even made my own Tadka Dal and ate it with this Naan. Since I had extra dal, I gave some and 2 naan to my upstairs neighbors who thanked me profusely and told me they devoured it in minutes and that it was as good as an Indian restaurant.

TJ also sells some non-frozen Naan breads in the fresh Bread section. These Naan however cost more, they’re bigger and thicker.

You can make these in pizzas using Naan as your base. These naan are kind of thin so if you want a bit thicker base, get the fresh Naan version TJ carries in the fresh breads section. Though they sell a Pizza base there too!

RAVE

TJ RECIPE: Channa Masala Tomato Soup

05 Mar 2019 Leave a comment

by promacnyc in Indian, Products, recipe, Recipes, Trader Joes Tags: Fearless Flyer, Indian, Products, recipe, vegetarian

Channa Masala Tomato Soup

A veteran of our line of frozen Indian entrées, Trader Joe’s Channa Masala is moderately spicy, belly-warming, and undeniably comforting—basically everything you’re looking for when it comes to cold weather cuisine. Paired with full-flavored Organic Roasted Tomato & Red Pepper Soup, it’s ready before you can ask “What’s for lunch?” (Well, almost.) Don’t forget to warm up Trader Joe’s Malabari Paratha for dipping!

Serves: 4 Cooking Time: 10 Minutes Print Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 package TJ’s Organic Low Sodium Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper Soup
2 packages TJs Channa Masala
TJ’s Greek Yogurt or Sour Cream and chopped parsley, for garnish (optional)
TJ’s Malabari Paratha, cooked according to package directions, for dipping (optional)

DIRECTIONS

Add soup to a medium saucepan. Heat over medium-low, stirring occasionally.

While soup heats, microwave channa masala according to package directions; stir.

Divide soup among 4 shallow serving bowls. Divide channa masala and gently spoon atop center of soup. Garnish with a dollop of yogurt and a sprinkle of chopped parsley. Enjoy!