Trader Joe’s offers a freezer meal of Paneer Tikka Masala with spinach basmati rice that looked delightful and I wanted to give it a try. Every Trader Joe’s Indian meal I have purchased has been completely delicious so I had high hopes that I was about to have a tasty lunch!
Nutrition, Ingredients and Labelling
Let’s take a closer look at what comes in this 9 ounce tray.
Nutrition Facts
One meal tray is a single serving. The nutrition facts for a single serving are:
- Calories: 410
- Fat: 23g (29% DV)
- Cholesterol: 30mg (10% DV)
- Sodium: 760mg (33% DV)
- Carbohydrates: 39g (14% DV)
- Protein: 15g
The calories and fat are higher than Trader Joe’s Tikka Masala Chicken but that comes with the territory when you start adding loads of paneer cheese to a meal.
Ingredient List
The Paneer Tikka Masala has the following ingredients:
- Tomatoes
- Onion
- Water
- Paneer cheese
- Canola oil
- Cream
- Non fat dry milk
- Cashews
- Garlic
- Butter
- Sugar
- Salt
- Tapioca starch
- Ghee
- Fenugreek leaves
- Cilantro
- Turmeric
- Paprika
- Spinach Rice Pilaf
- Water
- Basmati rice
- Onions
- Spinach
- Carrots
- Canola oil
- Garlic
- Sugar
- Salt
- Turmeric
Labelling
The labelling indicates that this product is Vegetarian.
This product is not labelled as Organic or Kosher.
Heating Instructions
The heating instructions for this product are:
- Poke several holes in the plastic film to let the steam vent.
- Heat in the microwave on High for two minutes.
- Lift the film and carefully stir the paneer cheese.
- Heat in the microwave on High for two more minutes.
- Let stand for two minutes and serve.
Taste Test!
I have loved all of the Indian meals I have bought at Trader Joe’s and this was no exception.
The tikka masala sauce was incredibly rich and creamy but not spicy. There were plenty of large pieces of paneer cheese. The spinach rice pilaf was tasty and made me laugh.
It took me a while to catch on but this is a hybrid dish between two Indian classics and Trader Joe’s pulled it off very well. One of the most popular vegetarian Indian meals is Palak Paneer which consists of cubes of paneer cheese simmered in a complex and mildly spicy cream spinach sauce.
By serving cubes of paneer cheese in a tikka masala sauce along with a spinach pilaf you get classic Tikka Masala and Palak Paneer flavors in one dish! Nicely done, Trader Joe’s!
If you, or someone you know, has not tried Indian food before then this would be a get dish to start them out.
This vegetarian delight was extremely filling. The amount of food provided, as well as the range of complex flavors deployed, made this an extremely satisfying lunch.
This meal cost me $3.29 for a single 9 ounce tray and it was worth every penny.
I am very happy with this product and will be buying it again.
