With over 57% of its calories from fat (a shocking 40% of your daily saturated fat alone) and with a ridiculous 35% of your daily sodium, and relatively little protein, this "good" Indian meal is is probably slightly worse for you nutritionally than a Filet-o-Fish from McDonald's, with tartar sauce, though the Indian food has bit more Vitamin A and Vitamin C than does the Filet-o-Fish.
Things that have tons of saturated fat and salt in them taste good, yes. But they are not "good" food.
I agree about the unfortunate fat content, but that's Indian food for you (butter and clarified butter rank highly and separately among the tikka masala's ingredients).
And when you consider the sane portion size of the TJ frozen tray, compared to the huge portions of butter-and-ghee-drenched goodness you get at a restaurant, it's a pretty reasonable way to indulge in Indian.
Oo! This is my default frozen meal - I always have at least one in the freezer at work. Ridiculously tasty compared to what you'd expect. The Chicken Tikka Masala is weirdly good too - moist, tender chicken, I kid you not - and the lentils & rice comes in a close third. Ha!
I try to stay away from the processed foods at TJ's (and everywhere else, for that matter), but I will say their jarred Masala and Korma sauces are pretty tasty, although of course, you still have to cook other things to mix in with them, so they're obviously not quite as quick-and-easy.
@17 - true, but this allows you to make it differently each time. You can slice up an onion or potato, or use tofu, or use chicken, or pop in some yummy shrimp and each time it's different.
In addition to ghee, paneer is cheese and tikka masala sauce is made with cream. So even if you prepare this dish at home, you will end up with high fat content. That said, Indians eat way more vegetables and beans than we do. They also don't eat a big plate of paneer tikka masala; they eat a small portion with a lot of other dishes. It can be part of a very healthy diet.
Oh, hey, for those seeking another easy/excellent/not completely horrible for you but not great either dinner choice: Rising Moon feta-hazelnut ravioli. Top them with olive oil and some goat cheese (the goat cheese is vital; there's not very much feta flavor in the ravioli filling. It's more like hazelnut-butternut squash).
You can get these ravioli on sale for three or four bucks a box sometimes, and this combo is kind of unbelievably delicious.
The chicken tikka masala is my work lunch staple, and I often substitute with this for variety. Get the garlic naan (just a few minutes in the toaster oven) to go with it and you've got yourself a yummy fucking meal.
@23 I have been doing the same thing for a long time. Get the Panner Tikka Masala, frozen peas, and their Masala Nan and you have a great meal. I am kind of freaked out that how f-ing good this is so well known to other people that someone wrote about it in the Stranger
World Market on Western has a wide selection of curries and masalas in jars and zip bags. They are all 3 to 5 bucks and make several servings. You can use them with veggies or meats. The coconut based ones have higher saturated fat contents but you can control how much you use.
Calories 300
Calories from Fat 110
% Daily Values*
Total Fat 12g 18%
Saturated Fat 5g 25%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 60mg 20%
Sodium 710mg 30%
Total Carbohydrate 30g 10%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 2g
Protein 16g
Vitamin A 6% Vitamin C 6%
Calcium 6% Iron 10%
Things that have tons of saturated fat and salt in them taste good, yes. But they are not "good" food.
i'm LITERALLY heating one in the microwave RIGHT NOW and decided to check on Slog while it's in there.
yes, it's very good. esp with yogurt on the side.
And when you consider the sane portion size of the TJ frozen tray, compared to the huge portions of butter-and-ghee-drenched goodness you get at a restaurant, it's a pretty reasonable way to indulge in Indian.
Mmmmmmmmm
i'm microwaving this at work RIGHT NOW and i decided to come check Slog while it's cooking to see what new stuff ya'll have posted up.
....WOAH...
You can get these ravioli on sale for three or four bucks a box sometimes, and this combo is kind of unbelievably delicious.
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