We’ve had mixed experiences with frozen food from Trader Joe’s. They’ve definitely made some great-tasting dishes, but they’ve put out some real duds too. We weren’t sure which category the Channa Masala would fall under. The soupy-looking dish we took out of the microwave didn’t exactly fill us with confidence.
This may not look impressive at first glance, but it’s actually quite delicious. Once everything is stirred and left to sit for a few minutes, the sauce thickens up and starts to resemble the creamy sauce seen on the box. Even if you’re ravenous, you shouldn’t dig into this right away. Give it a few minutes and you’ll have a much better meal on your hands.
The ingredient list here is fairly basic; it’s really just onions, chickpeas, tomatoes, ghee, and a variety of spices. While simplistic meals don’t always work, we’re happy that Trader Joe’s kept the list of ingredients small. The sauce is flavorful, but not overly spicy or overpowering, and the chickpeas have just the right amount of crunch. A few interesting ingredients, like the mango powder, give the meal an exotic and unusual taste.
We really enjoyed this Channa Masala, and we’d be happy to try it again. It won’t win over anyone that doesn’t already like Indian food, but it should please people that enjoy dishes like this. Don’t be put off by our pictures; this dish definitely improves if you let it sit for a bit.
For more information about this dish’s ingredients and nutritional content, check out our package scans below.
Be aware that Trader Joe’s is “creative” with their serving sizes. While you can have a satisfactory meal of TJ’s Tikka Masala-the entire tray at 9.5 oz, a serving size of TJ’s Channa Masala is HALF of that. They actually call 1/2 a cup a serving. Cup your hand…that’s about how much half a cup is.