FOOD NEWS
13 Popular Tasty Bite Ready-To-Eat Meals, Ranked
BY SARA KLIMEK
13. Kashmir Spinach
This meal didn’t impress with its overwhelming salty notes that overtook all the other flavors and its paneer, which tasted like overcooked soft tofu.
12. Jaipur Vegetables
Now labeled "Vegetables & Paneer," this meal had a thin sauce that couldn’t support the vegetables in it. The vegetables were also indiscernible to each other.
We couldn’t find any of the promised cashews, nor could we taste the paneer cheese anywhere. The soup also wasn’t very spicy, and we didn’t notice any of the Indian spices.
11. Channa Masala
We tried both the old and new designs of this meal, which had few differences aside from the pink package having a slightly sweeter flavor and brighter color.
Both had a mealy, gritty texture, with chickpeas that were sparsely distributed throughout the sauce. Unfortunately, the tomato flavor overwhelmed any complex seasonings.
Channa masala is supposed to be a classic Indian dish that really comes in heavy with spices, but this sauce was overwhelmed with turmeric, which almost turned it bitter.
10. Madras Lentils
This package was almost entirely liquid, aside from pieces of kidney beans and lentils. The bean flavor took over any spice notes that may have been present.
Overall, the meal was filling and tasted like chili that had been left in the slow cooker for a little bit too long. The umami undertone was there, but the texture was too soft.
9. Mushroom Masala
In this one, we could taste a clove-forward sauce packed with cinnamon and what might have been nutmeg. The flavor wasn’t bad and was pleasantly balanced.
Unfortunately, the mushrooms tasted like the dehydrated and rehydrated mealy ones in a can of cream of mushroom soup.