Diamond Dal

Tonight we're having Kohinoor (as in the diamond company) Dal Makhani, only 3.5, mild and not too spiced, but still okay. After some time, it was increased to 4/5 because there was no afterburn in the mouth.

Also on the table is Shadi Pakora, lumpy patties in runny yogurt sauce, that spilled all over the stove! The thinness of the sauce makes it seem more suited to rice than the chapatis we have, but oh well. The sauce is nice, a bit spicy, but also yogurty. The pakoras are flavorful, but with only three meatball-sized (and we're talking tiny Swedish meatballs, not Italian ones...) pakoras this doesn't look like it will be filling enough for a meal. Tastes good though, reminiscent of those good veggie burgers I grew up on. 4/5 when you're in the mood for it, but might not be worth the high fat content in the future.

Return to India

Today we made a trip to the Indian store again; this one had a different selection than the last store we visited. Tonight we're having MTR Dal Makhani, which is quite good, 4/5, a bit heavy on the spice for me though.

We're also having Chana Masala from Surati Sweet Mart, a company based in Toronto. But don't worry, the food was still produced in India. It looks bland but does have some flavor to it, not spicy, good but the appearance makes it less interesting... 3.5/5.

I can't believe these are all less than two bucks, it's insane.

Tasty Bites

We had Dal Makhani tonight, a bit too spicy, not as good as the Ashoka. One star less.
Also I had the Tadka Dal, nice and soft and yummy, not as spicy as the Makhani. Pretty sure it's been reviewed before, no need to rate. I was in the mood for runny, though, so it's really more than a 3/5 if you know what you're getting in for!

We also had the shelf stable brown rice from TJ's, pretty nice though bland of course.

Beans, beans, the musical...

I'm about to eat Ashoka Tadka Dal, and I can see how spicy it's going to be. This was supposed to be yellow dal, but it looks orangeish-red. And I can smell the spice from a foot away. The taste is pretty good, though, it's not the same yellow dal dish, that's why it's orange/red. Spicy though for sure, and a bit on the gooey side again, like the saag paneer. 3.5/5!
Our other dish is MTR Chana Masala, which tastes good (and spicy) but the chanas are totally not cooked. 1.5/5 for the crunchy legumes.

Ashoka night

Tonight it's Ashoka Palak Paneer, which is a bit on the creamy gooey side, and a bit spicy too. The paneers are alright, especially considering they came out of a pouch. 3.5 or 4/5? Haven't had any other saag paneer packets so it's hard to complain.
The other is the Ashoka Dal Makhani, which is better than the last because it's less spicy but still tasty. 4.5/5!

UPDATE: The Palak Paneer was super good with the TJ's Whole Wheat Tandoori Naan, definitely brought it up to 4/5 with the spice reduction and sweetness and alternative to the homogenous slop of the spinach.

Two more!

Tonight we had Ashoka Baigan Bhartha, which was eggplant. It tasted like barbecue, not eggplant, and was quite spicy. Not worth buying again, though I did finish it. 2.5 of 5. The other dish was the Tasty Bite Dal Makhani, which is Shantonu's favorite. Our package had huge pieces of julienned ginger in it, and the taste was quite mild, which is to be expected for a brand found at Trader Joe's and Whole Foods. 4.5 of 5!

Two boxes tonight!

Today we're having another Chana Masala from Tasty Bite- this one is better than the last, but still not as good as the canned one. The potatoes seem unnecessary, and it is quite spicy. 4 of 5 stars.

The Jodhpur Lentils (yellow dal) from Tasty Bite is smooth, almost too watery, and the flavor is mild with visible cumin seeds. It's too runny to eat with chapati, so I was forced to pick up a spoon. That's common with this dish, but usually there are more whole dals. 3 of 5 stars.

Welcome

We're trying all the many kinds of Indian food in a box, because we're lazy and all.

The first boxed food we had was some chana masala, chickpeas in spicy sauce. It was good, but not as good as the chickpeas and potatoes in a can we had bought at Whole Foods.