The pros: Trader Joe's Jaipur Vegetables does not take up space in your freezer. It's a pantry item. Was ready in about a minute.
The cons: You'll need a separate microwave safe dish or container if you are using the microwave. You might find that this is a hard to find item because for me it's located on the bottom shelf of my local Trader Joe's.
The verdict: For $1.99 you get 2 servings. This is one of those food items I must have walked past at least 100 times because it's located on the bottom shelf of my Trader Joe's pantry items. My only fair comparison point are the frozen Indian products that I've tried at Trader Joe's. If you were to imagine a mild curry mixed with a stew you would have this product. You'll want something to accompany it, like naan, bread or rice as there isn't that much food here to make 2 servings out of, plus there is a lot of sauce here. The few pieces of paneer were blended into the potatoes. Cashews are one of the predominant flavors here. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great either. If you've started off eating Indian from the freezer aisle, then you are very spoiled and should probably stick with those selections.
The box of Trader Joe's Jaipur Vegetables:
The nutritional information:
The ingredients:
How to prepare:
Out of the package you get:
After being cooked you get:
Would I buy this again? For me this will be a no. It looked good, but for me it was lacking in a couple different areas. I wasn't crazy about the smell on this, but it lacked paneer (seriously I found 3 pieces of paneer in this) and couldn't live up to what in my opinion is their best Indian dish, Trader Joe’s Fish Korma Curry. I'd pick Trader Joe’s Paneer Tikka Masala every time over the Jaipur Vegetables. If this had the Korma Curry sauce, then it would be a contender. If you've tried the frozen Indian, I would pass over this dish. It's not inedible, but there are too many good choices in the frozen section for this to have a fighting chance. I would have also preferred it not be presented in a bag that couldn't be microwaved.
Want to see more items I've reviewed from Trader Joe's? Click on Thoughts & Reviews of Trader Joe’s for a searchable list.
Did you try it? Let me know what you think in the comments section!
Is it ok to use after the “use by” date?
Hey Betty! I live by the mantra "when in doubt throw it out." I won't be able to tell you if it is safe or not. But in my mind it is never worth getting food poisoning over. However, I'll direct you to the USDA's answer on this labeling issue. The article is here: https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/food-labeling/food-product-dating/food-product-dating/!ut/p/a1/jZFfT4MwFMU_DY-lF5kL842QmA0duCw61hdTRltISkvaTqKf3vrvYWbo2qd7-ju5955igitMFH3pBHWdVlR-1GT-DBuYR4sM8nIR3cKqeNqUd1kGyfbaA_s_gCK-0D9xUvjPn1_Q4Mqss7XAZKCuRZ3iGleCOUSVHZmxuOJaN8hSztwr4vTgkG0Zcz8PktZMdkp8l4PRzdEzjY9oStxhcjoWRP6uing7W-ZFDOXsN3Amty9gOhi_uZC6_vykfarqOPErGsaZYSY8Gi-3zg32JoAAxnEMhdZCsvCg-wDOWVptHa5OSTz0j9XbfbqE7qHfJTZ9B_9fjN8!/#6
I'm looking at the Jaipur vegs package and under heating instructions it says: "microwave" plus how to... I believe the same instructions are on the whole "Indian Fare" line of Trader Joe's.
Hey Frank! Thanks for sharing.