Whole Kitchen Chana Masala

August 7, 2006 | Reviewer: Heather

Price: $2.99
Serving: 1 package, 12.3 oz.
Calories: 470
Fat: 17%, 11g
Sodium: 25%, 600mg
Protein: 11g
Carbs: 28%, 85g
Fiber: 41%, 10g

Whole Kitchen says:Our Whole Kitchen chana masala is made in the traditional Indian fashion. Garbanzo beans are enveloped in a savory spiced sauce and served with white Basmati rice. This vegetarian taste of India goes from freezer to table in about 5 minutes.

Heather says: Well, hello there, fellow lovers of convenience and cheap frozen meals. Thanks for having me. This will be the first of my considerably biased and editorialized reviews of vegetarian and â€“ when Iâ€™m feeling really virtuous â€“ vegan products. Like you, I love food. And like you, ostensibly, food reviews. They not only entertain me but also serve to save me a buck or two now and then. And being a destitute graduate student, I certainly appreciate a dollar saved.

Now then, letâ€™s get started, shall we? For my first review, I pounced upon what looked like a safe old favorite: Whole Kitchenâ€™s Chana Masala. I love Indian food in general, and chana in particular. Iâ€™d never tried this particular product but have been pleased so far with the Whole Foods product lines, so I thought it might be at least moderately edible.

I would sum up this product thus: Blech.

I suppose I had high hopes for this meal, because I love chana so very much. I even stirred it around and fluffed the rice a bit in an attempt to make it look better for its online debut. Sadly, my efforts didn’t improve its taste in the least. The lovely Basmati rice had clumped together
awfully and was, by and large, crispy. There was also not nearly enough sauce, which just highlighted how icky the rice turned out. Not that it would have helped much, for the masala itself was lackluster. The chickpeas were soft, as they should be, but the sauce was unremarkable. The only thing I could think to do to improve upon its taste was add salt, and yet — judging by the nutritional information — that would be inadvisable.

All in all, this meal was a bit of disappointment. In general, I don’t make much Indian food at home, precisely because it ends up tasting exactly like this meal…blah. But I will say this much for my cooking - at least I can make a batch of non-crispy Basmati rice.

comments

3 Responses to “Whole Kitchen Chana Masala”

Ace N. on August 8th, 2006

I can’t stand getting crispy rice snuck in from the bottom of the rice cooker, I can’t imagine eating a whole meal’s worth of the stuff. Rather unsettling to say the least. I think I’ll stick to making white rice with jarred spicy tofu at home.
Heather on August 22nd, 2006

I think that would be highly advisable there, Ace!
LauraFries.com on September 14th, 2006

Wow, I’ve been away from the Internet. I didn’t realize you were blogging here, Heather! How cool!

I haven’t seen a microwave since I was in Dublin - so heat ‘em up fer me.

And congrats on the REAL SIMPLE mention, Abi. Simply hot!