Trader Joe’s Lentil Rice Biryani

February 23, 2007 | Reviewer: Abi

Trader Joe's Lentil Rice Biryani

Trader Joe says: Made in India exclusively for Trader Joe’s. Our Lentil Rice Biryani is a classic Indian dish. We’ve taken this complex and timely recipe and made it as simple as possible to make. Take one for lunch, dinner, camping or anywhere you want a handy and easy meal in minutes.

Abi says: You know why there’s no nutritional information on this review? I threw away the package without even trying the rice. It smelled that bad. I didn’t even want to have it out in the open air of my kichen for long enough to write down the detailed product
description. I had to go back to Trader Joe’s and copy the description off of a package on the shelf. Fortunately, Trader Joe’s is pretty empty at 9am and I don’t have that much pride.

I would write a more detailed description of the frightening smell that arose from the package, but that would require thinking back to that horrific moment. And that makes my stomach hurt.

Save a couple bucks and your appetite; if you need shelf-stable rice, trust Annie Chun. And for you Trader Joe? Zero stars.

comments

30 Responses to “Trader Joe’s Lentil Rice Biryani”

Heather on February 23rd, 2007

Wow, I’m surprise at this revew-I really like the Lentil Rice Biryani, and I’ve never noticed said odor.
Syrra on February 23rd, 2007

Most “microwaveable” rice packages come in that horrible plastic packaging, which is probably what you’re smelling. Almost every package of microwaveable rice I’ve attempted to try had this horrible burning plastic smell hanging around it when I tried to get it out of the microwave. It may be that the plastic can’t stand up to the higher wattage microwaves, which would explain why some people get the smell and some don’t. The smell tends to leech into the rice, so it’s pointless (and probably unsafe) to try eating it afterward. It may help to microwave it in a different container.

If you didn’t microwave it in said plastic, then I apologize for my misunderstanding.
Abi Jones on February 23rd, 2007

I didn’t even get to the point of microwaving the rice. The smell was so bad that I opened it, tossed it, then realized that I did not want to reach into the garbage can to pull out the package for nutritional and blurb information.
Mike on February 23rd, 2007

It’s really very delicious. I didn’t notice a smell.
MaryAnne on February 23rd, 2007

I was going to buy this just last week. It sounded good. Maybe it went bad? I would have returned it to Trader Joe’s and asked for another one to make sure.
Hmmm on February 23rd, 2007

This review was not helpful or funny.
Abi Jones on February 23rd, 2007

Mike - Are you sure that it was the same one? I’ve had other good rice from TJ’s. I’m wondering if this was the outlier.

MaryAnne - I try to do that, but then I just end up with a bunch of half-eaten things in the freezer. I have come to accept that I am never going to remember to take the stuff back.

Hmmm- While I agree that this review is not funny, I can’t help but wonder why you think it isn’t helpful.
Mike on February 26th, 2007

Yes, it’s definitely the same one. I was shocked to see it without stars; I devoured the whole bag it was so good.
Sarah on February 27th, 2007

Abi, I’m going to buy this and make it one day for lunch, just to make you smell it.
Gypsy on March 7th, 2007

I am really surprised that Abi didn’t like it.
I love it, and somehow I didn’t notice any bad smell.

I had served it when couple of my meat-eating friends had stopped over unannounced. I had served it with Indian Raita (Plain Yogurt + Cucumber + Tomatoes + Cilantro). And they loved it.
Linda on March 13th, 2007

I loved it too. It didn’t smell bad and it tasted delicious. I love Trader Joe’s!
Danny on March 21st, 2007

Actually, this stuff is quite good. Besides, just because something smells bad doesn’t mean it tastes bad.
Zia on March 23rd, 2007

Abi does not know anything about the Indo Sub continent cooking(India, Pakistan, Sri lanka, Bangla Desh and others) The “smell” she says is revolting to her is from the mixture of spices or “masala” and garbanzo beans. She should stick with sald with Bleu cheese dressing (talk about a gross smell)
Abi Jones on March 23rd, 2007

Sarah - No you’re not, today is your last day in the office.

Gypsy - Raita is some great stuff.

Linda - Ok, I guess I’ll have to shell out another couple bucks for a new package of this rice.

Danny - I’m sorry, but when something smells bad, it is often an indication that it has spoiled or contains an organism that could cause me great pain or death. It is pretty sensible of me to not eat something that smells so horrid. Yes, there’s some delicious bad-smelling cheese out there, but I’ve never before encountered bad-smelling rice.

Zia - I agree with you on one point - Blue Cheese dressing is disgusting. Blue Cheese in general is disgusting. But you obviously don’t know anything about me if you’re saying that I’m ignorant when it comes to subcontinental cooking. Please don’t make assumptions about my culinary knowledge.
JenB on April 3rd, 2007

You must have gotten a bad one - maybe the package got a tiny hole in it or something. I tried this biryani and it was so good I immediately went back and got more. I’m serious. Serious I tell you.
ChrisP on April 6th, 2007

We were visiting friends in Atlanta and stopped in a Trader Joes (none here in PA, :o( I got a couple of these meals, and just consumed my first one today. I would say I can’t remember the last instant meal I had which tasted so good. No bad smell, nothing but a fast, great meal. Trader Joe’s - please come to Pennsylvania!
Tom Brusky on April 25th, 2007

I respectfully disagree with the reviewer, I am a big fan of Indian food, and this lentil rice biryani was surprisingly good for a microwavable package. Perhaps she is unfamiliar with Indian food, or maybe received a bad package that was rotten or “off”, but in general i highly recommend this product.

I would encourage people to also try the different flavor - vegetable jambalaya (jumbalaya?) as it is tasty too.

I salute the TJ folks for making such a delicious dish. Any tasty vegetarian dish that takes less than 1 minute to prepare, and costs less than $3, and isn’t particularly unhealthy, is a winner in my book.
Felecia on May 1st, 2007

I can’t enough of this stuff, and seriously it does not smell bad AT ALL. It is an amazing and convenient meal. Please, give it another chance.

AND it’s gluten-free. That should definitely be one of the categories on this site!
Tom on June 3rd, 2007

I have a stack of these and of Trader Joe’s Vegetable Jambalaya rice in my cupboard. I have to believe that the reviewer either had a bad batch or really has a sense of taste wildly different from my own. These products taste excellent, and are an great value as convenience foods go. They smell wonderful when microwaved. I rate them as 4.5 stars for value and flavor.
Barbara on June 22nd, 2007

I cooked it in a microwave safe dish and it was so delicious, I wish I had bought more (I only bought one to try). I served it with the Pujab Eggplant (oh, so HOT but good) and Trader Joe’s Flour tortilla’s which I use for everything. It’s a tortilla, it’s a pita, it’s a naam. I like interesting foods. I am sometimes reluctant to cook in the plastic pouches as I kind of feel that it may alter the taste. Maybe that was the case or as others have stated; it may have gone bad. Anyway, I can’t wait to buy more and have it again. Trader Joe…please don’t give up on it.
leigh on June 24th, 2007

I just bought that rice, some pav bahji and punjab eggplant…I haven’t tried the rice yet, however the vegetable dishes turned out to be great especially the eggplant(and I lurve Indian food). But like you experienced, just the process of cutting open the bag and getting the stuff in the bowl was nauseating in smell and mostly appearance…like it was Indian dog food;) But once heated well, they came to life and I will deffinately buy them again ….Can’t wait to try the rice (I noticed the similarly packaged Zatarini microwave-in-bag rice blends smell pretty funky too before heated). Don’t give up yet…
Trace on January 15th, 2008

Maybe you had a bad batch, I’ve had two packages of Jambalaya this week that had mold when I opened them. Another also had a chunk of road asphalt or a black rock that I bit into and fortunately didn’t break a tooth on. I’m not exaggerating, I have it on a shelf above my sink…. this is the truth. I still buy it though because it is so good. Gooood but sketchy.
Sumuma sam on March 5th, 2008

I’m eating the lentil rice biryani right now and it smells great and tastes very good. you must have had a bad batch.
lgr on April 3rd, 2008

I buy these all the time at my local Trader Joe’s and absolutely love them. Maybe it is as others have said. You just got a bad batch. Personally I don’t microwave anything. I use a double boiler and steam in glass dishes. Microwave and plastic …oh no.
Trish on April 9th, 2008

Does anybody have a recipe for this dish to make from scratch? I really like it, but there is no Trader Joe’s near where I am moving to.

I’ve looked under “Lentil Rice Biryani”, but can’t find anything on the internet.

Thanks.
John Eicholtz on April 14th, 2008

I bought the last package of TJ’s Lentil Rice Biryani in Ann Arbor, asked if they had anymore in back stockroom, They said that TJ’S are no longer handling the Lentil Rice Biryani!!!!!! This is the only product that my granddaughter can eat, because of all her food allergies.. The people at Trader Joe’s said it was not a highly asked for item.
Mike Senkpiel on May 8th, 2008

This is the most unhelpful review that I have ever read online. Obviouosly something was wrong (either with the product or the reviewer) as many people I know enjoy this product regularly.

It seems to me that if one is so sensitive to interacting with food, that a new hobby may be necessary. I was only looking for the nutrician information when i came across this review, which I consider to be an overly-dramatic waste of bandwith.
seth on July 1st, 2008

unbelievable… this was so delicious i felt like i had found gold… lol, throw u’r microwave out the window… use the other instructions, boil water and put package in… perfect…

once again, the reviewer is a nut, or at the very very least was having a bad day… this is a delicious product…
m. on July 7th, 2008

Hmm, I definitely have to agree with everyone above. I eat this stuff all the time, especially when camping because it is so easy, and it is fantastic-tasting. I have to believe that you either got a weird/bad bag, in which case you should have returned it, or else you didn’t give it a fair shake. Given the intensity of the negative review, I’m leaning toward the theory that you got a weird/bad bag.
Jenna on August 27th, 2008

I think I must have also gotten a bad bag. I bought the lentil rice biryani, put it in my pantry, and it smelled terrible- through the bag! It smelled like it had spoiled. I threw it away without opening it. Seeing that the reviewer had a bad bag, and I had a bad bag, and everyone else just loves this stuff, it makes me wonder how carefully the manufacturer is packaging it.