Price: $3.49
Serving: 1 bowl, 10 oz.
Calories: 330
Fat: 34%, 22g
Sodium: 32%, 770mg
Protein: 21g
Carbs: 3%, 10g
Fiber: 3%, 1g

if they brought back the rice

Tandoor Chef says: Boneless chicken breast marinated, roasted and simmered in a robust, creamy sauce.

Abi says: The during the late summer of 2006, Deep Foods consolidated their Curry Classics and Green Guru frozen meal lines into the Tandoor Chef brand. The sauces and quality are the same, but the some meals no longer include rice.

The loss of rice took Tandoor Chef’s Chicken Tikka Masala from ‘Excellent’ to ‘Pretty Good’. I don’t particularly want or need to eat an entire container of sauce along with my chicken. Sure, the chicken is deliciously tender and bathed in a masala sauce that defies diets, but it isn’t what I want for a whole lunch. After a brief examination of the nutritional info (9 net carbs!), I wonder if someone at Deep Foods is on an Atkins kick. Let’s pray that it ends quickly and without further food-altering incidents.

All of you sauce-lovers are in luck; the masala is fragrant with spices; warming and hearty. Unfortunately, I want a slightly balanced meal, a meal with rice, a meal with carbs. I miss mixing my chicken and sauce and rice together in a loving, community-building action. Hey Deep Foods, bring back the rice!

When they say ‘garnished’, they mean it. This meal contained all of three strips of onion. At first I was quite disappointed in this lack, then I realized that it is rather difficult to eat long strands of microwaved onion.

Price: $3.49
Serving: 1 package, 10 oz.
Calories: 480
Fat: 23%, 15g
Sodium: 34%, 810mg
Carbs: 17%, 51g
Fiber: 15%, 4mg
Protein: 34g

Curry Classics says: Spiced boneless chicken prepared with basmati rice and garnished with sauteed onions.

Abi says: When they say ‘garnished’, they mean it. This meal contained all of three strips of onion. At first I was quite disappointed in this lack, then I realized that it is rather difficult to eat long strands of microwaved onion. I would enjoy large chunks of sweet onion, preferably Walla Wallas or 1015’s. I used to drive on 1015 to get to my job as a teacher. It was a very nice road, and yes, they grew onions there. But this review isn’t about the onion, it is about Curry Classics’ Chicken Biryani. I’ve never had the meal in a restaurant or at home, so I’m not sure if I should be comparing it to something grander and much more enjoyable. Not to say this meal wasn’t enjoyable. It was delicious. Three hours later and I am still full. Ok, so I had a piece of naan with my meal. But still, it is quite filling.

Reading a wikipedia article on biryani has taught me that it is a quite popular dish. I can certainly see why. Who wouldn’t love some chicken marinated in yogurt and spices and coconut milk then mixed with some other spices and basmati rice? Wow.

I now have a new mission in life: find some biryani in DC.

Update: I found some Biryani at Indique. While the Indique Biryani was scads better than the Curry Classics offering, I realized that Curry Classics has a trustworthy product in freezers across DC. Sure, their Chicken Biryani doesn’t contain sweet golden raisins or crunchy sliced almonds, but it does deliver on the most important parts of a good biryani: well-marinated, well-seasoned chicken, and fragrant, flavorful rice. I’ll definitely be purchasing this meal again.

Price: $3.29 ($2.79 on sale)
Serving: 1/2 tray, 5 oz.
Calories: 130
Fat: 9%, 6g
Sodium: 19%, 450mg
Protein: 5g

Green Guru says: Exotic lentils and split peas. A flavorful and complex recipe makes this blend of dals a tantalizing compliment to any meal.

Kate says: This is not the best dal that I’ve ever had, but it isn’t bad either. Unfortunately for this dish, lemon dal happens to be the best recipe I know, so I have pretty high standards. I’m going to call this OK. If it came with rice, it would probably be upgraded to good. It could use a little more spice and a little more thickness. That said, in the sea of atrocious frozen food, this is still pretty darn good.

Price: $3.29 ($2.79 on sale)
Serving: 1 tray, 10 oz.
Calories: 490
Fat: 29%, 19g
Sodium: 31%, 740mg
Protein: 10g

Green Guru says: Tangy and Spicy, stir fried rice noodles mixed with select vegetables and tofu, prepared with spices, tamarind and ground peanuts.

Abi says: There is a mushroom in the picture. There was also a mushroom (a whole one!) in the meal. I took it out before cooking because I don’t like mushrooms. Thus, this image is not accurate. Inaccuracies aside, this is the best frozen meal I’ve had in weeks. In honor of April being National Poetry Month (thanks Slate.com) here is a haiku: