Ashoka Traditional Indian Meals 1932, Gluten-Free Meal Kit, Vegan Tofu Paneer Assortment, Kosher Certified, All-Natural Variety Pack, Travel Friendly Meals, Authentic with No Preservatives, Pack of 5

The product is good. I enjoyed the food very much and I’ve bought already several times. It’s a little expensive.

Taste is delicious, easy to make and able yo buy in bulk. Highly recommend especially with there rice that they also have.

I love Indian food. For at home my go to is another brand that comes in microwavable pouches and I almost always eat the sea one, the vegetable tikka masala. I was psyched to try this sampler as it allowed me to try just one each of five different flavors so if there was one I did not like I was not stuck with more. These were all described as vegan in in the title and vegetarian on packaging and I found to evidence of animal ingredients so I am going with vegan, not that it matters to me. All the dishes use sunflower oil and this can be a turn off if you are trying to avoid seed oils or reduce your omega-6 intake, but it could be way worse, it could be soy or canola oil. All five have very clean ingredients lists otherwise, there is no MSG, and the ingredients are all natural and simple and are pretty much just vegetables and spices and that's it. All five are also descried as medium heat on the packaging, and they do have nice bite, but I could definitely see how these might be too spicy for some folks, but I was happy with the spice level. These come in pouches inside the boxes but the pouches are foiled are not microwaveable like my usual brand, so I just put the contents into a bowl and microwaved that. First off, the Biryani. I love Briyani but I must be picky because I have has some at restaurants that were disappointingly flavorless. This one was okay and I would eat it again as it would be great to have to use as an a base for one of these other dishes. Please note the, the nutritional information listed for the Briyani in the product photos is NOT consistent with the packaging, I have posted a photo of the nutrition label for the Briyani as I received it and for rice it appears more on par with what it should be. Dal Tadka. This is definitely a little bit more soupy than in the product photos but I knew to expect that from previous experience with this dish both at restaurants and other brands in grocery stores. This one is pretty comparable flavor and quality wise to other grocery store brands and Indian buffets, tough I have honestly had way worse than this Ashoka flavor wise. Bhindi Masala. I am used to okra because I put it in my jambalaya, and I will admit I have never had Indian okra. This has really nice flavor, my only comment would be that I wish the okra came in much smaller pieces. Punjab Choley. I have had a lot of Indian chick pea dishes and I have to say this one has great flavor and the chick peas had great texture for prepackaged and microwaved product. This is probably my second favorite, would buy a five pack of this flavor alone again. Best for last, Baigan Bharta. This one is my favorite! This is a little soupier than the product photo but I don't mind at all because I love the flavor and I love eggplant (called aubergine outside the US). I would definitely but a five pack of just this flavor alone. A final note on value. I know that the cost of shipping is included and that affects pricing, but these meals are a little more expensive than other comparable ready to eat Indian meals I can get at the grocery store. Combine this with the lack of microwavable packaging and that only two of the five varieties really wowed me, I am taking off one star.

The investment of something healthy, delicious & favorable to my unexpected delights. You don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy it!

I only tried 1 pouch but I can tell by the way they made this the Rest will be equally bad. I’m so disappointed because it’s money wasted, I can’t return it. I’ve eaten this dish from many restaurants and this was 100x worse than my least favorite.

I love the taste of these "heat and eat" meals - they are nicely spiced. I had bought them previously in a local Indian supermarket, which sadly is closing. So I checked on Amazon. I am disappointed that I received packaged with just about 1 month shelf life!

got this because I’ve never had Indian food before, and thought this would be a great way to introduce myself to this cuisine without breaking the bank, and be able to try different dishes. With that in mind, I have no idea how these should taste, if they taste authentic or not, too much or too little spice, etc. I can only tell you what I personally think of each dish. Punjabi Choley (received 2) - Curried chick peas. Medium heat/spice level indicated on package. The sauce is slightly grainy with an aroma that I can’t quite explain; not horrible but not quite pleasant either. The chick peas are plentiful, and cooked soft without being mushy. The spice level is slightly above mild for me, however I enjoy spicy foods so for someone else with a lower spice tolerance it might be a more moderate or higher heat. Overall I enjoyed this dish. Dal Tadka - Lentils with Indian spices. Medium heat/spice level indicated on package. First thing I noticed was that this is soupy (not sure if that is expected with this dish). It appeared to be more liquid than lentils. The package suggested serving with naan bread or rice. I didn’t have any naan bread and didn’t feel like making rice, so I ate this dish as is. The lentils were very soft and mushy, but flavorful. The spice level was perfect for my taste, but it could potentially be too spicy for someone else. I enjoyed the flavor, wish there was more lentils to make it more satisfying. Delhi Dal Makhani - Rich curry with black gram and red kidney beans. Mild heat/spice level indicated on package. First impression is color is a reddish brown with a consistency that reminds me of runny refried beans. More mush than whole beans. The spice level is definitely higher than the previous dishes I’ve tried, despite being labeled as mild. So for me (with a high spice tolerance) I would call this medium, borderline high heat level. The dish looks like it should be grainy, but it was actually smooth. The beans are soft but not enough whole beans for my liking. Not a horrible dish, but not my favorite so far, the higher spice level overpowered any other flavors. It was hard to finish. Bombay Biryani - Indian rice and mixed vegetables. Medium heat/spice level indicated on package. There is a lot of rice in this package with some noticeable vegetables mixed in. The scent is something I don’t recognize and one that I personally didn’t find pleasant. Everything was cooked soft, almost mush like. The spice level was definitely medium to me. I couldn’t really taste the vegetables for the amount of spices, but it was still fairly good. I would’ve liked a few more vegetables mixed in, but that is just a personal preference.

Holy cow were these awful