The Worst Frozen Indian Entree At Trader Joe's

The frozen food aisles of Trader Joe's are crowded for a reason — there are so many hidden gems in the grocery chain's freezer section just waiting to be discovered. As you bravely reach past other patrons, your hand might land upon an upscale mushroom and black truffle flatbread or a crowd-pleasing spinach and artichoke dip. But if you've made the effort to boldly face down the often overwhelming Trader Joe's crowds, you want to be sure that the items filling your coveted cart space are worth the cost, literally and emotionally.

Luckily, Chowhound writer Sarah Moore has put in the work of testing out a ton of products so you don't have to. Moore has helpfully taste tested and ranked 23 of Trader Joe's Indian food options, frozen and otherwise, to let us know which items are well worth the purchase and which should be left to other shoppers. After scoring each item on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the highest), the worst-ranked item, Fiery Chicken Vindaloo, received just 1.2 points.

When Sarah Moore created the framework for her ranking, there were several factors that could make a dish shine: Is the seasoning just right? Does the product have strong nutritional value? Do you want to keep eating it? And just as many features could signal something worth skipping: Does it taste bland? Is the overall consistency watery? Is it exorbitantly expensive?

Unfortunately, each member of Moore's immediate family marked down Fiery Chicken Vindaloo across the board. The worst possible tasting note came immediately to mind: This dish tasted fake. The meat was so dry that no sauce could help it, calling to mind the texture of firm cardboard. The spicy sauce was hot — too hot — and inspired the absolutely fatal-in-a-taste-test thought that the off-tasting sauce packet had potentially expired (though it hadn't). Plus, not that we'd recommend you buy this product at any price, but the cost was pretty expensive at $4.49. Skip the vindaloo and opt for other warming entrees that scored highly, like Trader Joe's Madras Lentils or Butter Chicken.

In the interest of your taste buds, we'd be remiss not to mention that Trader Joe's Yellow Tadka Dal came in a very close second to last with just 1.4 points. The flavor was simply off, but so off it induced a few gags. Also ranking poorly (or highly on the "gross" scale) was the Tikka Vegetables. Moore notes that while other tikka-sauced Trader Joe's items are delicious (like the Mini Chicken Tikka Samosas or the Chicken Tikka Masala), something went awry in this version, which earned it just 1.6 points.