Apr 18 2009
Give your ready-to-eat frozen foods a….Makeover!
They are widely available in lots of flavour and cuisine and when time is running short and you’re feeling the hunger pangs, chances are they’re the ones you reach for. Just heat and eat packaged foods are without a doubut, convenient. They are also inexpensive. Some are healthy & nutrious while most are notorious for being high in sodium and saturated fats. Most are ready in just 3-5 minutes and sometimes taste totally bland. You take one bite and realize it’s totally not something you would be eating if you had the choice.
I, however, like them. I like trying them out and I always have at least one package in my freezer for those days when cooking is the last thing I want to do. But this entry is not about how much I/like dislike frozen, preapackaged foods. It’s about how I’ve learned to transform them a little from tasting like what they are to more like….good food!
First up is one of my favourites: Swanson’s Boneless Fried Chicken - $2.99; 2/$5 on sale
The chicken comes out a little soggy from microwaving (hmm I’ll try the oven next time) but the corn and potato sides are quite tasty (one you try the following tip). I learned that if you don’t exactly follow the special direction for the brownie, it will come out quite dry.
Taste tip: Halfway through the recommended 4 minute heating time, take it out and stir everything to distribute heat evenly. Add a little milk/cream to the mashed potato (if you fancy, even a little butter). Stir again and heat thoroughly. The added milk/cream will add a much-needed creaminess and the potato will actually taste good and prevent it from coming out watery or stiff.
2. Kohinoor Paneer Makhani (Cheese cubes in spicy and creamy tomato butter gravy) - $1.99
I stumbled upon this at the local Metro. The grocery carry a wide variety of ethnic foods, drinks and spices including Mexican, Japanese, Indian and Caribbean. I have never tried any packaged Indian food before. I’m from Bangladesh and a lot of our dishes are alike..so I get most of it at home and that’s the last thing I want when I’m going frozen/packaged food hunting. But I’ve never had Paneer Makhani and was quite intrigued to find it in a store such as Metro! So I had to buy it.
Honestly, when I poured out the contents on the non-stick pan, I was disappointed. There were, at most 7/8 paneer cubes in a pool of liquid. There were no visible things such as onions, tomatoes or coriander: Indian kitchen staples! Not even a visible chili flake!! (Then again it cost $1.99 at Metro. In an Indian store it would probably cost even less and at any reputable Indian restaurant, a Paneer Makhani would cost $10.99)
According to direction, All I had to do was heat it up thoroughly but I was not satisfied with just that. I figured I outta do something to have enough cubes for two. I did that by cutting them with the spoon I was stirring the gravy with. Now there were about 10/11 cubes. The original cubes were pretty decent-sized so it wasn’t like they became teeny tiny. Then I thought I should ADD something from my own kitchen in order to make it at least LOOK like what’s its supposed to be. So I put it on medium heat and chopped up some parsley and tomatoes. Next I figured I should add a little cream too, since it’s one of the main ingredients. I also found out it’s better to add a little oil and reduce the gravy to almost half otherwise the dish would come out watery.
After adding tomatoes, a couple of whole green chillies, parsley and a little cream, the dish was looking totally home-made! The final verdict? I liked Kohinoor Paneer Makhani eventhough I had to dig stuff up from my own fridge to make it more flavourful. I even went out and bought 2 more packages.
3. Kohinoor Amritsari Cholle - $1.99
This is a traditional dish from Amritsar, India (hence the name) of Chickpeas. The original dish, as as much my knowledge goes is a little different from this ready-to-eat version. There’s lots of chopped onions, fresh tomatoes, coriander and chilies involved and they stirred with the chickpeas on the stovetop. But I guess when you’re opting for the packaged version, you gotta make some sacrifices. Also for $1.99, it was fine.
Just like its Paneer Makhani counterparts, I was disappointed after pouring out the contents (12/14 jumbo chickpeas at most) and I had to add the aforementioned ingredients. To make it look and taste more like homemade, I added more oil and cooked the Cholle until the liquid was almost absorbed. Will I buy it again? Maybe.
