Customer Reviews

Jyoti Natural Foods Matar Paneer, Peas & Paneer Cheese, Vegetarian, 425 Gram Cans, (Pack of 12)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I recently tried this canned vegetable and found it most authentic. It tastes just like the sauce that was served in the company cafeteria each day for lunch during my 2006 visit to the southwest of India.

First off, letme say that I am not Indian, but I did live in India for 10 years. Many years ago I purchsed the Chana Masala (chick peas in sauce) and remember liking it. After many years, I recently came across Jyoti products again, and thought I'd give them a try. I bought Mattar Paneer, Sag Paneer and the yellow lentils with vegetables (carrots). All three were horrible. First of all, they all had an aluminum can flavor. They were all extremely greasy and salty. They smelled horrible. I managed to eat most of the Mattar Paneer when I mixed it with rice, but the others were inedible, mostly because of the can taste, as well as that the ingredients (vegetables, paneer etc.) being completely liquefied/mush from a can. I felt sad throwing all that food away, but I honestly couldn't get it down without feeling like I was going to get sick. I bought something from them a year ago and it was the same thing. I had just assumed it was a bad batch, clearly something else is going on with their product.

I never thought I could like canned peas. The flavor and texture are totally unexpected. A health food store owner gave us a can of these to try (for free) as he was convinced we'd love them. He was so right! Pick up a can and give them a try. You just might be pleasantly surprised.

(With regard to these being too salty, I haven't noticed that... I also don't pick up a strong aluminum taste from the can (but that's pretty typical of canned goods, I think). Maybe the company's changed some things. All I know is, we approve.)

I purchased this after having tried a similar product from TastyBite that comes in a pouch. I would definitely recommend it as a quick and easy meal. I like to throw a pot of rice on and heat a can of this for a fast and delicious meal. They also make an easily preparable rice, but I have not tried it. Some reviewers mentioned that it is too salty - for me, I find the seasoning to be just right (but always eat it with rice - on it's own, it would definitely be too strong). The vegetables are quite soft, but the cheese maintains it's texture fairly well. I believe this is the closest to "homemade" tasting food that I have ever bought that is heat and serve.

The flavor seems authentic and I liked the level of spice, BUT one serving is a whopping 510mg of salt and it tastes very very salty! If you had planned to eat the can as a meal we are talking about 2,040mg of salt. For me, the level of salt really detracted from the flavor and I hope they will consider lowering it.

I've tried over a dozen different types of canned indian meals, and this is one of my favorites. On its own, it is mild. I always add a spoonful or two of a medium or hot indian relish or pickle (eg mango or lime). It should be eaten with rice. Once you mix one of these cans of food with rice, it becomes a large enough meal to be well worth the cost per can. Like most canned foods, it has a lot of salt. It is common for some of the cans to arrive dented (I eat them anyway).

We used to only get the packages of Indian food but then discovered Jyoti, specifically their Peas & Paneer. It tastes fresher than those in the packages and works out to be a better deal. We will occasionally try another brand's packaged Indian food to get variety, but this one is the only one that we eat over and over. So thankful that we can buy it by the case because we go through it quickly!

Today was my first day trying out these. I have already finished eating 3 cans of this Matar Paneer. So frickin tasty the were! I ate two cans warmed with rice and 1 just by itself. The taste comes from the spices and sour cream combination. Be warned that there is a lot of soy bean oil used to keep this from going bad. 1 can amounts to 560 calories of which 400 is from fats. I think a moderate quick meal can be eaten with half a can of this and some rice that will keep you filled for at least 3-4 hours. I found that there are only about 8-10 cubes of paneer in this thing, about as much as shown in the picture. That was kind of a let down as i like paneer. But the rest of the stuff with pleasant gravy were good enough eaten with rice. A must buy at $2.6 per delicious and fulfilling Indian meal.

i find the salt not a problem as i work out daily and sweat away lot of salt anyway.

I give this 5 stars for taste, but 3 stars for way too much salt, hence the 4 star rating. It contains 510mg per serving (4 servings per can). But it does taste very good.