Trader Joe's Tuesday Treats: Indian Microwave Meals
Life is good.
It’s Friday night in 1998. You and your friends just got back from Blockbuster Video. GoldenEye 007 on Nintendo 64 is all cued up. Totino’s Pizza Rolls are heating up in the microwave. Life is good.
Variations of this nostalgic meme have likely crossed your social media feed if you’re a millennial man like myself. I was never really that into GoldenEye, but every other part of this walk down memory lane rings true. Especially the pizza rolls.
Adolescence is almost always simpler, and seemingly better, for most generations from the rear-view mirror of adulthood. Yet as a teenager coming of age in the Pax Americana “end of history” 90s, this kind of retrospective yearning for simpler times rings in a decidedly bittersweet register. We never knew how objectively good we had it.
When my friend group landed back at my date’s house after junior prom, her mother had a freshly baked tray of pizza rolls ready to go. Lisa London knew her audience. Patiently baking pizza rolls in the oven results in a categorically superior product and dining experience, but the iconic snack rose to prominence on the strength of its instant gratification us microwave-native teens relied on when we were too hungry and lazy to do anything else.
In time, I’d like to think my generation moved on from this kind of garbage frozen foods. I suspect that most of us simply evolved in our tastes, continuing to rely at times on microwave meals—but those that appealed to increasingly sophisticated palates. This was my pathway, and introduction, to Trader Joe’s.
These days I use Trader Joe’s for all kinds of groceries, but initially its distinguished frozen section captured my attention. Most notably, TJ’s frozen Indian food held me over for many a workday back when my 9-5 office job included access to a kitchenette and 1100-watt microwave. Whether you’re more into Paneer Tikka Masala or Chicken Tikka Masala, the shared foundation of steamed basmati rice and traditional rich seasoning renders these all-time classic frozen meals.
The extended array of Trader Joe’s frozen Indian food stretches to include other vegetarian options, chicken-based entrees and more. Especially given the price point, this is first class frozen food perfect for those nights you’re too tired to cook, or when you desire a decent hot meal at the office without having to resort to reheating leftovers.
Fair warning: time is a flat circle. It’s 2025. The new season of White Lotus just dropped. You’re on a 15-day Wordle streak. The microwave buzzer just went off: your Trader Joe’s Paneer Tikka Masala is hot and ready to go. Life is good.
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Yeah, I get the TJ Indian food when I’m hungry and desperate. I then discovered the Roti with some kind of sauce, which are more satisfying except the sauce looks like green scum scraped off a stagnant pond. The sauce is okay though if you don’t look directly at it. BTW, you got me hooked on those packaged artichoke hearts. Yum.