Product Review: Veetee Dal Tadka

Veetee Dal Tadka: Yellow and red lentils in a "punjabi tadka"

My schedule has been pretty insane lately, and I haven't been able to cook. While I don't normally buy a lot of prepared meals, I happened to have this Veetee dal in the cupboard, so I tried it for dinner tonight.  I enjoyed it, and it definitely helped break up the peanut butter sandwich monotony.

I've had other Veetee meals before, and I've always been impressed with their quality and authenticity. I don't generally have high expectations for food that comes in pouches, but their packaged curries are an exception. The ingredients are all real, recognizable foods, and I don't feel like I'm settling on eating crap for the sake of convenience.

After microwaving the pouch for two minutes, it's ready to serve. A+ for speed and simplicity of preparation!

The first thing you may notice about this dal is that gigantic red chili hanging out in there. This stuff is SET YOUR FACE ON FIRE hot. Now, the package describes the product as spicy, so I guess I can't complain that they didn't warn me.

While a bowl of lentils hardly ever looks appetizing, I can assure you that this tasted really good. There were whole curry leaves in there, as well as whole cumin and mustard seeds. You know, like you'd have in there if you'd actually cooked this yourself (or not?). It looks like real food. It tastes like real food! It's good!

Just be sure to serve it with plenty of rice (I didn't have enough!) if you're sensitive to heat, because this stuff is not messing around.

Pro tip: Grocery Outlet sometimes sells Veetee products for $1. That is a fantastic price, so I suggest keeping an eye out. Grocery Outlet, I love so much about the things that you choose to be!

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Mati's (Sacramento, CA)

I've wanted to try Mati's for a long time, but they used to be located in Natomas. Considering I venture to that area pretty much never, it never happened. Fortunately, Mati's recently relocated to midtown! Well, I think they've been there since last year. Anyway, thanks to Groupon, I finally dragged myself over there tonight.

Mati's has good quality counter service food at really good prices (and it was an absolute steal with the Groupon). They have a good selection of vegan curries, all of which are clearly labeled (it says "vegan" right on the stickers on the food case! Go Mati!), so you don't have to ask a lot of questions. The staff was very friendly, and even offered us samples before we committed to ordering anything.

We went with the $16.99 Meal for Two special, which included three sides, naan (garlic or regular), two samosas, and rice. Most of their vegetarian dishes were vegan, and the exceptions were obvious. For our sides, we chose aloo gobi, chana masala, and mixed vegetable curry. The mixed vegetable curry was basically a bowl of cabbage, so I wasn't really into that one, but the other two dishes were very good. The chana masala could have used a little more spice, but the flavor was good. Has bad chana masala ever existed, anyway?

The star of the show was the bread basket! The garlic naan was pretty light on garlic flavor, but it was still delicious (and delightfully puffy!). And the samosas? Well, I could probably have just eaten a basket full of those. Samosas can sometimes be heavy and greasy, but these were light and perfectly fried. Hot, potato-filled goodness. Really, it's worth a trip to Mati's just for the samosas.

The meal also came with our choice of chutneys. We tried three: onion, cilantro, and mango. I wasn't thrilled with any of them, as they were more like little containers of spicy paste than chutney. The mango one was particularly odd. The flavor was somewhere between mango jam and a bottle of perfume. Pass. I didn't need the chutneys anyway, so no real loss there.

I've had better Indian food, but considering the quantity you get for the price, I was impressed with Mati's. Their vegan-friendliness also makes me want to support them, so I will be back. I hope they do well in their new location. The restaurant was pretty empty for dinner, but I would imagine they do most of their business at lunch time, since you can get in and out of there pretty quickly. They seem to have some good luch combination specials, too.

If you're in midtown and in the mood for Indian, give Mati's a try. Don't leave without trying a samosa!

Mati's
1501 16th St
Sacramento, CA 95814

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