Trader Joe's Urges You To Make Indian-Style Burritos Using Its Delicious Frozen Meals

Turning a meal intended to be eaten in one way into something entirely different always feels a bit like being in on a secret hack. So when Trader Joe's suggests you wrap its frozen tikka masala into a burrito, you listen. On its own website, the grocery chain lays out this idea as a quick dinner hack that combines its frozen Indian entrees with tortillas and a few extra additions. It's a fusion of two of the world's best cuisines, if you ask us (even if tikka masala technically originated in Britain and not India).

The reason this one works so well is because of how the ingredients already overlap. Trader Joe's tikka masala (not to be confused with butter chicken) comes with protein (chicken or soy), cumin rice, and a curry-flavored sauce, all of which just lend themselves to getting wrapped up into a burrito. It's a logical move too — Trader Joe's Indian food options are all quick and complete meals in and of themselves, so making them handheld just ramps up the convenience factor. The grocery store sells both chicken and vegan versions of its tikka masala so this idea is easy to adapt for all kinds of diets. Beyond its tikka masala, this could also work with other frozen Indian meals from TJ's lineup like butter chicken, palak paneer, and chana masala.

When you first consider it, turning Indian food into a burrito might sound a bit random, but this approach actually makes a lot of sense. In Indian cuisine, wraps like kati rolls have been doing something similar since at least the early 20th century with fillings (often meat or paneer) stuffed into paratha for a portable and satisfying street food that isn't too dissimilar to a burrito. The biggest difference is basically the inclusion of the rice, which is what makes this TJ's hack a bit more burrito-inspired.

The best advice when trying this at home is to use a little restraint as you run the risk of ending up with a saucy overstuffed burrito that falls apart. It's probably best to let the sauce thicken a little as you heat the frozen meal so that it's less runny and then spread it evenly across the center of the tortilla before adding your filling and folding the tortilla in from left to right as you roll so it doesn't tear. You can then pan-fry it seam-side down to ensure it's fully sealed. 

Trader Joe's recommends you add some peas and a few dollops of yogurt and chutney to each burrito, but you could also add in something crunchier like shredded lettuce or pickled red onions. The final product shouldn't necessarily feel like a replica of any dish in particular, but it just shows how flexible both curries and burritos can really be.