Umaimah Sharwani

Pantry

Paro provides a convenient, easy to make and nutritious meal. Users enjoy its beautiful packaging and flavorful dishes, especially the Kitchari. However, some users found the flavor to be bland and needed additional seasonings. There were also concerns about the relatively high price for the quantity provided.

Paro

Masoor Daal

Kitchari

Tarka

Food

beautiful picture! Thank you for sharing. 

Thank you for your feedback! The Tarka is shelf-stable and does not have to be refrigerated.  We're constantly adding more recipes to our website, be sure to sign up for our emails! 

I ordered Paro Kitchari. The presentation of the box and branding was beautiful! It cooks like rice on the stove. I was left with some water to dump out after cooking (maybe my heat was too low or I measured wrong..?), so maybe try a little less water than instructed! Very tasty! 

To be honest, I did not like the 'Masoor Daal' the first time I tried it. It smelled amazing, but tasted bland... After sitting overnight in the fridge, I warmed up another portion the next day, and WOWZA it was as though all the flavors had quadrupled. It was warm, comforting, and absolutely delicious!

Pros:
✔ Easy to make
✔ Pretty packaging and branding
✔ Tarka oil slaps, 5/5 🌟 (tastes like spiced buttery parmesan oil to me)  

Cons:
✖ At $10 a box, it's quite pricy for a pantry staple
✖ The boxes are quite small. Added a photo compared to a McD's nugget sauce

Due to the price, this is not something I would recommend to friends/family. BUT I will definitely be including a bottle of tarka oil in any food lover's holiday gift this year 🎁 

I tried the Kitchari and found it super easy to make. However I found it a bit flavorless and ended up frying up garlic chip, adding a chili crisp and chives to add complexity.

I’d try their other products however since it really was easy to use

I have tried the Kitchari and enjoyed it! It has a good use of spices, and I can see why it is considered a comfort food. I also think it acts as a good dish to serve alongside curry, as opposed to its own meal. It also came with some fennel seeds that tasted similar to black licorice. 

I have been on a big Ayurvedic kick lately after taking a course to learn more about the different practices and incorporating them into my routine. I have been eating Kitchari and mung beans for a few months now so I was excited to try this all-in-one kit. 

I took advantage of the Thingtesting offer to try Paro for free! The branding and the mission statement are very beautiful and I love how easy everything was. When I first opened the box, the serving seemed small but after cooking it, it fluffed up quite a bit. I'd say you could get two servings in one box.

Since I have been eating Kitchari for months, I knew what to expect, but I found this mixture to be a bit bland. I had leftover Kitchari spice and ended up adding more spice to the dish and it tasted a lot better.

I loved the packaging, and I loved that my box of kitchari came with an adorable tin of candied fennel seeds. However, I did not find the kitchari to be super-flavorful. And--this is just my bias--I didn't love the texture. 

It was easy to make, and I'd be willing to try the masoor daal. It just wasn't my favorite.

I enjoyed the texture and flavor of this dish. I have to say, it could pack a more flavorful punch, but what’s in the box was still comforting and tasty! One issue I have is the price. My is it expensive, and $5 shipping that wasn’t reimbursable by this “free”’deal? Gotta say I feel a bit misled.

Still, a tasty addition to my dinner. I’d consider purchasing again at a more reasonable price point.

I love the concept and the branding is beautiful. This particular flavor I tried was lack luster though. It majorly lacked flavor which I found pretty surprising but could be tasty with some extra doctoring and garnishing. I would try a different flavor in the future but I hope the product is improved given the price.

Ordered the Kichari Paro product from Thingdrop and was super excited to receive and cook. It came quickly in the mail with adorable packaging that even included free seeds as that's part of their charm, storytelling, and culture sharing. This particular flavor was a tad bitter, but it was tasty and I would purchase and pair it with meals again. The portion was also fairly large and lasted for about 4-5 meal side dishes. Great all around product!

Yummy and nutritious, great option to have on hand for last minute meals or as a side dish. It thickens nicely as you continue cooking, so don't be alarmed if it seems runny at first. Not too salty, which I've found with other similar brand options.

The only downside in my opinion is the price. Each box runs $10, which I feel is a little pricey for the serving size. I don't think I'd personally pay more than $6 for something like this in the future.

I tried the daal and it was fantastic. It was very flavorful and easy to make. I’d recommend buying the tarka with the daal and adding it at the end for extra spice. Leaving the daal on the stove for longer to cook is also helpful. Overall 9/10

I has the kitchari and it was good! The design of the box is bright and eye catching, which I liked. I was surprised at how small the box is though, and I was worried it wouldn't make very much... But then I was surprised again after cooking because it made more than I was expecting! As a single person who ate this as a side, I feel like I'll get more than the 2.5 serving size listed, so I'm happy about that. Another thing I liked was the taste! While it had quite a variety of flavors, it felt well balanced and nicely seasoned. 

Something I think could be improved are the instructions. It starts out simple enough but between 3 and 4, I got confused. 3 says to stir often until tender, then 4 says to let it sit and thicken... But do I keep the heat on or off? Do I keep it on the stove with the heat off or do I take it completely off the heat? I'm a somewhat beginner cook and this was my first time cooking something like this so I personally could have used more instruction here. Step 4 continues on to say the consistency should be similar to risotto, but as someone who has also never had rissoto, I didn't know what I was looking for and was just confused. I ended up turning off the heat and letting it sit for a while, which seemed fine. It did thicken up but still had a little liquid left, which I don't know if is right or not but it still tasted good in the end. I think this is minor as it still worked out and tastes good.

Overall, I think I would buy this if I saw it a store. It was convenient and easy to prepare and tasted great. The box also lists some benefits of mung beans, which is great! I love learning little things like from packaging, and it makes me feel even better about eating it. 

Was surprised - tastes super authentic. Wish it wasn't so expensive though

The packaging design was so cool I had to try it! After getting two boxes in the mail they sat it my cupboard for weeks before I decided to try it. You see, I didn’t realize it would take 30 minutes to cook. A short time I’m sure for the original recipe, but too long for my liking. The flavor was interesting but light, the texture through me off because the fennel was still hard after cooking. Ultimately, I like having easy pantry items in my rotation and this just takes too long to cook and needs multiple add-ons.

great quick and healthy meal, however I wish that it had more flavor. I also wish the portion size were larger especially considering the cost.

My partner and I just had the Masoor Daal for dinner and it was totally delightful. I followed the instructions on the box and it was super easy to make - basically just add water and boil. I topped mine with a big scoop of the Tarka and that was my favorite part. I enjoyed the Masoor Dall but the Tarka was just so flavorful and drool-worthy. I'm going to add it to my eggs tomorrow morning and I cannot wait. It's the kind of thing you can add to almost anything and make it 10x more exciting. The garlic really comes through and the ghee is so buttery. Also has a nice amount of light spice. Really loving Paro <3 

The only thing I didn't love was the slight floral notes to the flavor but that's totally just my personal preference. Other people might love that!

Loved how easy it was to make this daal. It had a little spicy hit to it and the texture was nice. I added a little Salvadoran cream to it (I didn't have any plain yogurt) and it really balanced the flavors  nicely. 

It wasn't totally clear to me how to store the Tarka after opening. Fridge felt safest so I went with that, but I'd have loved if that was specified on the jar!

I'd also have loved more advice on the site or in post purchase emails re: what to pair with the daal or the kitchari, recipe ideas, etc. It took me a week or two after buying to actually cook or try these and part of it was because I could have used a little more guidance/inspo!

Branding was beautiful and I was excited and nervous about expanding my repertoire to something I wouldn't normally cook. 

Tarka: I have no idea how this buttery taste got packed into this tiny jar. I saw another review calling this spicy, I want to say that it is truly not spicy at all to me and if you have even a tiny sliver of tolerance for or interest in spice you will taste none of it here! It'd describe it more as herbaceous. I was expecting to not use up this whole jar or to know what to do with it but I've used it twice this week alone. Once on crispy potatoes and frizzled onions and once on a charred sweet potato. It'd be BOMB on popcorn. It really is a flavor bomb.

Daal: Delicious. I see some reviewers saying to add less water, I added the recommended amount and cooked it for the recommended time and it was great. Shocking how flavorful this was, it really surprised me. I topped with lots of lemon juice and pickled onions (not necessary but I love acid) and some yogurt. I served it over potatoes with spinach and frizzled onions that I'd tossed in the tarka. It was delicious but honestly unnecessary. I was sure I'd need a side or a carb to serve this with and frankly it was really satisfying on its own.

Haven't gotten a chance to make the kitchari yet but I will update when I do! I honestly see myself buying the daal and tarka again just to have on hand. 


I was very excited to try this trio from Paro. Great to have as a staple in your pantry to whip up a quick meal or add as a side dish. Everyone's palate is different when it comes to spice and flavors so I personally had to add a little salt and theTarka to both the Masoor Daal and the Kitchari (Pictured). Love the Tarka!!! Paro also has great recipes on their website! 

So happy I discovered Paro! I love having ways and quick meal options and Paro makes throwing together a nutritious meal super easy. I recently took a few boxes on a camping trip and it was so great! The only downside I’ve found is that sometimes the instructions aren’t quite accurate (more cooking time needed, more water etc).

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