JFG Nation, it’s almost the end of summer. You wouldn’t think that since the sun is trying to kill us all (HEAT INDEX 110 DEGREES, DC??? ARE YA KIDDIN ME), but kiddos are about to go back to school in a couple weeks. Right now, at work, is a real dead time – people are either out on vacay or just got back from their summer vacay.

So, in the comments, I’d like to know – where did YOU go on your summer vacation? I’m always curious – to the beach? The mountains? Vegas? International jetset? Where where where. Let me live vicariously through you. Book report style – “Where did you go and what did you see?” Eat anything good? Let me know know know down below low low.

Today’s junk food: Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Kettle Cooked Potato Chips!!

Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Kettle Cooked Potato Chips: The Money Shot

Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Kettle Cooked Potato Chips are the third international flavor that Frito-Lay has released during the Olympics. I reviewed the Chinese Szechuan Chicken chips here (nope) and the Greek Tzatziki ones here (meh).

I love love love Indian food. I recently discovered a fast-casual Indian joint near my job and I hit it once a week now. Bold spices and a bunch of sauce to dip bready naan into. What’s not to love? So I come into these Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Kettle Cooked Potato Chips with high expectations.

I have a lot of expectations for these Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Kettle Cooked Potato Chips also because I’ve tried a decent number of Frito-Lay India chips. The potato chips that come directly from India are seasoned REALLY well, and typically are a little TOO bold for me in certain categories (cumin, coriander, etc.)

Tikka Masala is probably the most easy Indian dish to process for most people, I’d assume. Slightly tangy tomato based sauce with lots of spices that goes perfectly with meat or carb. What’s not to like?

I opened the bag of these Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Kettle Cooked Potato Chips – it smelled a LOT like tikka masala. The blend of spices (cumin, turmeric) was SPOT ON. It smelled like every South Asian restaurant I’d been to – in a very very good way.

I have to admit, when I first popped a few of these Lay’s Indian Tikka Masala Kettle Cooked Potato Chips into my mouth, I was not WOW-ed. I chomped and chewed and thought, “Ok, these are decent. Good general Indian spice flavor, with a light tomato-ey note. Not spicy enough, though.” I found myself wishing that overall spice profile was stronger – like the chips I’d had from Frito-Lay India.

Hours later, I went back to the bag, and tried them again. This time, I REALLY enjoyed the chips. Not sure what happened over the course of those hours, but I found the tikka masala flavor more pronounced this time. As soon as I placed a chip into my mouth, the flavors of cumin and turmeric filled my head. The taste on my tongue was of stewed tomatoes, onion, and garlic, made creamy by the sour cream and milk. The whole thing was savory. It wasn’t that the flavors were stronger or bolder this time around…I think I just understood the combination better. I realized that maybe I was a little unfair previously thinking these were a little weak. Tikka masala isn’t a spicy dish, and is one of the more balanced Indian dishes I’d ever had, so I don’t know why I was seeking out large punches of cumin or whatever.

The one thing that the kettle chip format helped with was the taste of oil/butter. Typically, the best part of tikka masala for me is that there’s this general butteriness to the whole dish which is usually what has people coming back for more mouthfuls. The oiliness of the kettle chips definitely helped recreate that butteriness I love from tikka masala. So far, these have taken the lead of all of the new international flavors. Again, I think you have to sort of LIKE Indian food to really enjoy these chips, but if you do I think these are worth the $2.50 I paid.

Purchased at: Giant Food, Van Ness, DC

Price: $2.50 on sale

Sincerely,

The JFG