Archive for the ‘Indian’ Category
V-Rating: VVV My biggest gripe about moving to Sydney was the lack of good Indian restaurants. But then I’d been spoiled by four years of living in Canberra. Ask a Canberran where to get Indian and 9 out of ten times they’ll suggest Rama’s, an Indian Fijian restaurant located in the sleepy local shops in the southern suburb of Pearce. For first time visitors the setting may seem incongruous, but don’t be fooled by first appearances: Rama’s is one of Canberra’s most beloved, and high quality, restaurants.
I had the good oil from a couple of locals and was prepped to order the vegetarian samosas and the potato and peas pan-fried roti wrap. Yum! The samosas had a crunchy, “I’ve been made in this here kitchen” taste, while the roti wrap was a creamy korma curry encased in a sandwich - why this is not a staple of more lunch menus beats me.
Like many Indian restaurants, Rama’s had a separate vegetarian section on the menu. We ordered the vegetarian dahl and and the palak paneer (again on some local recommendations).
The dahl was mild, but strongly flavoured with lemon and coriander, giving it a crisp, fresh taste.
The palak paneer was unlike any other I’ve tasted - maybe this was the Fijian influence. The sauce was creamy with flecks of shredded spinach mixed in, rather than regle de jeu pokerpoker en ligne argent virtueldes règles du jeu du pokertelecharger jeu poker gratuitespoker en argent virtuelmalette jeu de pokertexas holdem pocket pcpoker en ligne gratuitesonline poker roomjeu poker gratuites francaisworld tour pokerle poker onlinepoker online francevideo poker onlinejeux poker tourcasino poker en lignetelecharger poker 3djeux de poker gratuitementtélécharger gratuitement jeu de poker en lignepoker en ligne gratuitspoker 3d gratuitesstrip poker en lignepoker gratuites cadeaupoker tour regletournoi poker gratuitesparty pokerregles poker hold hemplay seven card studcasino poker texas holdemjeu poker texas holdem gratuitesjeu de poker online gratuitespoker le jeuune régle du jeu du pokersexy pokerjouer wam pokertournoi de pokertexas holdem 2007jouer au poker onlinepoker les regles du jeulogiciel de poker en lignepoker gratuites a telechargeroù jouer au poker en lignepoker texas holdemjouer poker texasjeu de poker gratuitesomaha poker règlesjeu tour de pokertelecharger poker gratuiteslogiciel de poker gratuitesles règles de jeu poker the spinach being the base of the dish. It felt indulgent, but tasted delicious. I gave two thumbs up to the paneer, which was thick and generously cut. Rama’s has more than just great food going for it. The service is warm and professional, you can BYO beer or wine, and the decor is modern and inviting. It’s hard to believe that a modest suburban shopping centre can offer such foodie goodness, but Rama’s is a Canberra institution that sets a high bar for Indian restaurants in other Australian capital cities. If the Indian state of Kerala was a novel, it would be the kind described on dust covers as a ’sprawling historical saga’. Now a Communist state with a democratically elected Government and the highest literacy rate in India, Kerala’s position on the southern calf of the Indian coastline has seen it frequented by Greek, Phoenician, Roman, Chinese, Christian, Jewish and Muslim traders for millenia. Many left traces of their culture in Kerala - some even settled there. In the last 500 years Kerala has been colonised by the Portugese, Dutch and English, all of whom has left lasting impressions through their distinctive architecture and religious legacies. It’s hard not to be fascinated by Kerala’s history - and even harder not to be fascinated by its delicious food. So when I heard about the The History Restaurant in Fort Cochin my curiosity - and appetite - were aroused. Located in the upmarket Brunton Boatyard hotel, the restaurant’s menu is a food journey through Kerala’s history showcasing Syrian, English, Portugese, Arab, Jewish and Indian influences. Initially I worried that most of the cultures represented on the menu aren’t that kind to vegetarians, but fortunately the modern day bias towards herbivores in India assured that there was food for us to try.
We began with an entree called Kodappan, a dish of coconut and runner beans served in a banana flower that is indigenous to Kerala. The best part of this dish was its flamboyant presentation, though the beans were a light, dry way to kick off the meal.
The mains section was helpfully divided into veg and non-veg. Unsurprisingly, the veg dishes were almost all Indian, with the non-veg representing the foreign aspects of Kerala’s history. We ordered the Vaigana Pody, an old recipe of young white eggplant curry from the Konkani Brahmins, and a local version of dal made sweet by the addition of ginger, peanuts and jaggery. The dal was well-executed, but I prefer the savoury kind. The eggplant was amazing - soft and melting, and just a hint of eggplant flavour underneath the curry sauce.
Although feeling full, we weren’t ready to bring an end to our journey just yet. For dessert I ordered the Trifal Appan, a thin pancake of rice stuffed with stewed tropical fruits, mango cream and jaggery sauce. The appan (or appam) is a cousin of the Uttapam that we encountered occasionally in the South (mostly in Kerala). It’s often served with a curry, but was also delicious as the base in this sweet dessert.
Andy couldn’t refuse the Pazham Nirachathy, a banana with cardamon cooked in ghee with jaggery sauce and coconut. Although a simple dish, it tasted lovely and was a great way to finish the meal. The concept of a “history” restuarant could have been naff. And with such diverse gastronomic influences, the individual dishes could clashed and made it difficult for diners to choose a three course meal. Fortunately, through careful planning and an understated but elegant setting the History Restaurant avoids these traps. It’s an expensive, but very enjoyable, way to experience Kerala’s fascinating past. After many months of (mostly) budget accommodation and sweltering heat, Andy and I decided to treat ourselves to three nights of luxury at the Taj-run Savoy Hotel in Ooty, Tamil Nadu. Cool air, horlicks, hot water and badminton, the hill station town was a lovely indulgence towards the end of our time in India. While our hotel cost more in a single night than most of our other accommodation combined, the friendliness of the staff, and the beautiful grounds and room made it worth every penny. Best of all, the hotel offered a “cooking demonstration” run by the restaurant’s chef. We were a little worried by the”for ladies” stipulation on the website, but fortunately that was no bar to Andy participating. Taj hotels are well known for their superior food, and after our great experience at Masala Kraft in Mumbai Andy and I were keen to learn from one of the company’s chefs. The class turned out to be the highlight of our stay.
The Executive Chef, Lok Shahi, was very friendly and accommodating. Assisted by chefs Samodra and Nathan, he happily agreed to run the demonstration at 7pm so we could eat the results for dinner, even though this was just on the cusp of the restaurant’s busier dinner period. We were asked in advance what we’d like to see demonstrated, and specified only that we wanted something vegetarian and South Indian. Even with such meager instructions, the team of Chefs came up with the perfect meal - two vegetarian Nilgiri curries, hailing from the wider hill district of which Ooty is a part.
The first dish was a Nilgiri Kai (mixed vegetable) curry. With Ooty’s cool climate making it well disposed to growing vegetables, it was no surprise to see a dish laden with fresh spinach, carrots, cauliflower and beans.
The vegetables were quickly sauteed, then seasoned with salt, tumeric and an onion and cashew paste. Splashes of milk and water completed the dish, leaving it smooth, creamy and not all spicy, a perfect complement to our second curry.
The next dish was a hearty red kidney bean curry called Avavai Uthaka. It had a typical South Indian spice base of mustard seeds, red onion, turmeric, chili, salt and ginger.
Fresh tomatoes and red kidney beans were added to the spice mix and cooked quickly on a high heat. The result was a filling and fiery dish, perfect for a cold Ooty night. To round off the meal, the chefs made gassu doti, a flat, fried bread with grated potato mixed through the dough. It was delicious eaten with spicy chutney, also made in the Savoy Hotel restaurant.
The skill of the chefs meant the whole demonstration took no more than half hour, leaving us plenty of time to savour our meal amongst the colonial charm of the Savoy Hotel’s dining room. If you ever get the chance to take a Taj Hotel cooking demonstration, grab it with both hands!
The South of India is a big area with a mix of climates, culture and habitats. The food can be equally heterogeneous, making use of locally available ingredients and paying homage to the south’s diverse historical influences. Amidst the variety, however, there are some classic South Indian staples that reappear again and again on the menus of cheap, cheerful and busy local restaurants all throughout the region. Most South Indian dishes were completely foreign to me, not having made the journey to most Australian menus like their North Indian counterparts. Luckily vegetarian restaurants are plentiful so I could take a plunge into the culinary unknown, secure in the knowledge that whatever came out of the kitchen would be delicious and meat free.
The dosa, a large savoury pancake made from a fermented batter of ground rice and urad dal that is cooked quickly on a grill, is ubiquitous in the South. The most common kinds are plain, butter, onion and masala dosa (potato and onion cooked in spices) although some restaurants are more inventive and will add different combinations of vegetables as a filling.
Dosas, like many South Indian dishes, are served with dal or sambar (a soupy tamarind flavoured dish) and a cooling coconut chatni.
The masala dosa…a dish worthy of potatoes I could easily eat a masala dosa a day (and if multiple universe theory is correct, I bet somewhere, sometime I do). However, with just three weeks in the south I reluctantly limited my dosa intake to allow time to try some of the other dishes on offer.
Another mainstay of South India food is the idli. Idlis are bright white steamed dumplings also made from ground, fermented rice and urad dal batter. Generally you get a couple per serve, along with sambar or dal and chatni, and they make a delicious, light breakfast.
One of the things I love about Indian food is the range of different savoury snack foods. A classic Southern example is the vada. Vada look like a doughnut, only they are made from lentils or potatoes and are savoury rather than sweet. They are a very cheap option, and so pop up frequently on restaurant menus and railway stations.
Perhaps because all English menus have to transliterate the name of menu items from Hindi or Tamil, or because of differences between local dialects, I often found that the spelling of dishes on menus varied significantly. Oftentimes I could take a reasonable guess at what we were ordering, but on occasion we were surprised to order the same dish under completely different names. So it was with the dahi vadai (otherwise known as thair vadai). This is a vada served in yoghurt and sprinkled with chaat masala. It’s not an unpleasant dish, but the combination of fried lentil doughnut in yoghurt was a surprise and a bit much for my delicate breakfast palate. I thought it would be a one-off order until the vagaries of transliteration led me to try it again.
One of my favourite discoveries in the South was uttapam or uttapa. These reminded me of an omelet, but were made with rice flour, urad dal and sometimes coconut milk, instead of eggs. I loved uttapam for breakfast - they were satisfying without being too greasy like omelettes and came with different fillings, like tomato, onion, and chilli. Definitely a dish I’ll be trying at home where they can be a great vegan alternative to the omelet if you use oil instead of ghee.
South India has a much heavier reliance on rice than the North, and consequently bread plays a lesser role in South Indian food (although still an important one). However, one popular type of bread is paratha, a flat bread cooked in a pan and eaten either plain or stuffed with a filling. While it is prepared in different ways, the plain version is recognisable by the streaky, layered look and texture which comes from the way the dough is rolled out. Paratha with chatni and dal was often one of the cheapest options on restaurant menus and made a great, light snack.
Pongal or kichdi is a sticky, clumpy rice and lentil dish, flavoured with spices like mustard seed, black pepper, cumin and bay leaves. It’s eaten for breakfast with sambar and chatni is the ideal comfort food with a reassuringly bland taste.
While there are plenty of fast, tasty South Indian foods to try, the best way to sample the food in each region is to order a thali. These tend to come with more rice than their North Indian counterparts, and usually have two - three vegetable curries, two or three soup-like dishes, dal, plain yoghurt and a dessert. While we tried a lot of thalis, no two were ever the same and we generally found that the curries used in the thali would be from the area so it was a great way to get a snapshot of the local specialities. I went to India salivating at the prospect at North Indian curries, but left a convert to South Indian food. Cheap, fast, fresh and tasty, South Indian food is a vegetarian’s delight.
V Rating: VVV I didn’t have to be asked twice when some friends asked if we’d be interested in an Indian meal on Saturday night at Darbar on Glebe Point Road. However, I kept my excitement in check because Indian restaurants in Sydney have been one of the great disappointments of living here. I’m sure great places exist, but to date I’ve largely encountered places that have great food and no atmosphere, or lovely decor and unispiring food. That doesn’t stop me hoping to find Indian nirvana but after 3 plus years in sin city I prepare myself for disappointment before trying somewhere new. Despite my pessisism, my first impression of Darbar was positive. The restaurant has exposed sandstone walls and glass partitions, which evokes a sense of history without the dark, squashed interiors of many older buildings. At the sight of the menu, my lips began to smack. There are 13 vegetarian entrees (and the rest of the entree section which follows is just called ‘non-veg’), and nine vegetarian mains. Our friends were seasoned Indian travellers and so we took their advice when ordering. We ended up with a family-sized masala dosa for entree.
For mains, we had the Aloo Ghobi Methi Ka Tuk, Palak Paneer, Darbar Tadhka Daal, and the Gutti Vankai. We also ordered the Darbar Chaat, which is an entree, to accompany the mains. I judge all Indian restaurants by their palak paneer, and on this count Darbar stacked up. The spinach sauce was quite light, and the chunks of paneer were large and tasted fresh. The slices of fresh ginger as a garnish was a nice touch.
What made Darbar stand out from other Indian restuarants I’ve been to in Sydney is that they offer more than the standard Indian fare. I loved being able to have the masala dosa for entree, and the chaat, in addition the standard Indian curries.
Darbar isn’t quite Indian nirvana, but the food and atmosphere are a cut above the average Indian restaurant in Sydney.
V Rating: Super V I’ve been promising to review Maya Masala for Maya Masala is on the eastern end of Cleveland street, surrounded by trendy retro shops and other Indian and Lebanese restaurants. It can be easy to miss, so look for the bright green neon Maya Sweets sign in an otherwise nondescript glass window. Although, I like eating in cafeteria style surrounds while Bollywood movies play happily in the background, it’s fair to say that no-one goes to Maya Masala for the genteel atmosphere. No, my friend, you go there for the food.
The Maya menu is much more traditional than your average Indian restaurant. Rather than a long list of curries, you choose from thalis, dosai, chaat, or tandoor dishes. It also takes a matter-of-fact approach to vegetarianism in that they don’t heavily promote the fact the restaurant or dishes are all vegetarian, they just take it for granted that patrons will assume as much. A good choice at Maya is one of three types of thali tasting plates. I order it every time (I mean, why have one dish when you can try ten?) The downside to the thali is that I inevitably eat more than physiology suggests is possible. Something about serving food in little plates of goodness always leads me to think I’m not eating that much. Ahhh, the happiness of a fool.
This time around we got the punjabi and South Indian thalis. Mine (the South Indian version) came with a spinach curry, an okra curry, a vegetable curry, rasam, raita, rice, a pickle, 2 pieces of puri, a pappadum, kuchumber salad and a little rice dessert. My favourite dishes were the soft textured spinach curry and creamy, slightly sweet rasam. Maya Masala also offers 19 varieties of dosa - huge Indian crepes with a variety of fillings. These look amazing (one first-timer saw her dosa being set down at the table and almost fell off her chair), although can be a little slow to arrive if you turn up first thing in the morning. If by some miracle you aren’t full by the end of the meal, it’s worth taking advantage of (or at least gazing in wonder at) Maya Masala’s undisputed speciality: sweets.
The Maya sweets fill two glass counters at the front of the store. The sweets are traditional desserts generally made from milk or cheese (Maya claims they are made by an experienced Indian Halwais or sweet makers). They come in a myriad of shapes and colours and often have a thick, soft, doughy texture that may be sweetened by being doused in a syrup. Some favourites include gulab jamun, rasmalai and burfees. It’s probably the case that you will find better Indian food in Sydney (although the dosai are hard to beat). But for the sheer pleasure of being able to eat traditional, all vegetarian Indian meals for less than $10, Maya Masala is an unassailable Super V choice.
V Rating: VVVVV Last Thursday was my birthday. The big 29. I didn’t want to plan something special, but also didn’t want to let the final year of my twenties slip through my fingers unmarked. Casting around for something to do I thought I’d check the movie schedule at vegetarian restaurant / cinema, Govinda’s. I knew immediately that I was fated to go there because they were playing Walk the Line, the Johnny Cash biography that I was disappointed to miss at the movies. I love the fact that Govinda’s combines an intimate cinema with a hare krishna vegetarian restaurant. There’s no need for the two to go together, yet it’s so handy that they do.
The buffet options are reassuringly familiar. There’s lentil and vegetable soup, home made bread, brown and white rice, a korma curry, dahl, potatoe and cauliflower pakoras, pasta in tomato sauce and a few cold salads. While Govinda’s food is plentiful, it’s more comfort food than gourmet. I think it tends toward bland, perhaps because as a hare krishna restaurant it doesn’t use onions, mushrooms, or garlic in its dishes. I enjoyed the drinks better than the food - my mango lassi was thick, sweet and cool, and my soy chai was one of the best that I’ve had in Sydney. For me, the real attraction of Govinda’s is the upstairs movie theatre. This is a cosy room filled with low beds, pillows and couches. It’s kind of like being at a sleepover, only with a decent selection of movies. There are usually two - three movie sessions a day. It’s worth getting in line early so you can bag one of the long beds, rather than the slightly less comfortable couch option. The movie choices are always interesting - a combination of art house and popular mainstream releases that are no longer playing at the major cinema chains. Govinda’s is a great concept and a lot of fun. If vegetarian food is your priority there are tastier and better value choices in Sydney. I also wouldn’t take a non-vegetarian here if your intention is to convert them to the pleasures of vegetarian eating - although the range of food means that there should be something here for everyone. However, I love Govinda’s because it feels like going to your best friend’s house for an easy night in - somewhere you know that you can indulge in hearty food, a relaxed movie and great company to your heart’s content. KP. 25/05/06. |
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