i like to eat.

I was watching Check, Please!, a TV program that reviews restaurants by local residents. This particular episode featured Udupi Palace, a Southern Indian restaurant in Berkeley. Wanting to try a new restaurant and cuisine, this place seemed like the perfect choice.

The menu was hard to decipher. I had no idea what most of the items were and the descriptions were vague. Luckily, I remembered a few dishes that were mentioned in the TV show.

I ordered a sampler type of dish called thali. Not 100% sure what all the dishes were (would have helped if waiter explained). There was some sort of soup, rice, masalas, sweet chickpeas and lentils - all very different textures and flavors. What the most interesting thing was you'd eat all these dishes with a fried "puffy bread (real description)" called batura. It was huge and quickly deflated once I broke a piece off. The taste was mild and served as a utensil to scoop the different dishes.

Jason ordered a dosa, Indian crepe, with spinach and spicy potatoes. The dish came with a cute little vada or lentil donut. It was quite large and filling, enough to feed the both of us.

Udupi was affordable. It only cost us a little less than $20 for the both of us. The food was good and interesting, but my stomach disagreed soon after leaving the restaurant. I think my stomach wasn't used to all the different flavors and spices. :(

     

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Something_New_tag_food_indian_.zip (741 KB)

Dear friend Wendy has never had Indian food and I haven't had it in awhile, so we went to
Shalimar on Jones x O'Farrell for dinner. Come to think of it, my first Indian experience was also at Shalimar.

A whole bunch of our friends met up with us at the restaurant and we ordered saag, chicken boti, tikka masala, beef jalfrezi, garlic naan and rice.

Saag is the green dish, lower left, that's filled with spinach in masala and cubes of cheese. I always think it's weird to have the cheese, so I pick it out and eat just the spinach.

Chicken boti is one of our favorites. It's marinated chicken breast and cooked in a Tandoori, traditional Indian clay oven, that gives a distinctive barbecue flavor.

Tikka masala takes that same barbecue chicken and drenches it in butter, spices and herbs.

Beef jalfrezi is something new that I haven't tried. The dish came with shredded beef sauteed with tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and spices. The beef was very tender and the sauce was hearty.

Lastly, my favorite, garlic naan, is a delicious way to scoop all your flavorful sauces. Shalimar's naan is slightly thicker than others I've had, but still good and filled with a ton of garlic. I love how it comes straight from the Tandoori, piping hot.

One great thing about most casual Indian restaurants is you can bring your own beer. There's a liquor store around the corner, so be sure to grab yourself a couple of bottles before you go. If beer isn't your choice of beverage, they also serve a chai tea which is delicious.

I usually go to Chutney (see post) that's across the street. In comparison of the two, I believe Shalimar is more authentic and filled with fuller Indian flavors. Chutney's still as good, maybe better and you won't leave the restaurant feeling like you've been working at an Indian restaurant all night (as much).

I had some frozen naan from Trader Joe's that's been sitting in my freezer for awhile. I've been waiting to eat the naan with some sort of Indian food ever since I've gotten it, but haven't had the chance to either buy or make any.

Making Indian food seemed daunting and complicated, but last week, I saw an episode of America's Test Kitchen featuring Indian dishes. I watched the chicken tikka masala segment and instantly knew I had to make it. It seemed easy.....haha. Of course, it did (you have to login to see the recipe, so it's below).

An hour and half later, I made chicken tikka masala. I was tired from all the cooking and luckily, this wasn't my dinner or I'd been starving (I was cooking for the next day since it was late). It's definitely one of the more complex dishes I've ever made - so many ingredients! - but it came out alright.

The chicken was tender and had a nice charred crust on it. The sauce had enough flavor and spices, plus that extra kick of distinctive masala flavor (key ingredient for that is garam masala). At first, I thought the sauce needed more salt, but fortunately, I didn't put any. There were enough spices in the chicken to balance the sauce. The recipe didn't call for the sauce to be pureed, but the ones I've had is always watery and thin (see posts of my Indian meals). I didn't have a sieve or I would have made it even more smoother, plus it would have been more authentic and eye pleasing.

Ironically, I didn't cook the naan that night. I just ate the chicken and sauce and it was still good.

I cooked the Trader Joe's naan the next day and it was horrible. It didn't taste anything close to the ones I've had at Indian restaurants. But, rice and the sauce itself was a great compliment.

Overall, I'm happy I made this recipe. It was time consuming, but now I know to prepare everything beforehand. I'm used to chop, toss into pan, chop, cook, rather than chop everything all at once. To make it better, I'd add more tomatoes and pour the sauce into a sieve for a smooth, liquid consistency.

   

Click here to download:

Tikka_tag_food_home_indian_din.zip (327 KB)

My boyfriend was madly craving for some Indian food on Saturday, so we decided to go to Chutney on Jones x O'Farrell. It's ironic that he was craving for Indian because until recently, he never ate Indian. For some reason, he all of a sudden started to eat more Indian and finally realized it's a great cuisine. :)

I like Chutney because it's affordable and you don't leave the place smelling like you were rolling around in an Indian oven (compared to Shalimar - my other favorite Indian spot). The food service is also quick and like most places, the delicious Chai tea is free.

We ordered chicken tikka masala (my favorite!), chicken boti, chicken saag, lamb seekh kabab, rice and naan. I love using a piece of naan to wipe my plate of tikka masala sauce. It is so good! :)

Indian food never looked that appetizing to me, no matter how vibrant the colors are. It always just looks like a blob of food, but looks are deceiving. The intense spices of all the different flavors melt together in your mouth. Complex. Rich. Delicious.