Bhindi and Palak

I love Manjula's Kitchen. It's not a restaurant, but a website filled with Manjula Jain's vegetarian recipes, both in print and video. We love Indian food and have been using various recipes here and there, but these recipes for palak paneer (spinach with cheese) and bhindi masala (spicy fried okra) provided fantastic results and were very easy to follow.

Day 308/365 - Lost: Paneer (it really is in there, just not in there-in there)

We followed her recipes to a T, so I will not republish them here as there were no substitutions made, with the exception of excluding bell peppers in the bhindi masala. Bug even fried up cumin papadum (paper thin chips with flecks of cumin seeds) as an accompaniment. We had a delicious and filling dinner.

When we began making these recipes, we were surprised that tomatoes were pureed in palak paneer. The green color is so predominant that I must have overlooked the red tinge. There really was paneer in our palak paneer, but I somehow managed to grab a shot without any.

I almost forgot to note that we did not puree the spinach, preferring to have some texture remaining. To eat palak paneer more often, I think we need to tweak the amount of paneer and heavy cream, unfortunately. Once that is perfected, our results will be posted.

Day 308/365 - Bhindi masala

Bhindi masala is an addictive dish with the blend of coriander, cumin, and hing. I found myself taking a bite here, a bite there, each time I passed by the kitchen. Some restraint was needed and Bug made it clear that if the okras disappeared before he could sit down to eat, he would never make it again. Even with the niggling temptation to sneak just one more okra, that was enough for me to stop cold.

Bug cooked the raw okras long enough so its firmness was retained. I am unsure how frozen cut okra would fair, since we always use fresh okra.

The one thing I cannot fail to remark upon is the one ingredient that most people will scratch their heads over -- hing or asafoetida, a gum from a rhizome that is native to Afghanistan. There are no words to describe how pungent this ingredient is. Once you familiarize yourself with this odoriferous spice, you will single the scent out of hundreds of smells each time you walk into an Indian grocery store. While it is noxious in its tiny container, once cooked, a funky transformation occurs. The stinky smell vanishes. In its place is a wonderfully smooth and rounded flavor similar in essence to cooked onions.

- Cassaendra

My Favorite Cookie

I am a sucker for cookies and cake, but I don't eat cookies or cake as often as I'd like to. Who really does? Actually, I don't eat them very often, which is a good thing.

Day 239/365

Yesterday, we went to our favorite Indian restaurant, India's Cafe. Displayed on the counter were cookies made from gram flour (ground chickpea/garbanzo beans), almonds, and presumably a lot of butter.

What sets these beautiful bars apart from most cookies is its texture. Midline in texture, they are soft, dense, and somewhat pliable, not gooey nor crumbly. I don't look like a Cookie Monster poster child with flying crumbs all over my clothes when I scarf these down. A perfect cookie.

Lightly sweetened, buttery, and nutty, it is all too easy to eat several of these and not think twice about eating 100 more. Quite versatile, these treats complement spicy masala chai, as we indulged at India's Cafe, as well as floral Earl Grey tea at home. I'm sure they would go well with [soy] milk. Hmm...

When I find out the name of these cookies, I'll edit this post. 

- Cassaendra

India's Cafe
5549 Ridge Rd
Cleveland, OH 44129
Tel: (440) 842-7724

Masala Western

Bug and I enjoy Indian food and actively seek out new places to try. After reading Cara's description of India Garden on her blog, A Girl About Cleveland, we were excited to check this place out.

India Garden was good, but we don't plan on returning.

That was rather abrupt, wasn't it? Of course, I mean no offense to Cara's recommendation.

This is the run-down of our experience...

Buffet starts at 12:00 p.m. We arrived at 12:45 p.m. There was a 10-minute wait to be seated since the restaurant was full.

The good:
- From the outside, the restaurant looks a lot smaller and very plain. Once you walk in, the deep tones are very relaxing and the spongepad yellow walls brightened the place. The woven gold placemats atop white tablecloth under glass was very pretty.
- The variety of dishes.
- Pans were well stocked most of the time.
- The service was good considering how busy people were filling stations, water, and clearing plates.
- The price was good for the most part. $8.95 for brunch buffet. The mango lassi was $2.95 for a small glass.

The bad:
- What they didn't have available. This is more personal taste, but papadum was unavailable. Bug was a very sad panda.
- Some dishes were really overcooked.
- Lack of warmth. It's hard to be warm when it's busy...some people can pull of an aura of sincerity in the midst of a blizzard, some can't.
- No Indian diners.

The ugly:
- The patrons were obnoxious. That is not the fault of the restaurant. I know it isn't. I still don't have to subject myself to several tables of people yammering loudly on the cell phone either.
- Some diners were so grating, it was actually funny. "Oh, hi! I didn't know you ate here!" Air hug-hug, kiss-kiss. Good grief. *roll eyes*
- Nothing ugly about the restaurant itself though! :)

The offerings...
The lentil soup was sour, so it wasn't my cup o' soup.

The pickles packed a nice punch of heat and sourness. I love them.

Nan was nan.

I am not a big fan of samosas since they tend to be dry. The batch that was just brought out fresh was still dry, as to be expected. Between samosa and pakora, I prefer pakora. No pakora.

The curry selection was chicken curry, goat curry, and a vegetarian one - I forgot. My best recollection of the veggie curry description was garlic, onion, more garlic, and onions. I steered clear. The goat curry was well spiced. I think the previous diners took all meat. It was soup and bones when I got to it. lol

I took a bite from Bug's tandoori chicken and found it to be bland.

The rice was awful. A fresh batch was crunchy and chewy.

Carrot halwah, rice pudding, and that other orange thing shaped like a gigantic pressed powdered orzo in honey were delicious. The carrot halwah had a good amount of nuts. The rice pudding had a light flavor and great consistency - I think it's because the rice was crushed. I like the light syrup that came with that disc.

The tea was okay. I've had better. The cloves made it a fine end to a meal, but it was watered down. I'm used to drinking it with a little more texture and depth.

I like the spice level. Not too spicy to require a gallon of water, but enough to know you're still alive.

Having seen pictures of India Garden, I had to give Cara a warning when I suggested India's Cafe to her -- it is not as pretty as India Garden. Having been to India's Garden, I almost feel that upon walking in to India's Cafe, for many, their minds would be made up. India's Cafe looks like a kitchen; however, as far as flavor, soul, and better mango lassi go, they are the best Indian in Cleveland. While this may sound weird, I actually enjoy eating where I'm surrounded by Indian people and the owner gives off the vibe like you're eating at his home.

This made me realize how subjective a restaurant experience can be based on past experiences. Many sensations contribute to what forms that lasting impression from the sketch you have in your mind prior to stepping out of the house. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the food.

- Cassaendra

India Garden
18405 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 221-0676

India's Cafe
5549 Ridge Rd
Cleveland, OH 44129
(440) 842-7724

Spring Preview

It has been nice out this weekend, 50s during the day (upper 20s overnight though) -- cool enough for Akemi's heavy coat and warm enough that we aren't strapped into Arctic tundra suits to take her out for walks. Mush!

Akemi enjoying the morning air

We're regulars at India's Cafe every since we walked through their door for the first time 1-1/2 years ago. The price of the buffet has gone up from $5.95 to $8.95, but so has the number of items offered. Also, the buffet is, instead, on the weekends so it's accessible without taking a day off from work.

Bug's plate

From the top left going clockwise, Bug had spinach and cheese, lentil, and lamb curries over basmati rice, pickles, pakora, and aloo baigan sabji (curried potatoes with eggplant).

The "aloo" dish rotates each time we've gone. My favorite is aloo gobi (potatoes with cauliflower).

There are always two vegetarian curries offered. The spinach and cheese curry is a mainstay. The other is usually a chickpea curry. Of course, this week it was lentil curry.

Samosa are also served with pakora as appetizers.

Papadum and pickles

We love their papadum, a delicate, thin, crisp, and smoky flavored chip with cumin seeds. I wish they were offered at stores along the chip aisle. Of course, this would never happen, as they are very delicate and would be pulverized one day out on the floor.

The pickles are a wonderful kick in the pants. I LOVE them! I still don't know what they're made of. At first, I thought they were limes because of the sourness, but there's a shell fragment attached that's similar to mango. I need to ask the owner one day.

Other offerings in the pickle platter are raw white onion slivers and chili peppers.

Nan

Their nan is always fresh made. While not being a huge fan of bread, I will eat nan by itself here. Some weeks, the bread offering changes from nan to poori or chapati. From what I've been able to gather, nan is baked using leavened white flour. Chapati is cooked on a griddle using unleavened wheat flour. Poori is deep fried using unleavened wheat flour. Thus far, the soft, tender, and light poori are my favorite!

My plate

My plate is a bit simpler. I had tandoori chicken, a spinach and cheese curry, and lamb curry over basmati rice. This is all I usually eat, plus dessert.

The red meat curry alternates between lamb and goat. I adore their goat curry. It comes bone in, versus the lamb that comes boneless. The two curries have a very rich, deep, spiced flavor, tasting a lot different from the chicken and vegetarian curries. Part of it must be the meat, but I'm sure different seasonings are used as well.

The chicken pan varies between tandoori chicken, butter chicken, and chicken curry. Despite not being a fan of chicken, I do love his chicken offerings. A lot. The tandoori chicken above had a slight smoky flavor and a dusting of spices. It's my favorite of the chicken dishes.

Bug and I shared a mango lassi ($2.99).

I forgot to take a picture of the two dessert offerings. I do not know the names of the desserts, but one was a cool, sweet, milky rice pudding. The other was not particularly sweet and looked like farina (Malt-o-Meal) with almond essence, honey or brown sugar, and slivered almonds sprinkled on top. It wasn't tightly packed like halvah, just the same texture as Malt-o-Meal that you'd eat at breakfast. I wanted to eat a vat of this!

The desserts from week to week vary. Aside from what we had recently, we've had a milky vermicelli dessert, dough ball in a light syrup that was surprisingly not cloying, carrot halvah, and mango ice cream.

A smart business move regarding spice level with the buffet is that the offerings are not spicy (hot/caliente!) at all, so those with gentle palates can enjoy everything offered without worrying that the food will sear on the way in and out. The heat can be layered by pairing the meal with the raw onions and chili peppers offered.

When ordering meals a la carte, the heat level is made to order. The serving sizes are huge, too.

The owner is a very kind man and makes us feel at home each time we go. He always remembers that I order mango lassi. We also see other regulars who, it seems, dine there more often than we do ranging from families, students, businessmen, to a gathering of grandfatherly men. We're almost always the only non-Indians in the restaurant, which, in my mind, gives the place a stamp of authenticity.

- Cassaendra

India's Cafe & Kitchen
5549 Ridge Rd
Parma, OH 44129
Tel: (440) 842-7724

Lord of the Stars

Last week, we went to Udupi Cafe, a purely vegetarian Indian restaurant that serves southern Indian cuisine.

This was a GIGANTIC step for Bug to offer to go there at his suggestion (!!!), since he is a mega-carnivore. I love meat and eat it daily, but some days and depending on the dish I am ok when the meat runs out where I only have sauce and vegetables left.

Bug has been starting to get in to Indian food these past 6-8 months. This is amazing considering he really hated Indian food when he first tried it early in our marriage.

I don't blame him for being gun-shy around Indian food. He either had a bad dish or was ill the day we had gone to an Indian restaurant in North Olmsted. He had a very mean and QUICK case of diarrhea shortly after leaving the restaurant. It hit on the drive home, which is less than 20 minutes, and he barely made it to the bathroom without causing an accident. Each time I would mention Indian food thereafter, he would ask me if we had any diapers laying around.

Udupi Cafe is in a small, dingy strip mall with a rather large parking lot. It's not very impressive, actually it's a little discouraging. When we walked in, it opened up to a very spacious deep dining room, carpeted, and quite fancy looking. Drinking glasses were set at each table over white table cloth. I felt bad walking in with shorts and a tshirt.

We were given beautiful menus to read through. They were extremely descriptive and the gold printed designs were beautiful. I was quite impressed. The service was a bit awkward. The vibe was kind of funky, like maybe the person who normally takes the order was a no-show and everyone was pitching in haphazardly. I think even the chef or owner came out to help. He reminded me of Alan Arkin in Catch-22.

We started off with their sampler. I wish I could remember everything we ate. It had a piece of bread that had a porous texture but was very thick, moist, smokey-sour tasting, some deep-fried vegetables (pakora?), and 2-3 other pairs of different deep fried goodies. I adored the deep-fried cauliflower. Yeah, I'm embarassed that I can't be more exact, but I assumed that I could go back to a menu online as reference.

Our sampler platter came with 4 different dips. Raita was pretty good. There was one that was outstanding - it was reminiscent of Wendy's chili, with more flavors weaved in. That sounds really nasty, I mean, comparing a dip to Wendy's chili, but it's for a lack of a better way of describing the essence - smokey, sweet, and spicy. Plus I am quite fond of Wendy's chili, at least their recipe 25 years ago.

I was stuffed after the sampler. Oh, their sweet lassi was ok. I actually prefer the lassi at India's Cafe because the flavor is stronger and has a thicker consistency.

I ordered a chickpea curry. I loved it from the very first bite. The order arrived in one platter -- two silver bowls with raita and chutney, a large silver dish of rice, and another silver dish for the curry. It is a very rare occasion when I don't complain about food being salty. This curry was amazing - so creamy. The flavors were so rich, and well...after the 5th bite, quite spicy. I went through 4 glasses of water. I'm so glad we were left a pitcher of water. Having eaten 1/3 of my curry, I had only taken one bite of rice. That's unheard of when dining with me!

Bug ordered tamarind rice. Yep, that's it. His platter came with raita, papadum looking thing, and chutney. I took a bite of his rice and thought wow, sour but interesting - a good interesting. There is no mistaking tamarind is there in that dish. A third of the way through his rice dish, he eyes my curry. He hates chickpeas. He grabs my spoon as soon as I put it down to drink a gulp of water and places 4 spoonfuls on his rice. I honestly think he purposely tortures himself.

For dessert, after being OVERLY stuffed, we ordered the deep fried cake balls in rose water syrup. That was quite good. I was expecting the cheese ball and milk dish, but heh, I had a 50-50 shot of ordering it and was wrong. This was quite good though.

We ended up taking home half the food we ordered because I was STUFFED. Bug went to Taco Bell afterwards and got a few things.

Having had that meal, I can honestly agree with what I've read that, at least for one meal, one can actually go without meat! The food there was so rich in flavor that I easily forgot that this was a completely vegetarian restaurant. I would probably skip the appetizers though.

Bug, however, did not forget with each passing second that this was a vegetarian establishment. He doesn't really want to go back, but said he would be willing to return for their buffet to check out some other dishes.

We walked out paying $30 for the entire meal.

- Cassaendra

Udupi Cafe
6339 Olde York Rd
Parma Heights, OH 44130
(440) 743-7154

Happy New Year!

The year started with hearing the ring of my father's voice a few minutes past midnight. What a wonderful way to start the New Year!

For our New Year's feast, we ate a few dishes that Bug and I made the past few days and things we picked up along the way shopping at our regular 3 Asian grocery stores on New Year's Day.

Gumbo. Phenomenal. It was extra spicy this time with the addition of spicier than normal andouille sausage. Miles Market was selling it for pretty cheap - four large sausages for just over $4. Oh, he also added habanero Tabasco sauce. The shrimp was decently priced at the West Side Market - $7/lb for 21 ct raw shrimp. I am also glad that we found a recipe for roux that doesn't require oil! (Blasphemy!) No, I can't tell the difference in flavor or color.

Rogan josh. Very tasty and spicy! It was Bug's first time making this from scratch. My tongue got fuzzy-numb when I ate this. I wonder if it's from the cardamom. I blame everything wrong with a recipe on the cardamom since our pho disaster. I wonder how different this dish would have tasted had we used ghee (clarified butter) instead of vegetable oil.

Namul. It took me an hour to pick the roots off of each sprout, but it was worth it. I also strayed from the recipe by adding chili pepper flakes. I tapped the bag of flakes and 1/3 cup spilled out over about a pound of the bean sprouts. It looks pretty...yeah.

Sardines. We received 2 cans of Mega sardines Afritada style as a gift while shopping at Good Harvest. We love this place, even though their parking lot SUCKS, because they give out treats to customers. In the summer, we often get those cool tubs of lychee cups! I am not really familiar with what Afritada style is, but whatever it is, it tastes great! This tiny can, the size of one of those tiny cans of tomato paste, had around 5-7 sardines, potatoes, peas, and tomatoes. The nutritional fact box said this was 3 servings though. It made me feel like such a glutton since I ate the whole can by myself.

Fukujinzuke. This tasted great with the rogan josh. The crunchy texture and the slight sweetness balanced the brown herbal flavor of the rogan josh. I suppose that's why it goes so well with Japanese curry.

Kim chee. We cheated and bought a jar instead of making it, since I wanted kim chee jjigae this week instead of waiting a few weeks for the homemade kim chee to cook.

Bok tong go (steamed rice cake). You never know how much you miss something [fresh] until you can't have it anymore. The Star Bulletin has a great article on this treat. It's hard to get this out-of-the-steamer fresh here. At best, we get it a day later. I've bought them where it's so dry, it feels like I am eating dried up Elmer's glue. It's $1.25 for two slices, each piece is about 2" x 3" x 1" (short, yeah?).

Pork buns. I was never really fond of these while growing up. I still am not totally sold on it. The slightly sweetened bread is what I LOVE. As a child, I would eat the bread edges off the manapua, like one would eat an apple or pear, and leave the middle part with the meat for my mother. I wanted to do it this time, but Bug wasn't fond of it and I didn't want to waste my 59 cents.

Mixed bag of treats. I love the bags of mixed Japanese pastries. I picked up one that had dorayaki and monaka. Mmm were they good. I was tempted to instead buy some mochi to heat up and roll in kinako powder, but I didn't. I'll save that for a later date. I miss eating fresh kinako mochi at the buffet at Tsukiji Fish Market.

Full belly! *collapse*

- Cassaendra

Light of the Dharma

At work, we celebrated Diwali, a corruption of Deepawali, which is the "light of the dharma," or literally, "array of clay lamps." The celebration is also known as the Festival of Lights. This is an Indian celebration of the victory of good over evil. It was to have been celebrated on November 9th, but it was hectic here and moved to this week. The actual day is determined by the Hindu calendar, as opposed to a predetermined calendar date in the year, which falls some time in October or November.

The celebration was very bright and festive. The scent of candles, cardamom and cumin filled the halls. There was a large spread of food that many of our Indian co-workers made! The hallway was abuzz with excitement. Definitely a joyous time. Several varieties of samosa and spicy "trail mixes," for a lack of a better way for ignorant-me to describe it, were served, as well as lassi, pakoda with cilantro chutney, various finger cookies, rasmalai, and semia. All dishes were made from scratch!

Lassi was excellent. It is a lightly sweetened yogurt drink infused with cardamom. It tasted liked Yakult. I enjoyed nibbling on the remnants of cardamom that collected at the bottom of my cup.

Pakoda was my favorite. It is a spicy deep fried cluster of peas mixed with flour, other vegetables, and cumin. It was a little buttery in flavor, and went well with the spicier cilantro chutney. I can't stand cilantro, but this was wonderful!

The trail mix consisted of tiny pieces of vermicelli, nuts, and other grains that were probably roasted. They were crunchy with a faint buttery cumin flavor and a spicy zip. Once it's been munched, you miss the flavor, and have to go back for more. It's dangerously addictive and I'm glad the food is not in my hallway anymore, since I moved offices.

Each year, I look forward to the dessert made with ricotta cheese, rasmalai. Oh how I love the milky dessert with clumps of ricotta. As one would imagine, it's sweet and creamy. The ground pistachios beautifully contrast the color of the white dessert and gives it a slightly nutty flavor. It always amazes me that cheese can be used as a dessert so deliciously!

I brought spaghetti napolitan for lunch. What a waste, since I'm so full!! Maybe after I poop, I'll be hungry enough to eat again! I'm sure all the creamy desserts will send me to the pot very soon! Go go lactose intolerance!

- Cassaendra

Cuckoo, How He Can Sing

Namaste.

WoW update on the new server, Maelstrom: Bug is 61 and I'm a lowbie 48.

For some reason, I started thinking about the song I used to sing when I was a kid. All I can very vaguely remember is:

Cuckoo, cuckoo - how he can sing
We like to hear him
And to be near him
Cuckoo, cuckoo...

It's probably wrong...maybe I'm just cuckoo!?

While I took a couple of days off work recently, the first thing I thought to do on my day off was to visit India's Cafe in Parma, an unassuming restaurant that we've passed many times. They serve a buffet that, like most places, is only served on weekdays at lunch. I figured what better way to taste a variety of food without much commitment, except for paying $5.95.

I really didn't know what to expect. The door was propped open and a man warmly greeted us as we entered into a scent of curries, basmati, and carraway. It is a very simple, small, and clean place with 5-6 tables covered with vinyl tablecloth. I looked over to the plainly visible kitchen. It was clean and more spacious than the dining area. A woman was kneading bread and another man in a turban busily cooking over a stove.

To the far end of the dining area (15 feet away) was the buffet table with warmers. At first, I was disappointed at seeing only 4 warmers and another table with a pot of soup.

We were offered nan. I ordered a mango shake, while Bug had a can of Mountain Dew. We walked over to the stack of deep-welled styrofoam plates and filled it with a deep-fried chickpea and vegetable ball; spinach and potatoes; lots of rice; papadum; and chicken masala. I also grabbed some soup.

My favorite was the chicken masala, at least what was left of it. Maybe it was because we came in at 1:00 p.m., but between Bug and I, we fought over 2 morsels of chicken that were left in the pan of masala...so the sauce was excellent over their tasty basmati rice. The rice had a subtle flavor that I couldn't clearly identify. It was a little smoky and had an essence of carraway. There was a big black rock in the pan. It was labeled as pilau, which made me chuckle ("filthy" in Hawaiian).

The soup was well-seasoned and probably chicken stock. It was okay, as far as my novice-to-Indian-food taste buds go.

The nan was fresh and piping hot, excellent with the cucumber yogurt raita and spicy pickled vegetables. I scarfed it down quickly. Those vegetables always make me want to blink, shake my head, and yell, "WOW!" While the food is not ornate, it is well seasoned and tasty, which is what counts (at least 90% of the time)! We were offered more nan half way through our stack. Definitely not like the stingy servings from Cafe Tandoor.

The rice pudding was tasty. I'm a sucker for desserts with warm coconut milk!

While the buffet choices were sparse, I did find a dish I thoroughly enjoyed with service that was wonderful. I left satisfied - palatte, tummy, and curiosity - and will return. The residual burn on my greedy little fingers from the hot nan was still felt two days later.

On my next trip, I'm ordering the chicken masala (unless they have lamb!), check out the rogan josh, and top it off with the rice pudding. Yum!

- Cassaendra