Restaurant Review: Khana Peena!

After dinner at Khana Peena tonight, I have a very satisfied stomach.

Let's start with the lamb tikka masala, extremely tender and appropriately spiced. The bright orange sauce it came floating in was delicious, putting a spicy glaze over my tongue with hints of cream. The meat was lean and cut into bite-size pieces. In short, it was surprisingly delicious.

Next, the chicken tikka kabob. Oh, how tender this was. And sweet. And moist. Its fiery red hue had nothing to do with the overall spiciness of it all, just made it look amazing. Oh, and did I mention this came on an oval iron dish, sizzling and smoking. Yes, sizzling. This juicy chicken also sported a wonderful herbal undertone that, in my opinion, really made the dish. The onions that came with the chicken were soft and slightly browned, however, they weren't as flavorful as onions really should be.

Now for the naan and rice. The bread was truly heavenly. It came in a little basket, all warm and cozy. You could practically taste the tandoor, along with the sweet and light flavors typical of naan bread. The rice was particularly good as well; it wasn't flaky or dry, but moist instead. We ordered the basmati, which was long-grained and nicely accented the food.

Lastly: the service. Our waitress was very nice, positive, and always smiling. She made sure to let us know of the whereabouts of our order. A couple other waiters did come and make sure we were doing all right, and one offered to pull down the curtain if the sun was bothering us. Very courteous. The food did take a little longer than most restaurants do to arrive, but once it did, it definitely delivered. Also, I did order a lassi, but our waitress must've forgotten, because it never came and it wasn't on the bill. Oh, well, right? There's always another time, and, believe me, I'll be coming back!

I think Khana Peena earned a 4.5/5 stars! Super delicious food with great service and outdoor seating. (Don't be afraid to sit outside at night, because the heating systems are so great you'll probably forget you're outside at all!)

Regions of Indian Cuisine

This post will cover the unique cuisines of North, South, East, and West India.


North India: Here, dairy products like yogurt, ghee, cream, cottage cheese, and milk play an important part in the making of both savory and sweet dishes. Since the climate in North India is extreme, allowing for a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, this Indian region produces a wonderful assortment of vegetarian dishes. North India also has a notable selection of breads and rice dishes. Several popular North Indian dishes include: Biryani, Pulaos, Daal Makhani, Dahi Gosht, and Chicken Tikka.

South India: In this region, spicy food is abundant; consequently, hot spices are utilized frequently...(chili powder, pepper and peppercorns, etc.) A staple food of South Indian cuisine is rice. Rice is added to practically every meal prepared in this coastal region. South Indians are also fans of coffee! The cooking oils most commonly used in this region include coconut oil, along with vegetable oils such as canola and sunflower. Several popular South Indian dishes include: Idlis, Dosas, Vedas, Sambaar, and Rasam.

West India: West Indian cuisine is the most diverse out of all four regions. Coastal areas in Maharashtra are famous for their Malvani cuisine, (coconut-based hot and sour curries with fish and other seafood), while Rajasthani food is spicy and mostly vegetarian, while also including many delicious meat dishes like Laal Maas (red meat curry. Like South India, vegetable oils are most commonly used over any other cooking oils. Several popular West Indian dishes include: Pork Vindaloo, Fish Curry, Bhelpuri, and Thepla.

East India: In East India, the foods aren't very elaborate. Frying and steaming are popular methods of cooking. The geographical positioning of this region allow for a healthy dose of Chinese and Mongolian influence. This region is known for its love of sweets and desserts. East Indians love to make dessert, and are pretty good at it, too. The staple food here is rice, rice, rice! Most commonly, mustard oil is used for cooking. Several popular dishes of East India include: Momos, Thukpa, Jhaal Muri, and Sandesh.

GreenSociety

Hey everyone! This doesn't have much to do with Indian cooking, but just cooking in general. I recently discovered a new blog called GreenSociety. It doesn't have a whole lot of posts yet, but I would stay tuned for more, because it looks pretty interesting!!! (link: http://stay-greensocietyenviron.blogspot.com/ )

Please remember to be green!!! If everyone does their part, it can make a big change with the environment. Obviously, you should buy local and organic ingredients, and try to cut down on your tap water use, but here are some other tips you can utilize in the kitchen...

1) Use Tupperware. All that plastic baggie and foil junk goes straight to the landfill. Tupperware is good for more than just one use and can save you money, too!
2) Cover your pots. As you're waiting for that water to boil, why not stick on a lid? It will make the water boil faster, meaning less time spent with the stove on!
3) Cut back on the stew! Slow cooked meals such as stews and braises use a lot of energy as they simmer on the stove for hours. Try meals that don't take as much energy, like lassi or a quick sandwich!
4) Get a pressure cooker. An investment like this one won't be regretted! Pressure cookers can decrease energy use by up to 70%, because they speed up cooking processes, thus using less energy!


Hope this was helpful! Look forward to a restaurant review soon! :)

Korma Recipes

As I've said, there are several different versions of this dish. These recipes should cover a good range. Beware, though: many ingredients are needed to complete these meals...a trip to the grocery store should be considered.

Chicken Korma: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/chicken-korma/Detail.aspx
Navratan (Vegetable) Korma: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/navratan-korma/Detail.aspx
Shahi Korma: http://www.whats4eats.com/meats/shahi-korma-recipe
Veggie and Tofu Korma (sounds very interesting!): http://www.101cookbooks.com/archives/winter-vegetable-tofu-korma-recipe.html

Enjoy!

Korma

Today's Food of the Day, korma, originated from Southeast or Central Asia. It is a type of curry that can be made with yogurt, cream, coconut milk, and nut/seed pastes. Its precise cooking methods differentiate it from other curry recipes. There can be both meat and vegetarian versions of this delicious dish, and many other more detailed and unique styles. Be sure to check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korma for more awesome info about korma!

I'm BAAACK!!

Okay, so, maybe I came back a couple days ago, but whatever. I was resting. Being on an island with mean hippies, hard beds, savage ants, constipating food, and a shortage of hot water is really tiring. Have a heart, people.

Upcoming posts: Regions of Indian Cuisine, Early Indian Foods, and Indian Cuisine Timeline.
I'm really looking forward to working on these topics!!!

Indian Dining Etiquette

This post will cover the bases of Indian dining rituals and unspoken laws. I thought learning about all of it was very interesting!
1. Indians typically don't use cutlery for eating; they use their hands instead.
2. You must always use your right hand to recieve, eat, or pick up food.
3. It is considered rude and unhygenic to offer food or cutlery that has come into contact with yours or someone else's saliva or mouth.
4. You must have good posture when eating, and if you are sitting on the floor, you must have your legs crossed.
5. Always eat food as it is served: asking for salt or pepper is considered disrespectful.
6. Lastly, you must not play with your food or distort it in any way; you must also eat at a steady medium pace: eating too slow implies that you do not like the cooking, and eating too fast is rude.

I hope this provided some similarities and some differences between two cultures!

Tandoori Chicken Recipes

Here are some recipes that seem relatively straight-forward...beware, though: the chicken does take awhile to marinate/refrigerate. It is best to prepare the chicken at least 10 hours in advance of when you plan to eat. The recipe times do vary.

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/indian-tandoori-chicken/Detail.aspx
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/grilled-tandoori-chicken-recipe/index.html
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/tandoori_chicken/

Enjoy!

Tandoori Chicken!

Tandoori chicken is a very well-loved, very common dish served in India as chaat, and most Indian restaurants worldwide. It basically consists of roasted chicken, yogurt, and spices. The chicken, marinated in curd and seasoned with tandoori masala, gets it brilliant red hue from several different hot spices, a few of which include cayenne pepper, turmeric, red chili powder. The chicken is then traditionally cooked at high temperatures in a tandoor, (clay oven), thus, the name, tandoori chicken. However, the spicy meal can also be prepared on an ordinary barbecue grill.

The picture above is a very dramatic and colorful clip of the chicken being served as street food in Mumbai.

Spices...

Spices play an important part in almost all Indian dishes. Most dishes contain at least a mild blend of spices, while other dishes use each spice to its full potential, flaunting extreme heat in the process. And that's the true beauty of the way spices are used in Indian dishes...they're versatile. Versatile ingredients are wonderful to keep in the kitchen, because they don't just have to be used for one specific dish. They can be added to all kinds of foods. So, really, that's the beauty of all Indian food. Everything seems to tie together to make one big, richly cultural cuisine.

Let's begin with the seed group: fennel seeds, celery seeds, anise, fenugreek seeds, mustard seeds, pepper, coriander, and ajowan seeds. Fenugreek and mustard seeds both must be cooked or fried to bring out their full aromatic potential. Ajowan is usually used whole, and celery seeds, like mustard seeds, have a slightly bitter taste. Fennel and anise have similar tastes, fennel being a bit more earthy and anise having a tad more zing. Pepper, of course, is spicy, but in a blunt way, meaning its undertones are not easy to recognize. And coriander, on the other hand, is a bit more meek- it really does well to accent other spices, rather than stealing the show.

Now, for some powdery spices (of course, they've been ground to this consistency), cinnamon, ground ginger, asafoetida, nutmeg, and turmeric. Cinnamon, nutmeg and ground ginger both have that slightly sour, slightly spiced taste that you really shouldn't have too much of. (At one time.) They are also nice when used in sweet dishes. Asafoetida, true to its name, is quite fetid, so it must be sealed tightly to ward off the smell. When cooked, however, it develops a garlic-onion taste that is quite nice. And don't forget turmeric: turmeric has a bold taste, one that is pungent, slightly bitter and musky.

Lastly, all you miscellaneous spices out there: cassia, star anise, cardamom, saffron, mace, cumin, and cloves. Saffron and mace can be used in both savory and sweet dishes. Saffron is one of the world's more expensive spices, since it comes (in a very limited supply) from a Kashmiri flower. Cassia is sometimes mistaken as cinnamon, and, like cinnamon, it can be ground and used in both savory and sweet dishes. Both cumin and cloves should be used sparingly because their flavors are extremely pungent in excess. Finally, cardamom. Cardamom has a sweet aroma and is commonly used for a breath-freshener or something to sooth a restless stomach.

Hope this helped! All info was retrieved from this link: http://hubpages.com/hub/indianspices
And, of course, there are tons more spices used in Indian cooking, but this post just covered the basics! Comment if you'd like to see any other spices described, or if you'd like to see others in a greater length.

Bhelpuri Recipes

Here are some good links that I found...

http://indianfood.about.com/od/vegetariansnacks/r/bhelpuri.htm
http://www.indianfoodforever.com/snacks/bhel-puri.html
http://norecipes.com/blog/2009/06/22/bhel-puri-recipe/

Happy cooking!

Bhelpuri!

Today's Food of the Day, bhelpuri, is a puffed rice snack served with various vegetables and a tangy tamarind sauce. Bhelpuri is best when eaten immediately after served. If it is left too long, the sauces will ruin the effect of the puffed rice. The ingredients most commonly used in bhelpuri are: puffed rice, sev, tomatoes, onions, and chilis. Northern recipes sometimes add boiled and chopped potatoes.

WAAAAAIT A MINUTE...

I just realized something: I've never talked about ghee. What is ghee? Ghee has been mentioned a lot in the Indian recipes and links, but I haven't ever explained it. 

Ghee is a class of clarified butter that came from South Asia and is typically used in dishes in that region. It is normally made from cow's milk. It's actually a mildly complicated process that might be hard for me to explain here, so check out this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ghee

Also look up recipes. There are a bunch!!!

QUICK FACT!

Indian cooking contains no animal fat or oils at all. Instead, many vegetable oils such as sunflower oil, groundnut oil, coconut oil, and mustard oil are used. 

Above: sesame oil

Saag Recipe

This site shows how to make the saag, then briefly explains the different variations of saag. This dish definitely takes much more work to make at home than do the other Foods of the Day...but, of course, it has a lot more to it than naan or chai.

Hope this recipe helps!

http://www.whats4eats.com/vegetables/saag-recipe

Saag

Today's Food of the Day is saag. Saag is a spinach-based/mustard-leaf based dish normally eaten with breads like naan or roti, in Pakistan and India. It is also popularly eaten as saag paneer: little cubes of paneer cheese soaked in the thick saag sauce. Yum! Also popular in India is saag aloo, potatoes dipped in the spinach curry. The picture above shows just plain saag sauce with nothing else added.

Ewwww.

Sorry I haven't posted over the weekend: I've had a debilitating fever/congestion/pain/nausea. I don't even know what it is... Anyway, the posts will resume soon!!!

Anyone...anyone...

If anybody would like to see some restaurants in the East Bay be reviewed, please leave a comment and I'll see what I can do!

Food of (Yester)DAY!

Yesterday's Food of the Day was Chai tea...

Masala chai is one of the most popular teas in India. It can now be found (in many different variations) at your local coffee shop here in America. Masala chai, a beverage from the Indian subcontinent, can be made by brewing tea with a mixture of Indian spices and herbs. The base tea most often used to make chai is an inexpensive branch of Assam tea: mamri tea. Usually, whole milk is added for its richness. There are many different kinds of spices, however, that can be used to make chai. Cardamom, cinnamon, ginger, fennel seeds, peppercorn, and cloves. Sometimes, even nutmeg and rose are used. And, lastly, the sweetener. Basically, any type of sugar can be used: plain white sugar, non-dyed sugar, palm/coconut sugar, and even agave nectar or honey.
Be sure to watch for today's Food of the Day...saag paneer!! (Yummy!)

Breads of India Video

This is a video of the food that I ate a couple nights ago...Enjoy!!! And...this is takeout...just wanted to provide an explanation for the foil trays!

I hate you Blogger...

Okay, so I had like three posts yesterday...and then all of a sudden, Blogger shut down and I couldn't post the really long Food of the Day one that refused to even save. Then, Blogger deleted the last three posts that I'd made. So, I'm pretty angry that nothing seemed to be done to preserve the drafts/previous posts. Today I will try to make up for as many of them as I possibly can...but it will be a lot of work...so thanks for your patience!!!

iMovie the Snail

I am currently in the process of finalizing my suuuper quick video that shows my meal last night! Unfortunately, my 30-second video is going to take 15 minutes to finalize. Well. Alright then.

Don't worry, though- it's coming soon! And let me leave you now with a tantalizing picture of our Food of the Day to come--- Chai tea....

Yummy!!!

Restaurant Review: Breads of India!

For dinner tonight I had takeout from Breads of India, a restaurant in Oakland. There was naan, rice, dal, (a lentil sauce) bharwan aloo, (a stuffed potato), chicken, and lamb. 

To begin with, the lamb was wonderful. The dark green sauce around the stew was slightly sweet, peppered with savory undertones. Inside, the meat was just a tad bit pink (the way I like it!) and super tender! It was mildly spicy.

The chicken was, to my taste, a bit dry. I admit that I am very sensitive to this type of thing, so it might have stood out to me a little more than to others. But it did seem unusually moisture-lacking. Anyhow, it had a nice smoky, straight-from-the-oven taste, and the spices were very blunt and savory.

I found the rice to be a bit powdery, as if it was slightly overcooked, or as if it'd been sitting out for awhile...but once I poured some dal sauce over it, the taste did improve greatly. 

The naan bread was extremely fluffy and doughy, and a little bit sweet. There was a teeny-weeny smoky taste to it, but this taste definitely added to the general experience.

And lastly, the mango lassi...ah, delicious. But not the best I've had. Definitely not. The consistency was a bit thin for me, (I love thick lassi), but the flavor was very, very real. Not artificial tasting at all.

Overall, the dinner was superb...but there were a few finishing tweaks that could have been made...I would rate it a 3.5/5 stars. Not bad, so if you're looking for a quick and authentic dinner that fills you up and satisfies you, definitely try Breads of India. But if you're sorta nit-picky, this might not be the place for you! 

Hope this helped! I will have a video of the takeout meal soon...hang in there!

Typical Indian Meals

Indians eat several little meals per day. A light meal of chai and a salty snack accompany many families' rising at dawn. A couple hours later, breakfast will take place, usually consisting of aloo paratha, a flatbread stuffed with spiced potato, or toast with eggs. Other popular choices for breakfast include halwa,  a dense and sweet pastry, and uppma, a spicier version of halwa. Indian students often eat a mid-morning snack, like a banana with juice or tea, at school. For lunch, one or two cooked vegetable dishes with rice and chapati. Sometimes students eat sandwiches.  An afternoon snack is normally served between 5 and 6 pm. It includes tea and namkeen, (snacks or appetizers), and sometimes involves a visit to a street vendor for a samosa or bhel puri, a combination of puffed rice, yogurt, tamarind sauce, and boiled potatoes. Also, various fruits may be eaten. Usually dinner is served pretty late, again including a couple vegetable dishes with rice and chapati. Before going to bed, the members of most Indian households have a cup of hot milk flavored with some sugar and cardamom.

Naan Recipes

This link seems to have gotten a lot of good reviews...
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/naan/Detail.aspx

Naan!

Today's Food of the Day is naan bread. Naan is a generic term that applies to many different variations of the bread, which is mostly eaten in India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Iran. Naan is an airy flatbread typically cooked in a tandoor, or clay oven. Herbs and spices are sometimes added for flavor, and the bread can sometimes be topped with meat, vegetables, cheese, or curry. Naan bya, a Burmese food, is typically served for breakfast with tea or coffee. Naan bread is a very versatile food that is served in restaurants worldwide, and is relatively easy to bake at home!

Quick Update

Since I am going on a grade trip to Catalina Island from May 23-26, I will not have computer access and I will not be able to post anything for those four days! *SAD FACE*

Yes, I know....it's tragic. But, I will make sure to have a torrential rain of posts after I return! And please, if you like this blog...if it gives you any useful information at all...even if red is your favorite color and you habitually visit this site because of it, please recommend EdibleIndia to your friends, family, Facebook friends, blog followers, etc!!! Thank you!

Lassi Recipes

Here are some resources you could use if you were looking to make some lassi...

(Sweet Lassi) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/cooking-live/sweet-lassi-recipe/index.html

(Savory Lassi) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Savory-Lassi/Detail.aspx

(Mango-Mint Lassi) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/mango-mint-lassi-with-indian-sweet-spices/Detail.aspx

(Strawberry Lassi) http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/strawberry-lassi/Detail.aspx

(Mango Lassi) http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/mango-lassi-recipe/index.html

Lassi!

Lassi is an Indian yogurt drink that can come in a couple different variations. It is made by mixing yogurt with water or milk and Indian spices. Traditional lassi is the savory kind, sometimes blended with roasted cumin, while sweet lassi contains sugar or fruits instead. When turmeric powder is mixed in, this delicious concoction can be used to relieve gastroenteritis, or stomach flu. Other kinds of lassi include mint lassi, mango lassi, and bhang lassi. Bhang, a liquid derivative of marijuana, is legally added to lassis in India, mostly sold during Holi, an Indian holiday.
You can buy lassis in many local restaurants, though I'm pretty sure they don't sell bhang lassis...you'll have to travel across the ocean to get some of those! But meanwhile, I think I can hold myself over with plain old salted lassi! :)

FOOD OF THE DAY!!!

I am beginning a new tradition! :) So, every day I will post a mini-description of one Indian food! Today's food is Lassi (which will be coming in just a few minutes).

Hopefully, I can continue this tradition without constantly forgetting (read: slacking off)! Anyway, be sure to look out for these food overviews- you might learn something new about Indian food/culture!!!

BBC Food

If you are looking for alternate sources for info about Indian food, check out BBC Food's YouTube videos. The videos seem to be very reliable. There are a couple BBC Food videos in my "Alternate Sources!" section at the bottom. The other two are recipe videos that I think are also very helpful!

Unfortunately, I need to make some extra tweaks so that you can actually click on these links and they can open; right now, you'll just have to copy and paste the URLs into your browser!

Forbidden Foods

Hinduism and Islam are the two major religions in India; they each have several rules about food: what members of each religion can and can't eat.

Hindus aren't allowed to eat anything containing beef, and they cannot have meat from exotic/wild animals. Also, some sects of Hinduism encourage vegetarianism, but not all do.

Muslims cannot eat any meat from pigs, they cannot eat any blood at all, and any meat they do eat must follow certain rules: the animal must be hung upside down for long enough to drain all the blood, the animal must be slaughtered by a Muslim, and, lastly, the animal must not be slaughtered by being boiled or electrocuted. Sometimes Muslims will eat kosher food.

If anyone has anything to add to this, please leave a comment! Thanks!

Restaurant Overview

For anyone interested, there are many Indian restaurants in the Berkeley/Albany area. Solano Ave has at least four, Shattuck has several, and University Ave has many, many, many! In addition, College Ave is home to a few well-known restaurants: Flavors of India, Khana Peena, House of Curries, and Breads of India. Also, around the UC Berkeley campus area (Durant, Bancroft) there are a couple.

Please check the reviews first, though, before you go, because I don't want to feel responsible for any discontent of yours :) !!!

Temescal Farmer's Market

Every Sunday at the Oakland DMV, there is a Farmer's Market with booths such as Blue Bottle Coffee, Happy Boy Farms, Vice Chocolates, and Prather Ranch Meat. But one booth that is often overlooked is the Indian food tent. It's small, usually stands between the Pizza Politana and the Andy and Cindy's tents. When I first visited the Indian food booth, I ordered the Chicken Tikka Masala Wrap which is heavenly. The naan is freshly-baked (you can see them kneading the dough and placing it in the oven kiln), the chicken is tender, and the sauce is rich. To tell the truth, I really have never eaten anything else there, (the prospect of the chicken wrap is so tantalizing I cannot bear to put it aside for a day!) though I promise I will try other things next Sunday! Other foods available there include different kinds of wraps, samosas, chai tea, and lassi (I think.)

If you are heading to the Farmer's Market, be sure to check out this stand! (Also, the Tamales are great! )
I will definitely have a more detailed review on Sunday! :)

QUICK FACT!

In the 1800's, a man named Mohammed Ansar Yasin invented the Indian savory pastry now known as samosas!

The Creation of EdibleIndia

Welcome to EdibleIndia! This blog is an assignment from one of my classes, and the posts will consist of various media relating to Indian cuisine. I will review a couple restaurants, make several explanatory videos (recipes, shopping, etc.) and make other various relevant posts. 

Don't forget to follow me! Thanks so much!