Posts Tagged ‘Indian’
- In: Travelling | Vancouver
- 3 Comments
Dim-sum-couver (點心哥華) was perfectly timed for House of Dosas‘ Wednesday special of South Indian hoppers.
Open twenty four hours, there is a rotation of daily specials of dosa, thali, hopper, biryani and crab.
After yum cha (飲茶) at Vivacity (名都), wife cake (老婆餅) at Kam Do Bakery (金都餐廳餅店) and dumplings at No. 1 Shanghai Cuisine (滬上), we travelled to the Subcontinent for curries, dosas and hoppers. I ordered a mango lassi, a sweet and refreshing iced yoghurt beverage.
We shared the Wednesday special of hoppers with lamb curry and the gunpowder masala dosa. I was expecting string hoppers which I’ve had in Sri Lankan cuisine but three bowl shaped crêpes were served with a mound of lamb curry. With a charred edge and dotted with air bubbles, there were two plain hoppers and one with an egg cracked in. We tore pieces by hand and scooped up the tender and spicy curry.
Potatoes and onions were wrapped in a tanned triangle of dosa and presented with a container of daal and two dollops of condiments. Crisp and well seasoned, we nibbled on the gunpowder masala dosa and wished it was street food here too.
We stayed a while for the complimentary Wi-Fi and breathed in the spiced aromas.
- In: Eating | Seattle | South Lake Union | USA | Washington
- 3 Comments
I check the Tom Douglas website regularly for new events. They’re only advertised online and sometimes tweeted. I noticed the chaats from Bombay pop up dinner by Devarshi Patel listed a couple of days after I returned from Australia. I made a purchase immediately as the first one, Thrilla in Manila pop up dinner by Herschell Taghap, was popular.
In a moment of jet lag induced silliness, I panicked when the event sold out in less than a day and I thought I would be having dinner by myself. Thankfully I realised I had sensibly paid for two tickets and invited Shirley to join me in the frivolity.
I love that Seattle is lit by twinkling fairy lights twisted around the branches of deciduous trees during the festive season. I paused to appreciate this multi-coloured beauty in the Terry Avenue Building courtyard.
Chaats are traditional Indian street food and the specialties of Chef Dev’s pop up dinner were from Bombay (Mumbai).
An artfully blurred photo of Chef Dev, courtesy of the dimly lit dining room at Ting Momo. A genial and humble man, Chef Dev explained the composition of each of the dishes and spoke with the diners.
We were welcomed with a glass of masala chai, a soothing blend of herbs and spices brewed with tea.
Masala papad, pappadums topped with red onions, cucumber and cilantro, were shared appetisers. Thin and crispy, the sturdy pappadums were broken into shards to scoop up the tangy diced mix.
Curiously plain in appearance, the panni puri were three puffed crackers with a quenelle of masala potato. Gently tap the puffed crackers with your fingers or the back of a spoon to deflate, fill with a glob of masala potato and a squirt of tamarind water or herb water. These were fun to eat by hand!
Chaas, a savoury version of lassi, was our second beverage. The iced cumin and green chilli yoghurt drink had a peculiar aroma and tasted like a diluted tzatziki.
In a floral rimmed bowl was dahi wada. A ground daal fritter was seasoned with yoghurt, paprika, toasted cumin and chutney.
All the courses thus far have been eaten with a spoon. Next was wada paav, a potato sandwich flavoured with chutneys and wrapped in a page from a magazine.
Chef Dev detailed how he tried several times to learn how to make the bun at a bakery in India. The Dahlia Bakery staff assisted with the recipe and the bun was fresh and soft. A combination of three chutneys were spread on the potato patty. The spicy sandwich was the highlight of the meal.
Next was ragda patties. A mound of chickpeas and white beans, and a dollop of chutney hid a potato cake.
The last savoury item was misol paav. A square of toast soaked in the legume sprout stew.
And finally, dessert was gaja ka halva. A distinctly orange mass of shredded carrot and cardamom pudding was fragrant and mildly sweet.
Sincere thanks to Chef Dev for introducing us to chaats! A meat version of the chaats pop up dinner was mentioned for spring.
I read the Modernist Cuisine blog post on Mayuri on the morning of the October Seattle Foodies lunch. I mentioned it to my dining companions at Café Juanita and Carol suggested that we drive to Redmond since we were already on the Eastside. I was curious about this Indian grocery store as I haven’t been to an ethnic supermarket in Seattle except for Uwajimaya.
In a neighbourhood shopping mall, Mayuri has a distinctive red and blue sign. A family business, Mayuri means peacock in Hindi and they also own restaurants of the same name in Bellevue and Bothell.
The inviting aromas of the Subcontinent greeted us. The compact store had aisles of dried herbs, spices, pulses, grains, flour, condiments, snacks, frozen goods, fresh produce, kitchen merchandise and pantry items.
Packets of dal, split lentils, peas and beans, were on sale.
Red baskets contained dried herbs and blended spices such as fenugreek, cumin and garam masala.
Jars and tins of ghee, clarified butter, were stocked in a variety of brands and sizes.
Shelves were laden with tapioca chips and other fried snacks.
Plastic boxes and cylinders dispensed the staples of grains, pulses and flour in bulk.
The fruit and vegetable section had fresh garbanzo beans.
Plentiful of okra and Thai chilli were sold by weight.
Bunches of fresh herbs were at the bargain price of ninety nine cents.
Mayuri is where to shop when cooking Indian cuisine!
