Tasty Indian fare at the Taj Mahal

Last week a TeamBuy ticket was burning a hole in my wallet. We had $35 bucks to the Taj Mahal and we were dying to use it. I love Indian food. There’s just something so satisfying about white rice being soaked up by a warm, earthy sauce flavoured with baking spices like cinnamon and cardamom and with a bit of heat from some chilies. I also love a good piece of naan bread to sop up the often rich and creamy sauces.

At about 6:30pm we made our way down and took a nice spot on the patio. After MUCH consideration my friend finally made his decision. Normally it’s me in this predicament, so I was quite happy to sit back and gloat in my being prepared – for once.

Another thing that I appreciate about Indian cuisine is that, since every dish is so flavourful on it’s own, I don’t feel as though I need any meat. The sauces are generally full of cream or butter, so I sometimes find the meaty flavour overkill.

  

With that in mind, I ordered a signature vegetarian dish; the Subz Jalfrezi ($15), which consisted of mixed vegetables, cashews and cheese cubes cooked in a Korma sauce with spices and cream.  This was absolutely delicious!  The sauce was incredible in it being both sweet but with a hint of spice. There was a tonne of vegetables and it was topped with parsley and red pepper which made for a lovely presentation.

My friend chose an Indian classic; lamb Rogan Josh.  Here, the lamb is cooked in a thick onion and tomato sauce with spices, fennel, saffron, bay leaves and yogurt.  It was really tasty and provided a good amount of heat.  I knew that Indian food is quite pricey, but he was less than impressed when his $18 dish came with only about 4 chunks of lamb.  The serving dish itself is small; about 5 in. in diameter. Adding salt to the wound, it wasn’t even very good – verging on overcooked.

 I liked the contrast in that my sauce was a heavier, creamy sauce, while his was thinner and more intense.  

We also get two orders of naan bread ($3) which proves to be way too much. I’m a little annoyed as when I checked with the server she motioned that each order was about the size of a side plate, which clearly wasn’t the case – one would have been plenty.

 I have to say that, though the food was delicious, I was kinda turned off by our server and the amount of additional items she was trying to push on us. Up selling is ok, obviously great for a server’s sales and tips, but I found her technique to be way too pushy.  I went home with a decadent doggy bag that night.  As if this meal wasn't filling enough, we topped the evening off with ice cream on the waterfront! 

Yuppie Supper Club #2

After my incredible feed of Indian food last week, I was inspired to challenge my culinary prowess and try to re-create my meal from the Taj Mahal- but do it better! Yuppie Supper Club this weekend was the perfect opportunity to do so. My friend Mel and I picked up some key ingredients at the market, including the Butter Chicken spice mix from Tandoor Blends, as well as some veg for the Saag.

It was a fairly ambitious plan. I was going to make onion badja- deep fried onion fritters...difficult since I don't own a deep fryer. But, I got to thinkin' that all I needed was a big pot and some oil, so I miked up the batter and dropped the little suckers in one by one.

The recipe for this is simps. I made a tempura batter, which is equal ratios flour and beer w/ a pinch of salt + any flavorings you want to use. This batter actually differed from the real thing 'cause authentic badja uses chickpea flour, but really- who buys chickpea flour?

Recipe:

2 large white onions chopped
1 cup flour
1 cup beer - I used the St. Ambrose Apricot beer for a bit of sweetness
1 tsp. curry powder
pinch of S&P

Canola oil- It's hard to say how much you need as it depends upon the size of your pot, but definitely use enough to fill it up about 3 inches deep. In my case...the whole bottle! Don't try to use olive oil here, as it doesn't heat to a high enough temp. to deep fry.

Method:

Mix all ingredients together. Heat oil to high and drop batter by tbsp. gently into the oil. I only did 10 at a time to keep from overcrowding the pot. Fry until golden brown, remove from oil and drain it on a paper towel.

Step 1: Mix

Step 2: Fry

Step 3: Enjoy!

Wow- Was anyone else just taken back to NKOTB's 'Step by Step', circa 1990? The fritters were so tasty- at the same time crispy, yet slightly chewy and with a touch of sweetness from the Apricot beer. I wanted a good dippy for the fritters, so I also made a pot of Mango Chutney.

Mango Chutney

Recipe:

1 mango, chopped
2 apples, peeled, cored & chopped
1 small onion, minced
2 tsp. oil
1/2 c. vinegar- cider would be best, but I just had the 'ol white, so I substituted!
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. hot pepper jelly
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. curry powder
pinch S&P

Method:

Heat oil on Med. heat and soften the onions until translucent. Add the apples, mangos and vinegar. Once mixture softens, add the remaining ingredients, cover and simmer on low until the mixture cooks down and thickens.

Then it was on to the main course...

I wanted one traditional meat dish and a good veg-like sauce as well, so we went with Butter Chicken and Chickpea Saag to serve atop our rice. Clearly, you do not need a rice recipe- at least I hope not!

Butter Chicken

Recipe:

1 small onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. oil
5 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. ginger- use fresh if you have it!
1/3 c. chicken stock
4 chicken breasts, cubed
1 15 oz. can diced tomatoes
1/2 c. heavy cream

Method:

Heat 1 tbsp. butter and oil on Med. heat and saute onion. Add garlic and ginger and saute until softened. Add chicken and cook for 1-2 mins. Add tomato, chicken stock and simmer until meat is cooked through. Add butter and cream and simmer until thickned.

Chickpea Saag

Recipe:

1 15 oz. can chickpeas rinsed & drained
1 lg bag spinach rinsed & dried
1 15 oz. can diced tomato
1 small onion, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp. curry powder
1/2 tsp hot chili flakes
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
S&P

Method:

Heat oil on Med. and saute onions and garlic until translcent. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and spinach & cover. Reduce heat to low and simmer until spinach is wilted. Add spices and S&P to taste.

Note- I encountered a little problem w/ this dish in that it was a little too runny. To solve thate problem, I removed a cup of liquid and mixed w/ 2 tbsp. flour and then added it back to the pot, which thickened it right up!

These tasty, sloppy dishes were served w/ Basmati rice and some warm Naan bread. This was one of my favorite Yuppie Supper Clubs to date as my friend Melanie and I cooked, while the boys sat back and drank their beer. In fact, that's all they ever really have to do is bring the booze. The kitchen is my domain and I wouldn't have it any other way!

Taj Mahal

A friend of mine who had lived in Hali for the past two years was recently in town and dead-set on a meal at the Taj Mahal. Being a lover of Indian food myself, I was quick to agree to his dinner suggestion. I love Indian food for a somewhat unconventional reason...I love how sloppy it is! You have an infinite number of flavor and texture combinations; mild, medium and spicy, meaty or vegetarian, creamy or tomato based, all yielding to soak into fluffy Jasmine rice or begging to be scooped up by soft, warm naan.

We decided to share a couple of dishes w/ an order of rice and naan. We selected two curry-based sauces; Chicken Saag, a sweet yet spicy flavour pairing with chunks of tender chicken that practically dissolved on my tongue, as well as the Shahi Chana Masal, a rich chickpea curry with a luscious tomato base that made a touch of sweat appear on my brow.

top ~ Shahi Chana Masala

Chickpeas cooked in thick onion & tomato sauce with Punjabi spices.

bottom ~ Chicken Saag

Chicken & fresh spinach cooked in spices & Punjabi curry paste.

We also shared an order of Onion Bhajia; deep-fried's best-kept secret! These little tid-bits are the more exotic cousin to the onion ring- crisp batter with a slightly chewy bite enclosing the delicate, perfumed onions.

Onion Bhajia ~
onion fritters mixed with mildly spiced chickpea batter.

If you're looking for a good sharing meal Indian is the way to go...or Thai, or Japanese for that matter. Trying out some new flavours and old favorites both challenges and comforts your taste buds simultaneously. An order of rice and a nice slab of pillowy naan, and you're good to go!