So, Sharon's birthday was yesterday, on Thanksgiving, so we celebrated as a nuclear family the night before. Given her choice of any restaurant at which to eat, she chose the Udupi Cafe.
Indian cuisine has been skyrocketing up our list of preferred ethnic food choices, and I have to say that this restaurant is far and away my favorite in town (though, admittedly, we've only been to four or five). This is actually the one that Mixdorf & I ate at during his visit last summer. It's a pure vegetarian menu; which, for vegetarians accustomed to hunting for only three or four vegetarian options on a given menu at traditional restaurants, the variety seems mind-boggling.
I am continuing to expand my horizons. It's been difficult to make the break away from Paneer (the primary style of cheese used in Indian food), but I have been utterly rewarded for my uncharacteristic adventurousness. We began the meal with Garlic Paratha (whole wheat bread stuffed with garlic), and some lentil patties for Lucy. With everything, you are given your choices of three or four dipping sauces so that by the time they accumulate through an appetizer and three meals, you have 12 little bowls scattered about on the table. A little overkill, there, but we felt free to dip gratuitously with no fear of running out of anything. I, then, ordered Onion Masala Dosai , which was a rice crepe with onion topping filled with potatoes and onions and cooked in butter.
Great Mother of Pearl, but I nearly had an orgasm eating that fine dish! The crepe was light, flaky, and crispy and tasted like the crust of a pot pie nand-made by God. And the filling was hearty, perfectly spiced, and immensely delicious. To wash it down I had a lemon soda-fresh lemon squeezed into club soda and sweetened. Even that was rich and full-much more strong and deeply satisfying than I expected. Wow. We're trying to keep eating-out excursions under control, so I'm not sure when we'll be back there next; but whatever the date is it cannot come soon enough.
We are considering experimenting around with cooking Indian food at home, but I'm somewhat leery of both the difficulty and eventual success (or lack thereof). I'm just thinking there'd be a major shift from the types of spices & other "staples" that we usually have on hand. In any event, I very much look forward to visiting this restaurant with anyone who chances to visit me next and would like to go there.
ed. note: No Udupi cafe in Winona.
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6 comments:
You will definitely find that owning all the spices required for Indian food is a pretty large initial investment. I encourage you to find a little ethnic grocery selling either Indian (rare) or middle-eastern food. They often have the stuff you need far cheaper than a normal grocery store, and certainly cheaper than a whole foods or similar store.
That said, you coan definitely succeed in making the filling for your masala dosa, but you may find it impossible to recreate the crispy crepe.
The principle ingredients, except for the paneer, are all basic, it's really just about the spices that make the food so savory.
Indian food is a favorite of mine, one that I only get to indulge a couple times a year.
Intimidating, that initial investment, though we may have more spices on hand than you might suspect. I recently bought a 16-jar revolving rack, thinking it could replace our collection, which is quite haphazard and unorganized. I was surprised to find that, though there were about 12 duplicates, we have an additional 30-40 spices that are not in that rack whatsoever.
On a side note-why do you not indulge the Indian food fancy? Do you try to avoid eating out? Are good restaurants of the sort not particularly accessible?
A little of both, leaning towards the latter.
Best Indian food that we know of is not close.
See editor's note on original post...
Saw it.
Better learn how to make it.
I saw an indian on top of a bluff while working at Eagle Bluff. He might be able to make some for you. However, he is hard to talk to and he is made of wood. :) Mixdorf is right, you better learn now.
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