Reviewing Restaurants

I love eating out. And I like trying different restaurants and different cuisine. And I manage to convince Jin to do the same, difficult though that task is. We now eat out a couple of times a week during lunch. Lunch on other days is courtesy my cook Seema.

We tried out a new restaurant on MG Road, Bangalore a month ago. Its called EmGee's -- not very inspired, I agree. Its a vegetarian multi cuisine kind of place, on the lines of the ubiquitous Udipi restaurant in Bombay. It serves the different kinds of dosas, pav bhaji, sandwiches, chaat, punjabi, chinese.. you name it and its there.

But the food is amazing and given the location and the well done interiors, the prices are amazing too. Especially for someone like me who grew up eating at Udipi restaurants in Bombay and missed them when I moved to Madras. Somehow, I never liked the sambhar served at restaurants in Madras. We try to eat there ever other week if possible. So much for being adventurous and trying out new places. A meal for two would cost about Rs.200, if you really stuff yourself.

Another place we like is Mast Kalandar on CMH Rd. It serves veggie punjabi khana but in a fast food style format. The interiors are bright clean and with no unnecessary artwork and heavy furniture. Its just got bright tables and chairs and a friendly staff. They have awesome parathas and I highly recommend this restaurant for a quick bite. We practically lived out of there a year ago when we had a project to complete in that area. Meal for two costs between Rs. 250 to Rs.350.

We had a nice lazy Sunday listening to old hindi film songs on Worldspace. Jin wanted me to make some nice good old fashioned south indian dinner. We had keerai kuzhambu, lemon rasam and vazhakai curry for dinner.

Lemon rasam:

3 tbsp tur dal, pressure cooked with a little turmeric and mashed lightly
1 big ripe tomato chopped
1" piece of ginger pounded gently to release juice
1-2 green chillies slit lengthwise
a pinch each of turmeric and cumin seed
a few sprigs of curry leaves, finely chopped coriander leaves for garnish
2 tsp ghee or clarified butter

Add ginger, chopped tomatoes, chillies, turmeric, curry leaves and salt to 3/4 cup of water and boil till tomatoes are cooked and soft. Add the mashed dal and mix well. If the rasam is too thick, thin it down with more water till desired consistency. Fry cumin in 2 tsp ghee and pour on top of rasam. Garnish with coriander.

Enjoy it with hot steamed rice with a little ghee or just by itself as soup.

Vazhakai or Raw Banana Curry

2 raw bananas cut in half lengthwise and sliced horizontally
2 tbsp grated coconut
1/2 cup tamarind water (soak a small ball of tamarind in water or dissolve 1/2 tsp tamarind paste in water
1/4 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp chana dal
1-2 green chillies slit vertically or 2 dried red chillies
few sprigs of curry leaves
1/2 tsp turmeric, pinch of asafoetida (hing), salt to taste
2 tbsp coconut oil

Cook the chopped banana in tamarind water with turmeric and salt for a few minutes till just lightly cooked Strain excess water. Heat oil, add asafoetida, mustard seeds, chana dal, curry leaves and chillies. Stir briefly, lower heat and add grated coconut. Roast gently till it begins to turn red and add the cooked banana. Increase heat slightly and cook for 10 mins till banana starts browning.
Eat as a side dish with rasam and rice