Cardamomomom

On the recommendation of an Indian co-worker, I talked a friend into taking dinner with me at Thalaivas in Middleton. OK, in truth it did not take much convincing to get her to try out this new restaurant - new to both of us.

We arrived just after they opened for dinner and we had the place to ourselves for a short time.

I liked the umbrellas hanging from the ceiling. Aside from the TV blaring Indian music videos, they were the lone decorative element that spoke of the Asian subcontinent. For reasons unknown to me, a sperm whale adorned the bar.

While I may not understand why it was there, I appreciated the presence of the rather incongruous aquatic mammal.

The menus were like hardcover books. Opening mine, I discovered that the pages were all glossy. 

Such fanciness! Any change to the menu means an expensive re-do of the menus.

On offer were some Chinese selections in addition to Indian which seemed mainly to be southern Indian. An odd combination. I was impressed that the kids menu was free of hot dogs and chicken tenders and instead consisted of a trio of dosas.

We started with soups. My companion ordered the Sweet Corn Veg variety

while I went with the Kozhi Milagu Saaru. 

Her soup was light, slightly sweet, and delicious while mine was richer, slightly smoky, and delicious.

For the main course she went with Parotta with Lamb Curry, parotta being a layered flat bread.

I went with Tandoori Chicken. 

Both were tasty, very tasty indeed.

For dessert we had rice kheer.

It's basically just rice pudding but the cardamom adds an extra dimension of lusciousness.

My companion and I agreed that Thalaivas was delicious and will likely be back the next time there are errands to run on the west side.

The thighs were grün

A friend treated me to dinner last night at Swagat in Sun Prairie and I ordered something I've never had before: hariyali chicken.

Instead of the brilliant red of tandoori chicken, this stuff was green.

I'm not sure what else was in the marinade besides cilantro - a bit of mint, perhaps - but it was very tasty. Definitely something I'd like to try to cook at home.

I take up your challenge, Mr. Kooks

I first saw this stuff in the fancy new ethnic foods aisle at Woodmans a couple months back.

Although temptation settled upon me immediately, I didn't buy a jar, at first. And then a couple weeks back I threw caution to the wind and bought a jar along with some chicken. Would a ghost pepper miasma engulf my kitchen as I cooked?

It tasted like Chicken Tikka Masala but hotter.

Much hotter.

This stuff was very, very spicy but wasn't quite deadly. It did make me sweat a bit and I was very, very happy to have had ice cream for dessert but I didn't breath fire. Nice flavor and some rather intense heat. Good stuff!

Wicked Snacks

Seen at a recent visit to an Indian grocery store.

On Cooking Mutton

I recently listened to an episode of the BBC's fine radio show Food Programme concerning mutton. At one point an Indian gentleman is heard explaining that the neck is best for stewing and braising. He goes on:

"As an Indian, naturally your tendency is to cook it in a, sort of a nice sauce. And even for us, the easiest thing I always tell people is do not mar it. Whole spices - cinammon, cardamom, clove, peppercorn. Onion, garlic, ginger, and some red chili. That's it! Do not overkill it because spices can easily destroy it."

Presumably the addition of an eighth of a teaspoon of fennel would destroy a fine piece of mutton.