Restaurant Review #125: India's Sweets and Spices, Culver City

India's Sweets and Spices doesn't look like much--in fact, it looks like a place you'd want to avoid. If you just get out of your car and step inside though, the lines, the clientele, and the pungent, savory aroma of Indian curries will convince you that you're in exactly the right place.

Though there is a large menu on the wall behind the counter, it seems to make more sense to order what's visible in the steam trays. At lunchtime, order the lunch special and you can choose three curries from about six options, and for the ridiculously low price of $5.50, rice, naan, raita, and gulab jamun are included. One caveat: while I was more than full after eating all of this, if you have a rather large appetite, you may find yourself wishing you were at a $6.95 all-you-can-eat buffet (on weekends though, some restaurants that charge $6.95 or $7.95 for their buffets during the week increase the price to $9.95). On the other hand, if you have trouble controlling yourself at a buffet, here's your chance to have the variety of a buffet without overdoing it.



India's Sweets and Spices is not just a restaurant--it's also a small grocery store and sweet shop--one where the owners have crammed as much stuff into as little space as possible. As such, the experience of eating your food on-site is about as minimalist as it gets. The entrees come on a styrofoam tray that struggles to support the food. You serve yourself free water in tiny styrofoam cups. The silverware, of course, is plastic, and you bus your own brightly colored Formica-on-particle-board table booth (think Subway). Choose between not quite indoor dining under the plastic tent, or tables on the sidewalk. Either way, parking meters and the hectic whooshing and honking sounds of six lanes of Venice Boulevard traffic don't do much to create ambiance.



The food makes up for it, though. I am constantly let down by Indian food that isn't spicy enough, is served at room temperature, or has some other fatal flaw. The yogurt curry, aloo gobi, and mattar paneer I scarfed at India's Sweets and Spices fulfilled a major craving for deliciously real Indian food. I'd never had yogurt curry before, and I have decided that I much prefer its tang over the sometimes sickening sweetness of coconut milk curries. I didn't like the paneer in my mattar paneer, but that's always true for me. I like cheese and I like tofu, but a cheese that combines texture and flavor elements of each does not please me. (I should point out, for those who don't know, that there is no bean curd in paneer, and that it isn't meant to be reminiscent of cheese+tofu, that's just what it reminds me of.)

The aloo gobi really made me happy because both the potatoes and the cauliflower had been cooked until they were tender and had fallen apart into small, easy to eat pieces. So many restaurants serve up impossibly huge chunks of undercooked chunks of vegetables, which are not only unappetizing and difficult to eat, but also prevent the dish from reaching its potential. As I learned in 10th grade biology, when you break something down into smaller parts, you increase its surface area. More surface area=more places for spices to go, and that means tastier food.

I love Indian sweets. I don't know much about them, except that many of them involve sweetened condensed milk, and I've never seen a place label them, so I just asked the man behind the counter to give me a pound's worth. Both here and at Shan Halal in Artesia, someone has been more than happy to help me out. There were many more things that I could try in one visit--it would probably take about 3 pounds to try one of each thing. Many Indian sweets are very dense and weigh a lot, and a pound will run you $9 here, but I think it's worth it.

The squiggly orange thing tasted like cotton candy tastes if you mush it all up into a compact ball, but seemed to be something deep fried filled with a sugary liquid (though I don't think that's scientifically possible). My favorite, which you can't see in the photo, is a simple, soft white rectangle about three quarters of an inch thick sprinkled lightly with pistachios. Just point to whatever looks good to you, and try a little of everything. You can't try these sweets at most Indian restaurants--dessert menus usually consist of kheer, gulab jamun, maybe some carrot halwa (which you might find in a sweet shop), and maybe some kulfi. So take advantage and order a bunch of sweets here.

I didn't peruse the grocery selection at all because if I'm being honest with myself, I will never actually cook anything that I might buy. I like the idea of cooking, the idea of owning every spice known to woman, but after 10 hours away from home and at work, dumping a bag of something from Trader Joe's into a skillet is about all the cooking I feel like doing.

India's Sweets and Spices is a small chain with locations throughout the state. I haven't been to the other locations, but even if you don't live near Culver City, you might still have access to their great, cheap Indian food. Check out their website (link below) for details.

India's Sweets and Spices
9409 Venice Blvd.
Los Angeles (Culver City), CA 90034
(310) 837-5286
Website

Restaurant Review #124: Hurry Curry, Mar Vista

At Hurry Curry, you can get a lunch special with one vegetable and one meat entree plus rice for $2.99, according to the sign. Yet for some reason, my lunch was $3.99. Even stranger, I didn't question this. I have bigger things to worry about than $1.00, of course, but the principle of the situation normally would have made me mad.

My food would have made me mad under ordinary circumstances too (I bought two cheap lunches from two different restaurants, in case one was bad). The yellow curry with cauliflower and green peppers tasted like cigarettes. I thought I was crazy, so I took about five more bites just to make sure. Yup. Cigarettes. It was inedible.

The peas and mushrooms were better, only because they were edible. The curry itself had very little flavor though, and the mushrooms, which were so plentiful as to convince me that they had multiplied on the drive home, were the slimy canned variety that cause most folks to steer clear of mushrooms altogether. The best thing I could probably say about my food is that the peas were bright green and the rice was okay, though it was on the moist side.

After an excellent $5.50 experience at India's Sweets and Spices the week before, I actually thought good Indian food for $4.00 was within reach, especially because so many people had mentioned Hurry Curry to me. In retrospect though, I don't think anyone was raving about the food so much as the ridiculously low price.

There are plenty of tables for sitting down. The slightly run-down minimalist look of the place and bright midday sunshine reminded me of Mexico. I also had the good fortune of finding street parking right out front--free, unmetered street parking. What a steal! The restaurant was pretty empty, but it was almost 3:00. I was just glad they were open. Taking the food home in my car was a bit of a challenge, since my generously filled styrofoam container had only a thin layer of paper bag between its high leak potential and the floor of my car.

If you're starving and nothing else is open, go ahead and chance it--just don't order what I did. If it's Indian food you crave, go somewhere else. Anywhere else. Hurry!

Hurry Curry
12825 Venice Blvd (NE corner of Venice and Beethoven)
Los Angeles, CA 90066
310-398-2948
Website

Restaurant Review #88: Jaipur Cuisine of India, Westwood/West LA

Garlic naan, tamarind and mint chutneys, mango chutney, and began bartha

A yellow pages ad for Jaipur's delivery service came to my rescue on a Friday night when I was determined to not leave the sanctuary of my new apartment again until Monday morning. Mao's didn't deliver to my new apartment, and the yellow pages didn't have a lot to offer, but I've only had maybe one Indian dish in my life that was truly bad, so I couldn't lose with Jaipur, right?

I ordered an eggplant dish that I've never tried before--began bharta, which was described on the menu as "tandoor roasted eggplant cooked with onions, tomatoes, yogurt, ginger, and spices." I also had garlic naan, sweet mango chutney, and rashmalai, which is a very mild, very soft and slightly crumbly homemade Indian cheese in milk sauce. The eggplant was pleasantly spicy, and good, though eating a plate of just eggplant gets old kind of fast no matter how good it is, in my opinion. The naan was just right, not too chewy, not too crispy. The mango chutney was very thick and sugary, with small chunks of mango and a hint of tang and spice. There was also a lot of it. It was too sweet for my taste, in the same way jams and jellies are too sweet for me. The dessert, on the other hand, wasn't quite as sweet or flavorful was I would have liked, though it was still good.

The best part of the meal was that my quest for the perfect tamarind chutney has ended, ten restaurants and a year and a half later. Jaipur Cuisine of India is the only Indian restaurant in the city that I know of whose red chutney isn't watery. Oh, I am happy. Best of all, the chutney comes with the naan. I always thought that was standard, but I've learned that some places actually want me to buy the chutney separately. To me, this is akin to charging extra for rice. Something that is a part of the dish you are consuming should not cost extra. "Would you like a bun with your burger? Yes? Okay, that will be an extra fifty cents."

All in all, it was a very good meal, and delivered promptly, perhaps even early. There was a small delivery charge of about $2 that I wasn't expecting, but I was too tired to care. I can't say anything about the atmosphere, since I've never been inside the restaurant, but I can definitely vouch for their delivery service. Though I rarely have food delivered, I would go with Jaipur again. I'm actually kind of surprised that I liked it so much, given that their website says that they have adjusted their flavors for California tastes. I was really disappointed by other restaurants that try to do this, like Ambala Dhaba, but Jaipur has pulled it off without my even noticing. Maybe I just got lucky?

Jaipur Cuisine of India
10916 West Pico Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90064
(just west of Westside Pavilion)
310 470-4994
Website

Restaurant Review #79: India's Tandoori, West LA

Malai kofta, garlic naan, and neon chutney

Located in--you guessed it--the second story of a strip mall on Wilshire near Granville, India's Tandoori has the kind of extensive menu that makes life quite difficult for indecisive gals like me. I probably should have gone to the lunch buffet, except that I can't get to the restaurant and back and still have time to eat in the span of my hour lunch break (can I?) and the buffet is only offered on weekdays. They also offer free delivery and take out, so I had takeout last Sunday night when Pho 99 was already closed at 9:00 (why do Vietnamese restaurants close so early?).

While my friend waited for our food, the extremely friendly service seated him and gave him a glass of water. They said the food would be ready in ten minutes, and it was. He observed that the restaurant is nice, but a little gaudy as it is decorated with neon. The tables have white linen tablecloths, which are simple, yet still nicer than many other places. There is a TV in the main room above the register, but the sound was down so it wasn’t obnoxious. He caught a glimpse of another room that perhaps affords a bit more elegance. The place was dead at 9:30 on a Sunday, but at least they were open.

The menu has many sections: soups, appetizers, seafood, tandoor se mulakat (clay oven gourmet specialties), curries, vegetarian specialties, combination bargain dinners, rotis, biryanis, mithe ka lutf (traditional Indian desserts), lunch specials, and beverages. Each section has an ample selection, and there are a full 17--yes, seventeen--vegetarian dishes. That makes me happy. The food is quite cheap, with vegetarian entrees at $6.95-7.95, meat entrees ranging from $7.95 to 14.95 (for rack of lamb), and most seafood entrees $11.95 or 12.95.

The malai kofta was a new dish for me, so I have nothing to compare it to, but I thought the deep fried vegetable balls were too salty and tasted almost like miniature falafel. I liked the sauce though, a creamy tomato and onion sauce that was shockingly spicy--not too spicy, mind you, just that my friend had wisely asked for the food to be prepared hot, and it actually was, and at first, I was shocked. Though I suspect it was still toned down a bit since he's not Indian, the level of spicyness was much better than the white girl special I usually get (and like to whine about-well, not really).

The naan was pretty standard, though there was something I didn't quite like about the flavor that I can't really pinpoint. Maybe the garlic wasn't very good? Maybe I'm crazy? What blew my mind though was the glowing green color of the mint chutney. I've never seen such an unapologetically artificial-colored chutney before. And the non-liquid part of it appeared to either be clear and tinted green by the liquid part, or translucent bright green. What was perhaps even stranger was that it tasted right.

Food chemistry scares me.

For dessert I had the rasmalai, "our own freshly made soft cheese patties drenched in thick, sweet milk laced with grated pistachios and served chilled." It's really difficult to photograph a white hunk of cheese completely covered by white liquid in a white styrofoam cup, so I didn't (hmm, why didn't I take it out and put it on a plate? Silly me). The liquid was creamy and mildly sweet, the cheese patty crumbly and the tiniest bit sour. As an eleventh generation American, I tend to like my desserts sweeter than this, and there were no pistachios to speak of. I think the recipe would benefit from a bit of cardamom and/or star anise. It was very similar to the same dessert at Jaipur Cuisine of India, though I liked Jaipur's better.



India's Tandoori
11819 Wilshire Blvd
West Los Angeles, 90025
310-268-9100

Restaurant Review #38: All India Cafe, West LA

This is supposed to be one of the better Indian restaurants in the area--and this judgment refers strictly to the food, as there is no atmosphere, unless you count a stunning view of the Blockbuster Video across the street. So I faxed in my order, had my friend pick it up on the way home from work, and enjoyed my Indian feast in the atmosphere of my tiny apartment.

We ordered the Bombay chicken (listed as a cafe specialty), palak paneer, garlic naan, tamarind chutney, mint chutney, kheer (rice pudding), Nimbu Paani (lemonade), and ginger brew. Here's my quick analysis:

Bombay chicken: So flavorful that it made me understand why people choose to eat meat. Amazing. Tender meat, bursting with flavors of onion, ginger, green chilies and spices, dried mango powder, coriander, and cayenne. Comes on the bone (my warning to the meat-squeamish).

Palak Paneer: So bad that I threw it away. Yes, I, Amy, threw away Indian food. How do you ruin palak paneer? Even I can make a decent palak paneer, and there is not a drop of Indian blood in my body. It tasted like school cafeteria spinach. Blech.

Garlic Naan: Good. Standard.

Mint Chutney: Not watery and flavorful. Yum.

Tamarind Chutney: Very good flavor but very watery. Why is all the tamarind chutney in LA so watery?

Kheer: Pretty good, but nothing mind-blowing. Cardamom flavor should have been more pronounced. Taking the seeds out of their pods before cooking always helps. The rice was soggy, but I think that's common in rice pudding--after all, it's made with leftover rice. However, I'd really like it if someone made me rice pudding to order so that the rice wasn't soggy. Maybe. I'm not sure this would work, I'd just like to try it. Personally, I'm terrible at making anything that involves rice (that's right, I can make palak paneer, but I cannot cook rice), so someone will have to do this for me.

Nimbu Paani: Did not come in a cup. Came in a soup cup--maybe they were out? Somewhat watery, but probably my fault for waiting 30 minutes to drink it. Overall flavor was good--lemonade infused with fresh ginger and lime. Tasted a tad carbonated, too.

Ginger Brew: Cheaters! It was a bottle of Reed's Extra Strong Ginger Brew. For $3.75??? Christ. I thought this was going to be something homemade.

Overall: The Bombay chicken would be worth going back for, but I don't eat much meat, so I doubt I will go back. I don't know what all the fuss is about this place.

All India Cafe
12113 Santa Monica Blvd
Los Angeles, CA
(310) 442-5250
http://www.allindiacafe.com

Better Indian Food
More Better Indian Food
Even More Better Indian Food

Restaurant Review #25: Nawab of India, Santa Monica

Samosas


You look like you're lot's of fun. . .

Last night I realized that I have really been missing out. I prematurely judged Nawab of India on my first and second visits based on what now appear to be small flaws. On the first visit, I was so upset by the tamarind chutney that I ruled out the restaurant, because no way could it replace my favorite St. Louis Indian place, India's Rasoi. And since I had to find a replacement, well, I didn't want to go back. I had to move on. And I did return once anyway for the buffet, but was so disappointed that it wasn't as large as the buffet at India's Rasoi that I dissed Nawab that time, too.

However, last night, on my third visit, and after doing a great deal of Indian restaurant research last month and tasting many a mediocre samosa, I was just thrilled. The tamarind chutney was still uselessly watery, but I can overlook that. But only because everything else was superb, especially the samosas and the pickles.

I have noticed that when I write food reviews, I put off writing specifically about the food until last. (I don't compose my blog entries from beginning to end the way you, dear reader, read them.) I have a tendency to just want to say, "It was good! Go eat it yourself!" Here are my thoughts on the food itself, though.


I've got to have my way now baby . . .

Mint chutney, tamarind chutney, carrot and garlic pickles, and those flat crispy round things were on the table for us when we arrived. The waiter let us pick our own table, which I always appreciate. The pickles were very flavorful and not too spicy. They were very seedy and actually made it worth consuming carrots, which I am generally not a fan of at all. Trying to swallow nasty, dry, mouth-massacred mini-chunks of raw carrot makes me nearly gag, and cooked carrots don't do much more for me, but I ate lots of pickles. I didn't try the garlic pickles, though I would have liked to had I been going straight home after dinner. Since I was going to be interacting with people for the next 4 hours and wasn't sure what I'd be getting myself into if I bit into a whole clove of garlic, I decided against it. Ok, maybe I should have tried it anyway, but you never know when Mr. Right might tap you on the shoulder and then reject you because of your garlic breath. How 50's of me. Anyway, I kind of think pickles should test my food intensity tolerance, and carrot pickles don't. I wish they served lemon pickles, though it now occurs to me that perhaps I should have requested them. Perhaps they have them available for more adventerous diners who request them specifically. I am never a fan of those crispy wafer things, and this was no exception, but I don't blame Nawab for this.

I ordered lentil samosas as an appetizer, and lucky me, they first brought me the wrong dish, so I got to try both the potato and pea samosas and the lentil samosas. Both made me very happy. Three samosas come on a grease-absorbing doily on a small plate. They were a smaller size than usual, which made for a nice ratio of filling to crust, and also gave the samosas a perky come-out-and-play look, rather than the slightly dark and threatening vibe that large samosas give off. Wow, now I am imposing personalities onto my food! Owing to their perfect size, there were no unwanted bites of just filling in these samosas. The potato filling was smooth and moist, not starchy and dry, and the outside was a bit chewy and doughy where it should be, and fried to a nice crisp with just a bit of extra grease. The lentil samosas were bursting with the essence of the goodness that is Indian food. I think I could eat these every day with relish and abandon. Or rather, without relish--I didn't need any chutney to make the samosas more moist or more exciting. Finally, a samosa that can speak for itself.

The naan was glorious in its chewiness. Oh, joy. Not just another dried-out flimsy puffy thing, this naan had real heft to it. Yum.


Lamb. Baaaaaa.


Like a rabbit baby. . .

On a previous visit, I really enjoyed the bhindi masala (okra, tomato, and onion curry), but I wanted to try something different. I almost ordered meat, but wasn't sure I wanted a whole plate of it, so I ordered the mushroom mutter, a vegetarian dish of mushrooms and peas, and my friend ordered lamb with onions. The lamb dish was quite tasty-lamb has an interesting texture that I am unaccustomed to, since I feel guilty about eating it and refuse to order it (like veal). It was fully spiced and pretty moist, though it was a tad dry (but only a tad), compelling me to moisten it it in the scant bit of liquid swimming amidst the tumeric-tinged onions on the silver serving plate. The lamb was truly a carnivore's dish, since there was really nothing there to eat except big lamb-ball-shaped chunks of lamb and onions. If I were Jonathan Gold, would I have called it gamy? Perhaps, as I have noticed he has a propensity for that word, but having never eaten game, I don't understand what it means.

As for the mushroom mutter, it wasn't as good as the curries that drive me wild at Annapurna, but it was still top of the line. And why the dual language title? Why not call it goochi mutter? Or mutter goochi? It sounds so cool. I think I am getting tired of the vegetarian entrees at Indian restaurants. Last night, I was having a hard time ordering, because so many of the descriptions on the menu were not complete enough (i.e., I didn't know if a sauce would be creamy in a coconut cream way or a cow cream way) or they said that the dish was mildly spiced. If I'm eating Indian, I want heavily spiced, intense, mouth-electrifying craziness. Also, I don't like paneer much, or rather, I like it, but I don't want it in my curry, and so many dishes have it. How would I like my paneer? Plain, perhaps, served warm as an appetizer, dipped by me in pickley stuff. So to order, say, shahi paneer, the first Indian dish I loved, would basically be to order a plate of sauce, and that's not very exciting.


Mushroom mutter. But what is it saying?


Rice run baby rice run. . .

Ok, that's not how the song goes, but that's what I used to think it said. But now I know they're singing about records, not rabbits and rice. Losing your innocence is so hard sometimes. So the rice wasn't that exciting, but I didn't order the saffron rice, and probably should have. I don't know if it was the lack of saffron or a flaw in the rice but it didn't seem as fragrant and mouth-filling as basmati should be. And it really burns my hot little culo that Indian places in LA all want to charge me for rice. Please! We all know that rice is just about the world's cheapest food and not exactly difficult to prepare (unless you are me, and have never cooked a completely successful batch of rice).

Nawab of India's setup for some reason strikes me as very odd. Most of the tables are in one room, and the room just seems unusually open and not like a restaurant somehow. Also, 2 out of the 3 times I have eaten here, the restaurant has been so quiet that I have felt self-conscious about talking at a normal volume for fear that other diners and the restaurant staff would be able to listen to every word of my conversations. I like that I don't have to yell, but something in between would be nice. Maybe it's the green carpet that makes it feel wierd? Maybe it is. My dentist's office is also unusually quiet and carpeted in the same shade and texture.


Watch out here I come. . .

Nawab actually is a replacement for India's Rasoi, after all. They have my table cloths and booths--it's date-worthy. The menu is extensive, offering a variety of rices, breads, samosas, desserts, vegetarian entrees, meat entrees, and even seafood entrees. The prices are higher than other Indian restaurants--vegetarian entrees are around $12 and meat entrees are around $15, and the portions are smaller, and rice is not included. So that kind of bums me out. But at least I can get 15% off with my KCRW card. The Indian staff is unobtrusive, discreet, friendly, fast, and interested in whether you are enjoying your meal.

If you were wondering who Nawab is, he is "a commanding figure who led Sikhs through this dark period" and the founder of Dal Khalsa. Do I have any clue what this means? No. "By his bold example and his wise leadership, welded the Sikhs into a strong fighting force and implanted in their minds the vision of political sovereignty. He was a true embodiment of Sikh character forged by the alchemy of a fiery ordeal and enjoyed unique esteem for his courage, sacrifice and religious devotion." So I guess he was a cool enough dude to have a restaurant named after him. Several, actually. There are unrelated Nawab restaurants elsewhere in the country. Aren't you feeling enlightened?

This was truly one of the best meals I've had in months. It seems that the combination of good atmosphere, good food, and good service has become rare, but here, you can have it all--with a side of kick-ass samosas.

Nawab of India
1621 Wilshire Blvd.Santa Monica, 90403
(310) 829-1106
Hours:
Mon-Fri 11:30am-2:30pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm
Sat 12pm-3pm, 5:30pm-10:30pm
Sun 12pm-3pm, 5pm-10pm

Buffet available during lunch hours.

Restaurant Review #20: Udupi Palace, Artesia, Orange County

On Sunday I went to Little India in Artesia. I wanted to make it in time for a lunch buffet, but since I had to sleep in and take care of some other things, I had to settle for an early dinner. I went to Udupi Palace on instinct--it seemed to have some semblance of atmosphere and plenty of Indian diners. That it was vegetarian didn't hurt, either.

As an appetizer I ordered kancheepurum idli since it said "weekends only" next to it. It was also the only appetizer with no description, and I had no idea what it was, so it seemed like the logical thing to order, based on Amy's theory of trying as many new foods as possible. I learned that this dish is made of yellow split moong dhal, black pepper, cumin, asafetida, ghee, curry leaves, coriander leaves, turmeric, chilies, and ginger. I was served 2 of these fluffy yet dense cakes with a side of coconut chutney and a small bowl of rasam. Rasam is a heavily spiced lentil soup wtih a tomato and/or tamarind base. My waiter seemed very intent on giving me a second bowl in spite of my protest that I needed to save room for my entree, so I let him. Honestly, I could have filled up on my $3.50 appetizer alone even before the second bowl of soup.

I ordered vegetable korma as my main course. This is not a dish I usually order, which is why I ordered it. There were 10 curries to choose. There were a lot of other things on the menu too--dosas and uthapams--but for some reason I just don't get that excited about any bread-based course, although I probably should have. In fact, I think I definitely made a mistake in ordering. I should have either ordered one of the large plates that would have allowed me to sample everything, or a dosa. I saw other tables receiving absolutely enormous, beautiful dosas. They were quite possible 2 feet in diameter, making for quite a presentation. Given that the plates were about half the size, I imagine they were a bit of a challenge to eat, but wow, they looked cool.

My generous bowl of vegetable korma was served on a large plate along with plenty of rice, raita, a wheat tortilla-like bread, a crispy flat bread, and a mysteriously lonely single lemon pickle (which was excellent, but why did they not give me more?). I was happy about this combination plate deal. However, the rice was quite overcooked and mushy. I was too full to eat much of the dish, but it was quite good, although not mind-blowing, especially given the soggy rice.

I have 2 meals' worth of leftovers and I was out the door for $13.50. The service was mostly attentive although I was kind of confused when my meal seemed to suddenly end without my having done anything to signal that I was finished. The timing was fine, because I was full, it just seemed odd. There were still plenty of empty tables. Maybe the waitress was psychic. I went to the restroom on my way out, and unfortunately there were trash cans with discarded food and trays of dirty dishes right where I had to stand to wait. That was pretty repulsive.

You, like me, may not know much about the differences between northern and southern Indian food. According to marimari.com, "the main difference between northern and southern Indian cuisine is that northern food is less spicy and more subtly spiced than the southern counterpart. Cow's milk is also used as a base in the north instead of coconut milk as in the south. Southern Indian cuisine is also distinctive in its use of curry leaves and mustard seed. Coconut milk, yogurt, and oil are used rather than cream and ghee, which are used by the northerners. Southern dishes called Korma are generally mild, although anything prefixed by Masala is likely to be hot."

I feel compelled to learn more about Indian food, since my grocery store and restaurant visits have made it painfully obvious to me how little I actually know about my so-called favorite food (tied with sushi, that is). Here are some websites I found helpful.

A "complete guide to Indian food"
www.food-india.com

A helpful glossary of Indian food terms
http://www.cuisinecuisine.com/Glossary.htm

Another one
http://www.indianfoodsco.com/Classes/Glossary.htm


Udupi Palace
18935 Pioneer Blvd
Artesia, CA 90701
562-860-1950
www.udupipalace.net

Restaurant Review #18: Ambala Dhaba, Westwood

In spite of thinking that it was impossible to do better than Annapurna, which I had the joy of trying last weekend, I felt it necessary to continue my Indian food research, perhaps in search of something equally good yet different. 85 miles, 2 hours of driving, 5 gallons of premium gas, 1 parking ticket, 3 grocery stores, 2 restaurants, and $130 later, I am here to report to you the results of this weekend's adventures in Indian food.

Friday night I went to Ambala Dhaba, which serves homestyle northern Indian food. This restaurant originated in Artesia, but I went to the Westwood location.

Some Google research for you: A dhaba is a small open eating place on the road side offering inexpensive Punjabi dishes. Punjabi (sometimes spelled Panjabi) is the language of the Punjab regions of India and Pakistan, where the city of Ambala is located.

As an adjective, the word "punjabi" qualifies anything or anyone that is related to either Punjab or the Punjabi language, such as the speakers of Punjabi, inhabitants of Punjab or the Punjabi cuisine of the region (northwestern India).

My immediate reaction to Ambala Dhaba was that I liked it. It actually has atmosphere, unlike pretty much every other restaurant I have dined at recently. The lighting is low but not too low, the tables and chairs are made of a decorative wrought iron, and there is some kind of straw hut type thing going on inside. And it was so pleasantly warm when I stepped inside from the crisp night air. I was also excited about the menu, which had a good selection of every category of dishes (appetizers, breads, meat dishes, vegetarian dishes, drinks, desserts. . . you get the picture).

Unfortunately, I was less excited when I took a bite of my samosa. The potato filling was lacking something--spices, for example. The samosa was served in mint and tamarind chutney, which I did not approve of for two reasons: 1. I will decide if I want chutney on my samosa or not, thank you and 2. the samosa should have been able to stand alone without needing chutney for flavoring.


Samosa bathed in mint and tamarind chutney

The entrees did not excite me much more, though they were pretty good. My friend had the chicken tikka masala, which I personally don't count as Indian food, since it isn't an authentic dish, but rather one that originated in the 1960's due to British influence. I'd never actually tried it before, and I thought it was pretty good. The chicken was moist, and the dish had a full spiced flavor. The sauce was intensely tomatoey, in a good way, although I think it was something else and not tomato that made it taste so intense. Still, whatever that ingredient was, it highlighted the tomato flavor. I thought the dish could have been a tad hotter, but my friend actually thought it was too hot. Alas, I have been eating spicy food all my life and probably have an above-average tolerance for heat.

I had the mattar paneer, which is generally one of my favorite dishes, though it isn't always made the same way. Sometimes it's creamy, and sometimes it's not. It's also a dish I know how to make at home (the recipe I use is not creamy). It was not creamy here, and tasted quite similar to my recipe, which lead me to think that Ambala Dhaba's recipe was very authentic, because my cookbook is very authentic. However, since it didn't taste different from my recipe, I wasn't all that excited about it, and it could have been hotter. Also, the portions were small and rice was not included (nor were we asked if we wanted a side of rice).


Chicken tikka masala (back) and mattar paneer (front)

I enjoyed the naan and mint chutney thoroughly, but the tamarind chutney was watery and not spicy at all. Also, they only served carrot pickles, which I think are the least exciting of the pickles, as they don't offer the wonderful flavor explosion that you get with, say, a lemon or mango pickle.

I decided against dessert after being relatively unimpressed with the rest of my food. In spite of my criticism though, this is some of the better Indian food I've had in LA. However, I've had a lot of mediocre Indian food in LA, so maybe that's not saying much. I might eat here again, because I liked the atmosphere, the naan, and the mint chutney, and because the menu is extensive. Maybe I'm just over mattar paneer. One drawback to the otherwise lovely atmosphere is the blender noises when the lassis are being prepared (shouldn't the blender go in the kitchen, where we can't hear it?) and not-too-friendly service.

I chose Ambala Dhaba based on a recommendation on Chowhound that it was the most authentic Indian food on the Westside. Getindian.net, however, had a review of this place saying that the food was inedible. I don't agree with that, but found the opinion interesting. The LA Weekly said, ". . .Ambala Dhaba is an outpost of the Punjab, a branch of a restaurant noted on Artesia’s Little India strip for its fiery goat curries and the boiled-milk ice cream called kulfi. It’s probably the only thing resembling traditional Indian food on the Westside. Ambala Dhaba exemplifies the time-honored side of meaty northern Indian cooking: basic, direct food almost Islamic in attitude, Pakistani in intensity of flavor, but wholly Indian in its attention to fresh vegetables, crunchy snacks, and breads." Maybe they send all the good chefs to the Artesia branch, or maybe they serve blander versions of the same food


For other Indian food options (mostly on the Westside), check out my quick summary.


Ambala Dhaba
Homestyle Indian Food
1781 Westwood Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90024
310.966.1772
Menu
15% discount with KCRW card (as of this writing)

Restaurant Review #16: Annapurna Cuisine, Culver City

My first plate

On my first visit, after just one bite, I was ready to proclaim this restaurant to be the best Indian food in LA. I took a second bite, of a different dish, just to be sure, and then made my proclamation out loud to my friend. On my second visit, I wasn't as enthralled. The food was still very good, it just wasn't mind-blowing. Maybe I just wasn't as hungry. Maybe I've been eating so much Indian food lately that it takes more to impress me. Who knows. I'm no longer sure I want to call it the very best, but maybe I just want an excuse to try more restaurants!

I went for the lunch buffet--why have just one dish when you can have 20? They have a lunch buffet daily (but are closed Mondays) for a mere $7 on weekdays and $10 on weekends, and this price includes a drink. You're probably thinking what I was--free coke, big deal. That doesn't even go with my meal. But by free drink, they mean a real drink! I had a mango lassi. It was the best mango lassi I've ever had. Sweet and tangy but not too much of eithier. Other lassis I've tried have been too yogurty, too sweet, going bad, made from a powdered mix, or drenched in food coloring. (Don't ever have a lassi at Akbar, because those last 4 descriptions apply to their mango lassis.)

I didn't really need the lassi though, in the sense that the food was not that spicy (as in hot). This is probably good in a buffet so that it accomodates as many people as possible. The food was richly spiced, so the lack of heat didn't even occur to me until later and I can't say I particular missed it. However, I do like to get my mouth nice and fiery once in a while.

I spent a good hour and a half savoring my food, and I probably could have taken longer if I didn't feel bad for my friend. Unfortunately, I did not write down the names of what I ate, and the menu and catering menu don't seem to have all the items that were on the buffet (which is kind of exciting, really). They had a number of items I had never tried before, including two things that I would classify as soup. They had plain basmati rice, vegetable biryani, naan, those crunchy flat round things, those colored crunchy things (and they actually tasted like something, for once), various curries (none of which are on the menu--no mattar paneer, palak paneer, chana masala, etc), salad, lemon/carrot pickle, 2 kinds of dessert, plain yogurt, raita, dal, and more. I didn't care for the dal, but I never do. I love lentils, but maybe I don't like yellow lentils, or maybe the primary flavor of this dish is always turmeric. I haven't figured out turmeric yet. I know it's a big deal in Indian food, but I don't think it tastes like anything, unless it's the only spice, in which case it tastes bad. Other than that, I don't really feel compelled to describe the flavors to you in detail. They were amazing. Go taste them for yourself. Also, you can check out their regular menu and catering menu on the website.


My second plate

As you may have noticed, mint and tamarind chutneys are conspicuously absent from my photographs. Unfortunately, this restaurant does not seem to have them. That is my only complaint. These are two of my favorite things, and they weren't on the buffet or the menu anywhere. Maybe they aren't south Indian items. I really have no idea. The only flavor of chutney they serve is coconut, which I think is a little narrow-minded. I also would have liked to see samosas on the buffet. It will be interesting to go back and see if they have a rotating buffet. I am a fan of rotating buffets, since I always like to try new things, even though it sometimes means I don't get to eat an old favorite.


Sweets

The restaurant is very casual. Although the food is excellent and would certainly impress a foodie date, if you want to wine and dine your sweetie, this is not the place. The tables are kind of arranged in rows, there are no table cloths, the floor is tile (nice tile, but tile nonetheless), the workers wear matching green polo shirts, the chairs are made out of that metal tubing stuff, there's nothing exciting about the lighting, there's a TV screen on the wall, and it's in a strip mall. It's not as bad as the description suggests, but it's not ambient by any means. So I guess this is my other complaint. At my favorite Indian restaurant in St. Louis, India's Rasoi, they have an excellent, equally inexpensive lunch buffet, yet the restaurant has ambience and is date-perfect: table cloths, flowers, staggered tables, booths, low lighting at night, and always well-dressed and very attentive service. The service at Annapurna was attentive--they were good about getting rid of my old plates and refilling water. I did not find them to be excessively or frighteningly friendly, as I had read on Chowhound. The hostess was quite smiley, but the rest of the staff seemed fairly subdued. They were very unintrusive and quick to turn around the check.

I want to order one of those big aluminum catering things and keep it in my fridge so I can eat this stuff every day! And they're not too pricey, so I'd actually consider this. Better than eating those grocery store sorry excuse for Indian tv dinners. I will definitely return to this restaurant, hopefully with frequency, and that's not something I say often.


Annapurna Cuisine
10200 Venice Blvd.
Culver City, CA 90232
Phone: (310) 204-5500
Fax: (310) 204-3363
www.annapurnacuisine.com
info@annapurnacuisine.com