Namaste

Before we went to see Stomp, we had dinner with some friends at Namaste.  The restaurant is owned by the same wonderful people who own India Garden, but instead of the Northern Indian cuisine, the new place focuses on food from South India.  Pictured above is the Chicken Mughalai that I ordered.  It had chicken and boiled eggs in a creamy sauce.  It was spicy, but not too spicy.   It does have some pepper bits that sneak up on you.  Those really turn up the volume.

Steve had the Lamb Chettinad, which is a spicy curry prepared in the karakudi style.  He really enjoyed it, but the spice level was a bit much for me.

We also split a Rava Masala Dosa.  It was a perfectly crispy crepe with veggie filling.   Very tasty.

Gregg had the Vegetable Stew.  It was not too spicy and on the creamy side.

Dawn had the Spring Dosa, so a crepe with mixed vegetables on the inside.  This one is definitely able to be a main dish.

The portions were generous and everyone got to take home leftovers.   I just finished mine today, so I estimate that you can get about 3 meals per dish.

It was a neat experience and I wouldn't mind going again, but I must admit I am very partial to their original restaurant because I already have my defined favorite dishes there.   Still, it's a fun experience and worth the visit.

Introducing People to Indian Food . . .

When I wrote about India Garden last time, I didn't have pictures.   We were introducing my family to Indian food for the first time, so I took the opportunity to get some images.  Pictured above is Saag Chicken, our absolute favorite dish.  We get it every single time we go there.   We always order our dishes at level 2 spicy.  It's just right, the flavor is absolutely perfect!

This is the bread basket.  It comes with plain naan, garlic naan, and Aloo Paratha.
 

This is the mussel curry with its sauce (front), and the sauce for the Tandoori Shrimp pictured below.  We really enjoyed the mussels!

The shrimp was good, but I think I would have enjoyed Tandoori Chicken more. 

India Garden

We had dinner tonight at India Garden.   It's one of the best Indian restaurants I've ever been to.     The restaurant has a sliding scale for adjusting the spiciness of your meal.  I usually order level 2 out of 10.  Also, India Garden entrees come with rice.   They even offered to give us more rice for no additional charge.   Another Indian place nearby charged for their rice separately.

Tonight, I had the shrimp soup, Indian bread basket, chicken saag, and kheer for dessert.  The shrimp soup had little morsels of shrimp in a thick garlic-tomato base garnished with cilantro.  The bread basket is ideal for sharing, and features 3 types of naan bread.   Chicken saag is my favorite dish at Indian restaurants.  It is a creamy spinach sauce with tender boneless chicken.  I found it to be slightly spicier tonight than usual, so I ordered kheer for dessert.

If you haven't had kheer before, I highly recommend it!   It's a creamy rice pudding.   The rice grains are tender and covered with a mixture of milk, sugar, and spices, served chilled.  The consistency I've experienced varies from thin to traditional pudding texture.  It can be garnished with almond slices or cinnamon.   When eating spicy food, creamy foods can help get rid of the burning sensation in the mouth.

I think tonight's meal will make at least 2 servings of leftovers for me.