i've been anxiously awaiting the opportunity to post about my first TRUE Indian meal. given that over the weekend i ate only in the dining hall, and at an Italian restaurant with my supervisor as he passed through Bangalore on Saturday night, i was looking forward to Sunday because no dinner is served on campus. necessitating the going out to find food. at first the grad students in the lab were planning to just order in, but somehow circumstances changed and i found myself crammed into the back of an auto-cab on my way to sample masala dosa (on a side note, auto-cab rides through speedy traffic = most fun).
we went to what appeared to be a family restaurant, which 'specialized' in South Indian cuisine. to distinguish, most classic Canadian-Indian food is North Indian cuisine - naan bread, tandoor, etc. in doing my background food research before coming here, i didn't recognize any of the names of the characteristic South Indian dishes... and so I was looking forward to trying all. we started with the masala dosa, which is a large crepe-like pancake made of ground lentils and some type of whole grain, allowed to ferment together, pounded out, then fried crispy on a hot cast-iron skillet. only one side is fried, which leaves the other spongey and moist and delicious. in thinking back, i MAY have had a dosa at The Roses Cafe in Ottawa at one time... but it was nowhere near as good as this dosa. folded inside was a nice helping of spiced potato and veg, plus a couple of green chiles. they melt butter on the outside of the folded pancake, which is a perfect finishing touch. dosa, by the way, refers to the pancake - while masala refers to the spices used to season the potatoes inside.
i probably could have left the restaurant after the dosa and been very nicely satisfied. fortunately, the grad students i was with are into eating more than necessary on occasion, and we ordered several other dishes. along with my dosa i had a sweet lassi. i kept assuming it would have mango in it, but was corrected that 'sweet lassi' was just yogurt blended and sweetened with sugar. only 'mango lassi' comes with mango. the lassi was much thicker than what i've had in Canada, but pleasantly tangy and perfect against the spice of the dosa.
next came rounds of naan bread to soak up the rich sauce of the vegetable kofte and of a creamy paneer. kofte i recognized from turkish cuisine, where it refers to a kebab type serving of lamb or chicken or other meat, covered in a heavily-spiced yogurt sauce. this kofte was not meat, but seemed to be a patty of lentil or chickpea paste covered in a spicy yogurt sauce. i'll have to confirm what was in the kofte. we also had a particular type of paneer which is more creamy than others (paneer refers to a cottage-type cheese, which i've most commonly had with spinach - as in saag paneer). it was flecked with veg and peas and was very tasty. again, i'll have to confirm exactly what type this paneer was.
thoroughly stuffed, i managed to make room for my newest favourite beverage: Indian filter coffee. they serve it in small cups, much like espresso. it reminds me of greek or turkish coffee - sweetened and frothy. i enjoy one of these at the coffee bar on the roof of the NCBS academic building in the mornings now.
and so ended my first TRUE Indian meal. apparently, there is a restaurant that serves MUCH better dosa - but it is a little 'rough around the edges' (i.e. squares of newspaper in lieu of napkins). i've been told that after i continue to acclimate for another week, i'll be allowed to experience it next sunday. counting down...
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