Last Saturday I spontaneously decided to take my husband on a little date to our favorite Indian restaurant. But more on that later, let’s start at the beginning.
Guess what I had for breakfast! Exactly. This time I topped my sandwiches with even more vegetables, as many as I could possibly fit onto my plate. Cucumber slices are awesome. And so are cherry tomatoes.
For lunch I made a big bowl of creamy pasta salad. It was inspired by a recipe I found a while ago on Peachy Palate. I served it with a few chicory leaves. My go-to lettuce is romaine, but I’m trying to mix things up once in a while. Chicory is a little bitter, so it’s surely an acquired taste, but I really like its subtle flavour and crunchy texture.
And finally the highlight of the weekend – dinner! There is a small Indian restaurant not too far from where we live. We’ve eaten there a few times already, and so far everything I ordered was absolutely delicious. What I love about Indian and other Asian restaurants, is that they usually offer many different vegetarian dishes, unlike most German/Bavarian restaurants in our area, where the only meat-free option is either a sad leafy salad or a plate of greasy Käsespätzle (similar to macaroni and cheese). For the record, I hate Käsespätzle! They are way too heavy and fatty and sit in my stomach like a brick for hours.
We were served some papadums (crisp lentil bread) with dips as an appetizer. Surprisingly, the red dip was mild and sweet, and the green one was insanely spicy!
My husband, who has been to India several times, says that the dishes served in that restaurant come very close to authentic Indian food. This time he ordered a spicy veal dish that he enjoyed a lot, and I got a creamy, moderately spicy eggplant dish called baingan bharta. It was served with large strips of fresh ginger on top, and rice and chapati on the side. It was so freaking good!
During our previous visits to that restaurant I got to try their chana masala (spicy chickpeas) and palak paneer (creamy, mild spinach with Indian cheese), which were equally delicious.
Do you like Indian cuisine? What’s your favorite Indian dish?
See you!
I’ve never had Indian food before, but it’s something that I’ve always wanted to try. I think the various seasonings that use sound so interesting. Okay, so I guess I’ve had falafels before, which some consider an Indian dish, but that just seems way too americanized for me. Haha.
Hm, I think falafels are more of an Oriental/Arabic speciality. Anyway, I love those, too!
The chicory leaves look so pretty in that picture!
I really like Indian food. I only do mild spice, though. I have actually made baingan bharta at home and had success with it, but my favorite is anything with paneer.
Thank you! My homemade Indian food doesn’t come close to the restaurant version. I’ll probably need to work on that.
I love the pretty way you serve your food, make it look so inviting! i love Indian food, my favourite is dahl with spinach YUM!
Thank you! My food doesn’t always look that pretty, that’s just for the blog.
Ohhh, you would love it in London then!
A lot of people know about Brick Lane which is rubbish to be honest (sort of a tourist trap where people get wasted in bring your own (booze) places), but there are several areas and locations where you can get top notch Indian food. For example on Drummond Street you will only find vegetarian only places!
Thanks for the tips, sounds awesome! Last time I was in London is almost 20 years ago. Dang, I’m old.
(Marco, is that you?)