A "LITTLE BENGAL" in Arlington?

Aladdin
5169, Lee Highway,
Arlington, VA.

Haleem

If you are looking for Bengali dining options beyond Gharer Khabar, you might consider Aladdin. Located in the same strip mall as Gharer Khabar, I initially wondered why two restaurants catering to the same ethnic base would choose to locate next to each other. However, after trying both, it became clear that the two restaurants offer two different dining experiences. In short, while Aladdin, with its fairly spacious space, wins with respect to ambience, Gharer Khabar takes the prize in terms of food.

A platter of dishes

That said, Aladdin's wide-ranging menu had some bright spots. One of my favorite items (which was, incidently, not offered by Gharer Khabar) was the Haleem. It was spicy and would cater to a Asian palate. Contrary to Tyler Cowen, I thought the rest of the dishes we got including the goat curry, shrimp curry, and the biryani, were mediocre for the price we had to pay. Moreover, the amount of oil didn't help either. 

I can see why Aladdin chose to locate close to the Bengal market, but in terms of quality of food, it has a ways to go in terms of executing its menu in order to catch up to Gharer Khabar. However, your taste buds might say otherwise.

C'est la vie!

Mushroom crepe

L'Auberge Chez Francois, French
332, Springdale Road
Great Falls, VA

Located in the woods of Great Falls, this family-run French restaurant, is one of the finest in the DC region.

Mussels

I will confess that when I saw the cost of a Norwegian salmon priced at $80, I experienced sticker shock. However, that was alleviated by the realization that for that price came an appetizer, entree, salad and a dessert. The fixed price menu is not intended for casual dining, but marks the restaurant as a destination for special occasions. The menu also benefits from its diversity. It includes proteins suitable for just about any non-vegetarian diet - seafood, duck, and red meats such as lamb, pork, beef, and deer.

Before our appetizers arrived, we were served a basket of garlic and whole wheat bread accompanied by a cheese and chive dip. A peas soup was the chef's selection for the amouse bouse.

This was followed by two appetizers. One was a mushroom crêpe with chives, and a tomato concassé. The other was a plate of mussels flavored with garlic herb butter. Although a bit too buttery for my taste, the appetizers were just substantial enough to be satisfying while not spoiling the customers' appetites. 

Maine lobster

A homemade apple cider sorbet was served just before the entree to cleanse the palate. By the time we were served our main dishes, my expectations were high. Thankfully, I was not disappointed. Both the dishes - poached Maine lobster and the roasted quail with medium cooked venison tasted as good as they looked.

For dessert, we were served a maple tulip shell with a variety of homemade ice cream & sorbet. This was a perfect end to a perfect meal.

My father always said that the recipe to good life was good food eaten in good company. C'est la vie!

Indian flavors across the Indian Ocean

Home-made Matoke

Last summer, I had the fortune to travel to a very remote village in north-eastern Uganda.



One of Uganda's traditional dishes Matoke, is made of mashed raw plantains.  Matoke is filling and a good substitute for rice that is widely eaten all over Uganda. Matoke was not my favorite of the dishes - perhaps it is an acquired taste. It was often served with a side vegetable curry, lightly spiced, and cooked in a groundnut gravy. This made a good pair with the chappati, bread made of flour or wheat. The curries in particular were close to their Indian equivalent, though perhaps less spicy.



On several occasions, when we ate out, I was curious to try the Indian restaurants. Fairway Hotel in Kampala, run by Indians, reminded me of home. Their restaurant was called the Asian Fusion and served an eclectic menu with several Indian dishes. Missing Indian food, I ate much more than I normally would. However, the food would satisfy in any context. Everything I tasted, from butter chicken to chicken korma, reminded me of some of my favorite restaurants in India. On two other occasions, I tried the Indian cuisine in Mbale and Jinja and my experience was similar. The food, though relatively expensive, was completely worth it.

When it came to food and the hospitality, this trip felt like a return home.

Good food + Good company = Cookology

A representative scene

If you are interested in learning to cook, but have limited experience and worry that time spent gaining the necessary culinary skills is time away from your loved one, Cookology might be the place to start.

Cookology is a culinary recreational school in Northern Virginia. The instructor provides a menu for the night as well as all the ncessary ingredients. Step-by-step instructions on everything from how to hold the knife to how one should marinate meats are provided. In addition to getting exposed to ethnic cuisines such as Indian, French, Ethiopian, or Japanese, Cookology also allows participants to engage in other culinary activities such as baking, knife skills for sushi, or making your own sauces.

I went for a cook-out session on a Saturday night. The theme was Asian fusion. The instructor was not only knowledgeable but also friendly. He instructed a group of 16 people, most of whom came as a part of a couple.

We cooked three dishes: a salad, beef tacos, and chicken quesadillas. The mexican specialties dominated by adobo and chilli sauces and blended with Asian spices and sauces specifically soya sauce, and sesame oil. The instructor was kind enough to substitute beef with chicken at my request.

The session lasted for two hours: the first hour was devoted to preparing all the ingredients, marinating the meats while the remaining time was used to cook and enjoy the resulting meal. The meats were marinated with the sauces, a lot of lime, garlic, ginger powder, sesame oil, honey and green onions. The participants along with the instructor grilled their meat. Once the meat was ready, the quesadillas were layered with cooked diced chicken, and shredded cheese. They were folded to be baked in the oven until the cheese melted. It went well with the veggies.

The mixture prepared for the chicken (or beef) tacos was comprised of similar ingredients. Diced pears were added to the taco. However, although the strong taste of raw adobo sauce dominated, on the whole the dish worked. The meal paired with a glass of wine of the participant's choice.

I initially thought a meal for one at $65 dollars was a bit pricey given that you can obtain most recipes on the Internet. But the experience of cooking with people gave the class added value. I would definitely recommend it to more social foodies.

Gharer Khabar on a lazy Sunday afternoon

Gharer Khabar, Bengali

5151, Lee Highway, 

Arlington, VA

One of the disadvantages of living away from home is the nostalgia for childhood festivals. It is not just the rituals and the food, but the spirit of celebrating the occasion amidst a community that is not defined by the patrons of a temple site. I feel extremely home-sick during the Ganapathi festival and would imagine that someone who grew up in the eastern part of India would feel somewhat like that during the time of Durga pujo.

Bengali comfort food

I briefly experienced the Durga pujo festivities during my stay in Pune, which has a fairly large Bengali diaspora. So I am grateful that I had an opportunity to re-live my Pune days when I visited Gharer Khabar (translated to home-made food) with my Bengali friend Debasree.

Gharer Khabar is a small family-run Bangla restaurant that serves food that is very similar to what your Bengali friend might make for you at home. Seating is limited, but the quality of the food along with the modest price compensates for the lack of ambience. The take out service is highly recommended if you wish to enjoy the tastes of Bengal in the comfort of your own home.

We tried several appetizers, including some freshly fried samosas with peas, cauliflower and potatoes. These paired very well with the tea.  We had a number of entrees, including goat curry, fried fish, fish do pyaza (fish cooked with onions), dal and chicken biryani. The dishes were a bit oily for home made food, but this did not compromise the taste. 

Bengalis are fresh-water fish eaters unlike the Goans who prefer salt-water fish. The fish do pyaza comprised of fried fish cooked in caramelized onions and was nicely seasoned. The yellow lentils were paired to good effect with the goat curry. The latter was a bit oily, but perfectly cooked. They say it is hard to go wrong with meat, but I believe it is hard to cook meat well. If you have a tolerance for Indian spice levels, this was indeed one of those goat curries that I would fondly remember – spicy yet delicious. It paired well with the chicken biryani, which was surprisingly mild.

Now this is the club you want to belong to!

A platter of vegetarian dishes

It is the Bombay Club, located at 815, Connecticut Avenue, NW in Washington DC.

At, $20.95 per person, the Sunday buffet-brunch is priced a tad higher than the lunch buffet available at other Indian restaurants in the D.C. region. The buffet was adequate, although not very diverse. But the quality certainly compensated for the quantity. The ambience helped by the presence of a pianist, also added value to the experience.

Every dish brought out the subtle flavors of the spices, unlike some places that simply throw spices into every dish with little consideration for whether it accentuates or detracts from the natural flavors of the vegetables or protein.

One of the traditional brunch options was scrambled egg, cooked with cilantro, tomato and onions. If you are a vegetarian, there were several options including paneer rasala (cottage cheese gravy), dal kabila (lentils), spinach aloo (potato cooked in spinach), mixed vegetables, along with bhel puri, aloo tikki (potato patty), greens and pickles as appetisers, and jeera rice (cumin rice).
The paneer (cottage cheese) cooked in a cashew gravy with a savory hint of cardamom was subtle and interestingly mild. The spinach potato was delicious and seasoned with cumin, ginger and garam masala (blend of spices). Dal kabila (lentils) was the spiciest of the lot and perfectly complemented the other, less spicy dishes.

I personally loved their chicken served with a coconut gravy. It was cooked in freshly ground spices. The chicken was perfectly marinated and went well with naan (bread). If you are a seafood lover, there were fillets of fish cooked in a gravy. The chicken and the fish paired flawlessly with the jeera rice. The meal ended with gulab jamuns and some Darjeeling tea. 

I have also tried their ala carte options. One of my favorites is their thali - a platter of vegetarian and seafood/meat dishes.

My friend Debasree contributed to this post. 

Salmon quiche

Cuisine: French/Southern American

My ex-roommate from Roanoake instilled in me an appreciation for Southern cooking. She introduced me to quiche, that can be quite expensive if you choose to have it in a cafe, but surprisingly easy to make it at home, if you have all the ingredients.

I modified it a bit to suit my taste....and made a salmon quiche. If you are vegetarian, you can make a vegetarian quiche without salmon.

Basic Ingredients (2-4 servings)
4 eggs
1/4 pound wild caught salmon cut into small cubes
Ready-made Pie crust
1/2 cup mozarella cheese (you can also add cheddar cheese instead of mozarella)
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 cups half and half milk
2 cods of crushed garlic
Finely chopped 1/2 cup spinach
1/4d piece of finely chopped onion
1/4 piece of finely chopped tomato
1 teaspoon salt (alter to your taste)
1/2 teaspoon pepper

Optional Ingredients (2-4 servings)
Oregano, basil to taste
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1/2 cup Goat cheese

Step 1
Break the eggs into a large bowl and add the three types of cheese and milk.
Step 2
Add the remaining ingredients including salmon, veggies, salt, pepper, oregano and basil. Mix them well and set aside.


Step 3
After allowing the frozen pie-crust to thaw for an hour and a half, set it in a baking dish, greased with butter.

Step 4 
Pour the mixture into the pan, as shown below.

Step 5
Preheat the oven at 350 degrees F ( C) and bake it for 40-45 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve them.

Mediterranee - in Great Falls but not that great!

Mediterranee, 
10123 Colvin Run Road, Great Falls, VA. 

Pan fried flounder

If you like to try out small, family-run restaurants, Groupon is a good place to start your search. Last weekend, I used a groupon deal for Mediterranee, a small restaurant that specializes in American Meditteranean cuisine. 

The meal started on a positive note - complimentary bread which tasted like it might have been baked in-house. It was served with olive oil for dipping.  I had the opportunity to sample their three-course meal that was comprised of an appetizer, an entrée and a dessert. Among the appetizers, my friend and I tried a soup and a pork pate. The soup, a vegetable puree made from greens, was adequate. The pate was chunky and cold - came with a smidge of mustard, and a salad on the side. Neither the pate nor the soup was served with any crackers or garlic bread, which is a shame, as I think it would have helped neutralize the blandness of the pork.

Flambe with rum and vanilla ice cream

The entrees, a grilled salmon and pan fried flounder, were both well-cooked. They were flavored with herbs and capers and came with a side of blanched greens and some pickled onions. The entrees as served were simply too rich. Going easy on the butter would have helped bring out the natural flavors of fish, with a little more herbs for flavor.

Finally, we had two desserts: a banana, mango, berry flambé with rum and vanilla ice cream, and a bread pudding with caramel sauce. The bread pudding with strawberries on the top was moderately sweet, which suited me. The taste of rum was too obvious in the flambé, masking the natural sweetness of the mango and banana. 

The Vegetarian Edition

Saravana Palace, South Indian

11725 Lee Hwy  Fairfax, VA 22030

Aloo Tikki Chaat

If you are a vegetarian, and in the mood for some Indian food, there aren’t many options in the Washington DC region. Among the limited choices, Saravana Palace is one of the few that exclusively serves Indian vegetarian food.

What’s unique about this place is its wide-ranging menu of vegetarian dishes, especially the “fast foods” from India. While they certainly cater to those craving Chole Bhatura, bhel puri, uttapam, masala dosa, idli wada, pao bhaji, I am afraid it may not meet your expectations if you have ever had the chance to sample such food in India.

Chole Bhatura

I tried several dishes during my visit to Saravana Palace. The aloo tikki chaat - comprised of small potato cutlets served on a bed of chick peas mixed in yoghurt, and a tangy tamarind date sauce, garnished with cilantro and onions. 

Though I didn't try it myself, according to my friend Debasree, the tikkis were a little too dense and dry, and the sauces didn’t help in masking the dryness .Their popular dish, Chole Bhatura - fried bread served with spicy chick peas was edible but not especially memorable. 

There were also several Indo-Chinese dishes on the menu that are not commonly served in many Indian restaurants. The Gobi Manchurian - crispy cauliflower cooked in a spicy Chinese sauce although somewhat chunky, was the best of the three entrees I tried. 

Guacamole

Cuisine: Mexican
A simple and tasty dip thats perfect with sandwiches, fried fish, or chips!

Ingredients

1 avocado

¼ onion

¼ tomatoes

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

1 clove of crushed garlic

Chinese parsley (cilantro)

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Step 1: Mash the avocado into a thin paste. Add finely chopped onion, tomato, lemon juice, chinese parsely (cilantro) and garlic.

Step 2: Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3: Refrigerate the guacamole for about 30 minutes before serving it.

Mandazi for Supper

I am never in a rush on road trips and always prefer a nice leisurely meal at a local restaurant rather than restaurant chains for a quick bite. So, on our way to the Fallingwater in Pennyslavania, we stopped at a little old town diner in Frederick, Maryland. We opted for the a la carte menu instead of the buffet despite most patrons preferring the latter. I had a seafood omelette with fresh crab meat and shrimp with a side of well-cooked potatoes along with some pancakes. It was a very filling and delicious meal that kept us satiated until supper time. 

The next stop was in Morgantown, West Virginia. Partly due to the lack of interesting eating options, we ended up having supper at the Kenyan Cafe, located in a strip mall in this university town. It was my first time trying Kenyan cuisine. I was told it is very similar to the Indian cuisine. 

We started with some vegetarian samosas and mandazi for appetizers. For the entree, I tried the spicy chicken curry with a side of chapatti. I would agree that the curry served was bright and colorful looking like most Indian food. But it differed in taste. First, unlike most Indian curries that are smooth in texture for the most part, this curry had a lot of semi-cooked veggies – mostly carrots and peas. The spicy curry already came mixed with the rice, which I was not a fan of – another reason for not enjoying the curry with the chappati. This might be because I am habituated to mixing the curry with the rice in the proportion I want. The samosas were milder and had almost similar ingredients of carrots and peas. 

My favorite part of this meal was the Mandazi. It was a slightly sweet fried pastry made from wheat flour. I was not sure whether it was to be had with a curry or stew like the chapatti but it certainly had its own taste and tasted good by it self. 

Salmon on bread with gaucomole

If you are looking to make use of some salmon and Tari (Crema de Aji) (a Peruvian sauce), here is a recipe you could try.

Basic Ingredients (1-2 servings)
2 slices of bread
0.5 pounds of wild caught salmon
Quarter cup of cheese of your choice
2 tablespoons of Tari (Crema de Aji) (Peruvian sauce)
1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon of olive oil

Optional Ingredients
Black Olives

Step 1: Cut the slices of bread into two and toast them with butter

Step 2: Cut the salmon into small rectangular slices.

Step 3: Mix the Tari (Crema de Aji) and Worcestershire sauces with the olive oil.

Step 4: Dip the salmon pieces in the prepared mixture and shallow fry them onto a pan.

Step 5: Keep the fried salmon pieces aside.

Step 6: Place the salmon pieces on the bread along with Mozzarella or Feta, and olives if you would like.

Step 7: You could add more of the Tari sauce on the salmon before baking them for 10 minutes until the cheese melts.

Step 8: Serve the bread with guacamole (with an additional side of Tari sauce if you would like).

Spanish Omelette

Cuisine: Spanish

Ingredients ((1-2 servings)

Basic 

2 Eggs

1/4 of an onion

1/4 of a  tomato

Half a potato

Quarter cup of Mozarella Cheese

Dash of salt, pepper

Optional

1 Green chilli / Quarter piece of bell peppers

2-3 finely chopped Mushrooms

Dash of Oregano, chilli flakes, Basil and Parsely

Finely chopped Chinese parsely or cilantro

Total Preparation and cooking time: 15-20 minutes 

Step 1: Finely chop the onion and tomato

Step 2: Cut the potato into thin slices.

Step 3: Break the eggs into a large bowl. Beat them well with the veggies.

[If you are using more than 2 eggs, boil the potatoes slightly before adding to them to the mixture].

Step 4: Heat the pan, and add butter or olive oil. Pour half of the mixture on the pan.

Step 5: Add generous amounts of cheese on it.

Step 6: Add the remaining mixture along with another layer of cheese.

Step 7: Let it cook for about 10 minutes on a low flame (allowing the potatoes to cook and the cheese to completely melt.

Step 8: You could serve it with some bread or have it just by itself.

Goan or Peruvian seafood - You decide because I can't!

Fried seafood

Seafood is a staple of Goa. This spoilt me and made me critical of seafood from other parts of the world.

However, even I have to admit that the seafood in Mancura, a small coastal town of northern Peru, is comparable to that from my beloved Goa.

Obviously, ceviche was first on my list of dishes to try during my travel to Peru. Ceviche is raw fish cooked with citrus juices. It is served all along the coasts of Latin America. I obtained my ceviche from Restaurant Cevicheria Frutos Del Mar in the northwestern town of Piura. The fish was fresh and heavily flavored with citrus juices. To balance the acidity, it is usually served with a salad, fried yuca or potatoes, and plenty of corn.

For those who are used to eating their meats very well-done, a category that includes me, ceviche was a pleasant novelty, although I would have to admit that I have to eat enough of this before it becomes a consistent part of my diet.

Ceviche

On another occasion, I feasted on a platter of seafood after a fun-filled day on the beach. The platter comprised of calamari, fish and shrimp. It was served with French fries and garnished with a piece of avacado on the top. This was so good, that I couldn't get enough of it. Despite being fried, my appetite for it seemed boundless. And a glass of Peruvian beer perfectly helped in washing down all the spice.

A Tapas Dinner

Roast chicken

If you are a foodie like me, like many other places, Spain has a lot to offer too. Moreover, you will find food buffs like myself, leisurely enjoying their food and drinks on a week day evening on the streets of Seville or Madrid.

I mostly stuck to the items on the tapas menu during my stay in Spain. Tapas are small-sized portions (what some people would call snacks or appetizers), but can make a filling meal if you combine a few of them. Several restaurants that I went to specialized in tapas. One of my favorites was an old market called Mercado de San Miguel, located near Plaza Mayor, that had a variety of tapas joints serving an eclectic mix of hot and cold tapas to patrons who stood and ate, while reading a book or hanging out with friends.

Unlike my experience of the Spanish tapas bars in D.C. that are generally over-priced and serve really tiny portions, Spain had much more to offer – in terms of taste as well as worth for your money. 

Not being a big fan of cold food, I mostly had hot tapas on the menu – fried calamari, roasted chicken, paella, garlic shrimp, and a Spanish omelette.  Every thing I tried was delicious.

Seafood Paella

On Day 1, I had roasted chicken - mildly flavored with salt, pepper, garlic and other herbs for lunch. It was cooked just enough to make it moist, and served with potato wedges on the side. If you are a beer person, you could enjoy a glass a beer with your meal on a warm summery afternoon.  



On several occasions, I tried the seafood paella that I will fondly remember– rice cooked with calamari, mussels and shrimp. I had this with sangria (a Spanish fruit cocktail) – that was not overly sweet and went perfectly well with the mild spices.

On Day 3, while watching a flamenco performance, I tried the Spanish omelette – served as a tapas but could easily substitute for a meal that was perfect with  a glass of sangria.  This omelette is prepared from pretty basic ingredients you would generally find in any kitchen - eggs, cheese, potatoes, salt, pepper and other herbs if you would like.



Garlic Shrimp

On the last day of the trip, I had mildly flavored garlic shrimp cooked in olive oil, served in a pan along with some bread and crackers on the side. 

I combined this with a sweet crepe. Filled with Nutella, the crepe was served with whip cream on the side. Not being a big fan of whip cream, I preferred having the crepe by itself. 

All in all, this was a perfect trip when it came to food! I would go here again, just to eat!!

Exploring Portugal through food

As a daughter of Goa, I was very excited to visit Portugal. While growing up, I often heard stories of Portugal and its influence on our culture, including the cuisine. So this was my opportunity to see whether there was any truth to these stories during my week-long trip to Lisboa. Perhaps, not surprisingly, it seemed that the Goan cuisine is more influenced by the Indian cuisine, rather than the Portuguese.


A platter of tapas

A Portuguese dinner typically started with loaves of bread (pao), and olive oil. Calamari, prawn rissois, samosas, and spanish tapas were offered as appetizers. The calamari were deep fried with a blend of spices, just like the Goan way. However, the calamari were cut into long wedges instead of cylindrical rings and not served with any sauce. The rissois were bland but still edible. While the crust resembled a Goan rissois, the bland mixture of cheese and whole shrimp was not what I would call mouth-watering. Among all the appetizers I tried, a platter of tapas served during a Fado was my favorite. The platter came with mini-portions of cheese, tuna and pork pate, olives, crackers, and bread. Mostly, a glass of Porto, helped compensate for the mediocre appetizers.

Grilled Fish

For the main course, I tried several types of grilled, or baked fish. The fish, although not particularly spicy, was very good. The option of having it with olive oil mixed with garlic and onion also helped to mitigate the blandness of the fish. The main courses were typically served with sides of veggies, mostly mashed potatoes or whole boiled potatoes and a salad. On another occasion, I had chicken with a slightly sweet brown sauce, served with an interesting combination of potato wedges and pineapple slices.

Chicken Curry

Finally, the Indian cuisine in Portugal was mediocre. Not sure whether I picked the right restaurants in the tourist hubs of Cascais, Sintra and downtown Lisboa. The Indian restaurants also served Italian food, perhaps to widen their customer base. I was somewhat disappointed by the fact that all restaurants served butter chicken but none served Chicken Xacuti despite Portugal's historical connection to Goa. Of the several entrees I tried, there was little variation in taste: most were cooked with a heavy tomato base and were very creamy.

Every meal ended with a dessert - mostly custard tarts. While not very sweet, these were very good.

Custard Tart with Espresso