Chandni (New York, New York, USA)

While visiting a great friend of mine in NYC from my college years, Mike Radparavar - cofounder of Holstee (www.holstee.com) we ventured off to Chandni.  I loved that our lunch meals were provided on silver pizza pans - a fantastic and creative way to serve a bunch of food. We had our fair share of samosas, naan, salad, and of course, chicken tikka masala for me.  (And as a conscious citizen Mike brought his own to-go container rather than utilize their throw-away containers...)

Flavor of India (Santa Barbara, California, USA)

While on a trip to Santa Barbara, CA for a PhD event, I visited Flavor of India for their lunch-time buffet.  The food was good, not great, but it was absolutely gorgeous sitting outside in the sweet California sunshine.

Taste Of India (West Palm Beach, Florida, USA)

It was an absolute blessing sharing a meal, Indian food nonetheless, with my grandparents after a week-long visit.  On the way to the airport, we stopped off at the Taste of India, a fine Indian establishment.  We ordered a solid amount of food, a daring experience for a couple who has limited experience with Indian.  All in all, it was a delicious meal with unbeatable company.

Indian Kitchen & Deli (Blouberg, South Africa)

I visited Cape Town (and Ghana - the post previous to this one) as part of the Fall 2012 Semester at Sea voyage.  Although the ship was docked in Cape Town, I spent much of time in a town just north of the city, Blouberg.  Blouberg is on the coast and is the ideal spot for post-card pictures of Table Mountain.  It is also a tremendous location for Indian food. Although there are three restaurants in town, I ventured to one, twice - the Indian Kitchen and Deli.

On the first trip, I had a traditional Tikka Masala with chicken.  The portion size was just ok and flavor was nothing to rave about.  However, the conversation with the owner (a native of England) was wonderful.  I learned about Cape Town's history, the racial situation of present, and Indian-food culture in Cape Town and South Africa.

 I returned for more conversation and to try a South African Indian food staple - Bunny Chow.  Bunny Chow is essentially a bread bowl filled with an Indian curry.  Bread bowl with soup is great!  Bread bowl with Indian food - amazing!

     

Delhi Palace (Tema, Ghana)

Indian food in Ghana?!  Yes!

The Delhi Palace was situated in a corner lot of a strip mall in a town (Tema) just outside of the Capital, Accra.  I dined with the taxi driver who drove myself and several friends up to the hills just north of the coast earlier in the day.  He selected this restaurant, noting that is was the best one in that area of town.  His recommendation was on point.  The food was quite tasty and the ambiance of the restaurant was similar to most other Indian restaurants.  We dined on naan, tikka masala, and gulab jamun (for dessert).

Watch Me and Buckingham Balti House (London, England)

While I was travelling in London, I was able to spend time with a good friend who, from Sri Lanka, is familiar with Southeast Asian cuisine.  Although it was one city, over 1.5 days we delighted on two Indian meals.  This post shares about Watch Me: Sri Lankan and Indian Cuisine and Buckingham Balti House.

Watch Me was an immersion experience in English Indian food.  This was a truly a ‘locals’ restaurant.  Everyone in the restaurant, based upon skin tone and accent, was from the same region as the food.  Moreso, everyone seemed to connected to the neighborhood (South Wimbledon) and at home in the restaurant.  There was a living room feel to this place.

We ordered several plates – a diverse range of vegetarian options as well as Chicken Tikka Masala.  The food was decent.  Not the best, but not the worst.  Frankly, the company was much more enjoyable than the food.  The beer selection was solid – a Lion Beer from Sri Lanka was had – a new experience – one that should be repeated.  Especially after the second Indian food experience in London, Watch me paled in comparison.

Buckingham Balti House, in the center of town, close to the Victoria underground stop provide the most incredible tikka masala sauce I’ve ever tried.  Hands down.  The best.  I savored the sauce with a Chicken Biryani dish.  The rice dish (Biryani) was good.  The sauce took it to another level.  The tikka masala was infused with coconut that made it out of this world.  Days later, I am still salivating over this dish.      

Indian Curry Club (Dublin, Ireland)

The Indian Curry Club was my first taste of Indian in Ireland.  Not a bad start.  First they offered a solid deal.  For 10 euro, you were able to select and appetizer (I chose the onion bhajee), a main course meal (chicken tikka masala for me) and either rice or naan.  I opted for the garlic naan.  For 3.50 euros more, you could get a Guinness.  I did.

The onion bhajee was great.  The onions rolled together in what I believe was a chick-pea batter and then deep fried.   I ate two of the four and saved the other two for the when the tikka masla was on the table.  You can’t beat tikka masala as a dipping sauce.  Once the chicken arrived with the naan, it was time to dig in.  The sauce was very, very rich and flavorful.  However, there was limited chicken and the naan could have had more garlic.  Not to mention it was quite greasy.  All in all, I was impressed with the ICC in Dublin and look forward to comparing this to other European Indian restaurants.    

Onion Bhajee

Chicken Tikka Masala with a Guinness