Indian Food

You are currently browsing articles tagged Indian Food.

 

Spring is in the air! While I see my cousin’s Facebook update from North Carolina about 10 inches of snow, I am sneaking out on my lunch break for a little walk in the sun. Before I launch into my post, I just have to tell you that I felt a runner’s high last night that I have not felt in a LONG time! I ran about 5 miles, including about 20 minutes of hills around Beacon Hill and the Boston Common. THANK YOU for all of your advice and encouragement on my running frustrations post! You all really helped, and after some hunger-related struggles during last night’s run, something clicked and I was flying along, enjoying the weather, and sunset, the wind on my face. All of my runs for several weeks have been AWFUL and really without joy, so I am very happy to have this feeling back!

Speaking of running, I have decided that I have to stay active after my really long runs. Being really lazy and just sitting around makes me so much more stiff. With that in mind, this past Sunday the hubs and I decided to go for a wander around Brookline. Since my running route takes me along Beacon Street, I get to see lots of restaurants and stores, and pretty much all I can think about is going back.

We parked in Washington Square and decided to do a little beer shopping at Publick House Provisions, a really cool store that sells gourmet food and craft beer. They have quite the selection!

 

image

image

We picked up a bottle of Lindeman’s Framboise, a nice raspberry flavored brew in a pretty bottle. We had a lot of fun browsing the beers and the specialty glasses that they sell. I feel a gourmet cheese and beer tasting coming on!

image

After browsing the beers, we headed across the street to Tamarind Bay for their buffet lunch. I was craving Indian food like you wouldn’t believe, and I love all of the choices available at a lunch buffet.

image

We were not disappointed by the spread. It included lots of fresh ingredients like crunchy cucumbers, chickpeas, yogurt raita, onions, cilantro, and a variety of other spices to enhance the meal.

image

image

I loaded my plate with a little bit of everything. I love topping my hot Indian food with cool yogurt and crunchy raw veggies. It helps to fill me up with a good healthy balance, and the difference between the hot and cold, soft, and crunchy is a lot of fun! 😉

image

After lunch, all I wanted was ice cream with caramel sauce. With Emack & Bolio’s right across the street, it was fate!

image

But they were out of caramel sauce 🙁 After perusing their display of chocolate covered items, including Twinkies and Devil Dogs on sticks, completely enrobed in chocolate, I ordered a Nutella cup.

image

It looks very pretty, and the thought of a peanut butter cup that is instead filled with Nutella pretty much bowled me over. Unfortunately, it was made with super sweet chocolate, and the Nutella had gotten gritty 🙁 I only ate a tiny bite and could not finish the rest. Its amazing how my palate has evolved from super sweet “fake” chocolate to loving tiny amounts of flavorful dark chocolate. Oh well.

It was so much fun to be able to walk around outside without worrying about slipping on ice or shivering so much that we couldn’t even talk. There is no greater feeling than the welcome arrival of spring, and I can’t wait to get out there again to experience all of the great things Boston has to offer!

And did I mention we are spending my March 20 birthday in wine country?!! Most likely we will just focus on Sonoma this time as we stayed in Napa last time, but there may be a little side trip to Chateau Montelena or Castello di amorosa where we are wine club members. I am SO excited. There is nothing better than writing about the food and wine in wine country, in my opinion, and I am super excited for my birthday season to kick off in California!

And speaking of wine, I am publishing my Wednesday Food and Wine Pairing a day late, but it will be a good, comforting recipe to help get you through the rest of the winter. Have a great day!

Tags: beer, chocolate, Food, ice cream, Indian Food, wine, wine country

I have not yet visited India, but I have eaten in many Indian restaurants and was lucky to spend my high school years running track and cross country with friends whose parents were from India and spoiled us with multi course homemade meals.

Aside from those incredible at home meals, the best Indian food I have ever eaten is at Kashmir in Galway, Ireland. When I was a student studying in Galway, they offered a daily buffet lunch for about 6 pounds, which for my roommates and I who were broke, vegetarian foodies, was miraculous!

When the hubs and I started dating, and we returned to Galway together, I was so happy to see that Kashmir was not only still open, but moved to a bigger location right on the water. Over the years, we have always made it a point to visit Kashmir on each trip to Ireland. We even ate here after we got engaged 🙂

On this past trip to Galway, we ate at Kashmir twice, once for a family dinner after my 13 mile run and once for a Sunday buffet lunch. Both times were amazing and left me wanting more. There is nothing better than spicy, filling, satisfying Indian food after a long run on a cold and blustery Irish winter day!

We always start with poppadums served with yogurt raita, mango chutney, and those spicy, pickled onions that I am addicted to.

 

image

Blurry, yet delicious and extra spicy Vegetable Boona with coriander, cloves, cumin seeds, bay leaves, garlic and ginger. This dish was a flavorful dinner and delightfully filling paired with naan bread.

image

The Sunday buffet offers a fairly large variety of both vegetarian and meat options including Dal Makhni, Vegetable Balti, Chicken Tikka Masala, Basmati rice, and Kheer, that creamy coconut rice pudding that I always seem to find room for.

Now that I am writing this, I have a major craving for Indian food! We may have to work a lunch buffet into our weekend plans 🙂

 

Do you like Indian food? What is your favorite dish? Restaurant? Or do you make it at home?

 

imageJust felt like sharing this cool photo of the hubs walking down by the Spanish Arch in Galway. We couldn’t see much due to the fog, and it was very cool/eerie!

Tags: Dining out, ethnic food, Food, Galway, Indian Food, Ireland

Is it really Sunday night already? I was sooo looking forward to this long weekend, I hate to see it go! But overall it was a really good one. Today I may have gone to the MSPCA for some dog walking again. The more I go, the more I want to be there. I just love caring for animals!

After, I did some prepping for the week including making a big batch of homemade hummus which we will eat all week with a variety of toppings on Arnold Sandwich Thins. Tomorrow I will pack us each hummus, sandwich thins, pickles, shredded cabbage and carrots, beets, and a couple of pieces of Cabot Extra Sharp Cheddar. If you haven’t tried this cheese and are a cheese eater, definitely give it a whirl. I love it. I first tried it at the Coastal Wine Trail Kickoff where Cabot had table and have been a fan ever since!

For my workout, in addition to running laps with the doggies, I did a bunch of dance moves from days long ago. Lots of kicks and squats, so my legs and bum are nice and tired. We spent the rest of the day celebrating my niece Emma’s first birthday. I brought veggie dogs because I was craving some real bbq food. They were soooo good with onions, ketchup, mustard, and relish. Along with a mixed green salad and a small spoonful of potatoes au gratin. There were sooo many kids there that I never got any food photos. It was a bit too chaotic, but lots of fun!

My post for tonight is a quick review of some food that I bought at Target. . .

For the longest time I didn’t even know Target sold food, but when I started checking it out, I realized that a lot of stuff that I would get at the supermarket like yogurts and canned tuna were a lot cheaper for the same brand name. Target also sells a brand called Archer Farms, and we picked up a vindaloo dinner in a box last week:

A quick easy dinner

A quick easy dinner

The box came with a potato and pea curry, a pouch of basmati rice, vindaloo sauce, and a mango chutney. For the most part, I try to avoid processed foods when possible, but this was a pretty tasty meal especially with some fresh add ins. I threw in a whole bunch of shredded Napa cabbage and topped the whole mess with Trader Joe’s Greek Style Yogurt. The flavors were slightly spicy but mild enough for my Irish hubby.  “Real” vindaloo is MUCH spicier, and I love it, but this does the trick ! The mango chutney was a bit too sweet, but a couple of drops on my curry really added a nice taste. Overall I would definitely buy this again and maybe cook it up and put it over a bed of fresh spinach and other veggies along with the yogurt. Putting the entire thing together took less than 20 minutes, and it felt like a complete meal, perfect for when we get home late at night after a long work day and still want to be somewhat healthy.

It looks like we have broken free from our weather curse here, and I couldn’t be happier! I am off to have a lovely, fruity Leinenkugel beer on the deck, then more getting ready to get back to the grind 🙁

Have a great Sunday evening, and I will be back this week with some running, recipes, a trip to Grenada, and maybe a picnic on the beach if the weather stays nice!

Tags: Food, Indian Food, Target, vindaloo

Newer entries »

new restaurant
WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera