Hello Weekend

Ah yes, the weekend arrived a bit early and Tim's flight was on time.  He was not hungry on Thursday evening and since I was in prep mode for the next morning I was not at all pushing food.  The rain was a downpour when he got in but faded by sunset.  He enjoyed some wine but we did have an early evening as the morning would be here all too soon.  And it was.  Off to the Polyclinic and the procedure was done and I was home just a bit after noon.  Slept the afternoon away and to save too many details - we can report that all is well. 

Having not eaten in 24 hours, I was pretty hungry and Tim was hankering for Indian food so we ordered in.  It was a place called Garam Masala and following is what we had for dinner - quite the selection and thanks to Tim for picking up the tab.

 

First up was a couple of appetizers.  Vegetable Samosas which are crispy patties stuffed with peas, potatoes and spices.  There are two per order and they are huge and quite filling.  Served with a mint yogurt sauce.

Next appetizer was Aloo Tiki which is potatoes cake spiced and fried and served with temraind and mint chutnies.  Very dense and not my favorite.  Had a taste and left the rest.

The final appetizer was by far my favorite.  Gobi Pakora are deep fried and oh my.  They are cauliflower pieces mixed in spices, battered, and fried.  We almost came to blows over who got how many.  I gave him my extra Aloo Tiki and I do think I got the better deal!

Naan and Roti served as the vessel for a lot of the food.  The Tandoori Breads are baked vertically a tandoori (clay oven).  Naan is a leavened bread and Roti is very similar but whole wheat.

I found out another staple of Indian cuisine is rice.  In this case Tim decided to add a little variable to the mainstay.  Plain Indian basmati rice and green peas.  I can see that while I enjoy Indian food, I will need to be careful as it is so very carb centric. 

Chicken Tikka Masala was the first of the main courses.  Again, high approval of this dish.  Addictive would be a good word to describe.  Cubes of white meat Tandoori style, cooked in a rich creamy tomato sauce. 

And then there was  Palak Paneer which was Tim's favorite and I was more than happy to let him have as much as he wanted.  Yes I did have a taste, but a small one and glad I did.  Home-made cheese cubes mixed with a lightly cooked spinach sauce.

Dal Makhani is a dish that Tim insisted we get and in the end it was the dish that was not touched.  Not sure why, it just kind of happened.  Tender homemade cheese simmered butter with tomatoes and a creamy sauce.

Now many of you know I am not a curry person.  Don't hate it, but I do not go out of my to eat it either.  Especially Thai curry.  But Tim told me to just give it a try.  Chicken Curry was quite good.  Chicken cooked in onions, tomatoes, ginger, garlic and exotic spices.

And last but  not least, Channa Masala which was the first item I tried.  Chickpeas cooked with tomatoes, onions, ginger and garlic, tossed with fresh coriander leaves.  Was not really excited, but in the end quite surprised at how good it was.







So there you go folks, our Indian dinner and there was enough left over to be lunch today as well.  Heck, I think there still is some left over after lunch.  Tonight I am making a shrimp dinner.  And oh my has the vino been flowing.  It has been a lazy and yet relaxing weekend.  Cheers!