Wednesday, March 26, 2014

The Taste of India - March 23, 2014

We had a fantastic evening at Taste of India, 902 Brandon Blvd., Brandon, Florida. 

Go east on Hwy 60 through Brandon. It is on the left (north) side. Dishes were selected by AW and RW with their vast knowledge of Indian foods. 

Our shared dishes--all delicious:

Papad--Crispy chana wafer baked or fried dipped in chutneys made from mint/onion and tamarind.

Mixed Appetizer Platter--Assorted kabobs chicken and lamb/Samosa (Indian triangular type egg roll)and pakoras(vegetables dipped in gram batter and fried).

Bread--Garlic nan cooked in tandoori oven. 

Tandoori Mixed Grill--Chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, tandoori shrimp, lamb kabob, chicken kabob. 

Butter Chicken--Tandoori chicken pieces in a tomato sauce and ghee (like a curry but less spicy). 

Lamb Rogan Josh--Lamb pieces cooked in dry ginger and aniseed curry sauce (this was spicy curry). 

Aloo Gobhi Masala--Cauliflower and potatoes cooked in spices/tomatoes and herbs (vegetable dish). 

Yellow Daal--Lintels cooked in spices. 

Rice with Peas. 

Desserts- Gulab Jaman--Fried dough balls in heavy sweet syrup. andRasmalai--Round cottage cheese patties soaked in saffron and almond flavored milk.

Kingfisher Beer--Light lager beer. 

Indian food traditionally is eaten without utensils in the home.  It is customary to break the bread and dip it into the curries and use the bread to pick up pieces of meat and eat together. Tandoori is a special oven originally made of clay. It is shaped like a round drum and the breads and spiced kabobs are cooked inside. The base of curries is made from onions making onions a very important part of the Indian diet.  In this meal we ate geographic northern and middle Indian meals.  South Indians eat altogether different food than any we tried, but we can always go back and do a second round. 

Friday, February 28, 2014

Nosh Fest Brandon

Jewish food and cultural event, March 30, 11:30 - 4

www.noshfestbrandon.com

Thursday, February 27, 2014

Alvarez's Authentic Mexican Food - Palmetto


AM and GM ran into Alvarez's in Palmetto for a quick meal. Learned afterwards that AW and RW have been going here for years. 

Great start: Dos Equis brought with a frosted glass and chips and salsa. 

Simple fare:: Make your own combo-- shredded beef enchilada with sour cream and jalapeƱo sauce and tamale with the usual refried beans, rice and salad. A No. 7 included taco, burrito and enchilada with mole sauce and accompaniments. Food was good and you can't beat $21. Maybe next time with the whole group for their dinner entrees. 

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Turkish Food - Istanblu in Ybor

 
A group of friends who have traveled extensively and/or have lived overseas got together last night. We met for dinner at Istanblu in Ybor City for an authentic Turkish experience. AF ordered for us all.

We decided to share so we could experience more dishes. 

Appetizers
Yaprak Sarma - stuffed grapeleaves
Piyaz - bean salad
Patlican Ezme or Baba Ghanoush - eggplant dip
Sigara Boregi - rolled cheese pastry
Ispanakli borek - spinach pie
Main Entrees
Adana Kebap - lamb and beef on skewer 
Kofte - Turkish meatballs with lamb and beef
Kuzu Shis Kebap - lamb shish kebab
Karides Kebap- shrimp kebab
Dessert
Baklava
Kunefe- shredded wheat and cheese dessert

The food was delicious. The belly dancer was fun and quite impressive. In spite of power outage challenges, the staff handled it all. Cooking by candlelight must be very stressful when your restaurant is full. 

The complete menu can be viewed at http://www.istanblugrill.com

By evening's end, we had decided that we all love authentic foods from all over the world. And wouldn't it be fun to share our various knowledge of the food from different countries. We plan to rotate being in charge of planning an event whether searching out a restaurant with authentic cuisine or preparing authentic dishes to share in our homes.

Next is a trip to Taste of India followed by either Dim Sum or a Chinese dinner served family style with a Lazy Susan. 

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