Chutney

Today I made something I've never made before. Chutney! Simple, fresh, Indian chutney. I'm not sure what prompted this because I usually buy chutney from the Indian store. Perhaps the need to be frugal or maybe I just found myself with time on my hands, which is rather unusual for me on a Sunday. So well, I made chutney. Here's the recipe I pulled off the net.

I think sorting the cilantro took longer than anything else but worth the effort 'cause I now have a bottle of home-made chutney in the fridge.

Recipe: 1 bunch fresh mint
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 inch piece of ginger root
salt to taste
1 green chili
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/2 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons coriander powder
2 teaspoons amchoor (mango powder from Indian grocery, or substitute more lime or lemon juice)
1/2 cup onion
1/4-1/2 cup water for blending

Preparation: 1. Clean the mint leaves and cilantro leaves.
2. Add all ingredients except the water together in a blender or
3. Blend/process and add water as you blend.

Refrigerate and enjoy during the week.

Eros

Eros - World Tapas Bar, opened its doors about 3 months ago in Buckhead, Atlanta. It's one of the biggest restaurants I've seen so far. They boast a circular bar, ample indoor dining and of course a huge patio overlooking Piedmont Road. On certain nights, the patio is converted to a dance floor with a live DJ. At Eros, everything is blue. The light fixtures, the menu and the tableware; baby blue is the theme; an unusal choice for a tapas bar, I think!

The food, as the name suggets, is from all around the world. From Japanese sushi to British fish and chips to Indian kebabs, there are at least fifteen different countries represented on the menu. The tapas were all $5 on an average. My favorite was the dessert; banana flambe with ice-cream. The baklava seemed equally tempting; maybe next-time!

Tapas Night

Last weekend marked the much awaited Tapas Night, perhaps the last pool party of this year. We had a smorgasbord of some very delectable food. The idea was for each of us to choose a country and prepare a tapas unique to it. I think it’s safe to say that yet again, we outdid ourselves!

The Menu:

1) Caribbean - Fried Plantain & Black Bean Salad
2) Mexican - Seven Layered Dip and chips
3) Medditerranean - Stuffed portobello mushrooms
4) Lebanese - Frankie Wraps
5) Italian - Tiramisu
6) Indian - Kebabs
7) French - Mini Quiches
8) Chinese - Cauliflower Manchurian
9) Native American - Cornbread and Fondue

The drink menu was even more scintillating, maybe I'll leave that for another post.

Amma's Kitchen

Amma’s Kitchen is the only South Indian vegetarian restaurant in Atlanta. They have a buffet for lunch and a la carte for dinner. We went on Ganesh Chathruti so that could be the reason why the food was exceptionally good. I’m told on regular days the buffet does not have as much of a variety. If you don’t like Tamilian food, I would not suggest that you visit Amma’s kitchen. From the tamarind rice to the pongal, the rava kesari to the laddus, the food is simple, authentic and truly south-indian.

Amma’s Kitchen is in the lesser knows parts of Alpharetta, and the buffet was moderately priced at seven dollars. All in all, this is a place that vegetarians would definately enjoy.

Breakfast for a King

Breakfasts, for me, have long since become a thing of the past. While I do, on occasion, question the sanctity of this decision, for the most part; time or the lack of it simply prevents me from indulging in breakfast. Labor-Day, for this reason, and so many more, was such a beautiful, welcome and refreshing change.

Of all the meals we prepared, I think our breakfast was my favorite. There’s something to getting up to a dewy morning and nursing a cup of coffee on the front deck that makes breakfast-time even more inviting. Of course, the fact that we prepared it together, amidst a lot of laughs and bustle, laid out the wooden bench with matching napkins and silverware and sat down together to eat made it so much more enjoyable.

Poha with thokku, pancakes with bananas and syrup and OJ; all while surrounded by the North GA wilderness and the Brasstown Bald mountains. Heaven!

Sukha Mutton

This is my favorite preparation of lamb. It's a South Indian preparation; and is best enjoyed with kori roti - a Mangalorean chapatti.

Ingredients:

Mutton 2 lbs
Coconut grated 1/2Onions
6 Garlic flakes
8-10 Dalchini sticks
4-5 Mutton masala
6 tspTurmeric powder
1/2 tspGaram masala powder
1 tsp Coriander leaves


Method:

First clean the mutton and make medium pieces. Apply mutton masala,turmeric powder and garam masala powder. Keep aside for 1 hour. Cut 2 onions into slices and 4 onions into small pieces. In a pan take 1 tbsp. oil and fry onion slices until golden. Add dalchini sticks and grated coconut and fry for 2-3 min. Make paste in mixture with little water and apply to marinated mutton. In a another pan take 4 tbsp oil and add crushed garlic flakes and fry it till golden. Add chopped onions and fry till get brown. Pour marinated mutton and mix well. Fry on high flame for 2-3 min.If water is necessary then add a little water but not too much. When mutton is ready add salt and again cook for some time. Mutton should be dry. Garnish with coriander leaves.

Straits

Straits is a restaurant that recently opened its doors in Buckhead, Atlanta. It’s a part of a chain, with its flagship restaurant in San Francisco. The cuisine is primarily Singaporean with a fusion of other Asian cuisines as well. Straits is owned by the one and only Ludacris so needless to say this place is super chic and pretty pricey!

SK took us here for my birthday this year. The food was excellent. I would suggest the Potong Kari Ayam; a traditional Singaporean curried chicken served with Jasmine rice. The plating was excellent and they have really pretty dinnerware. The best part though was dessert; a fancy concoction of strawberries, vanilla ice cream and chocolate. They even had a candle for me to blow out!

Unlike most restaurants that close early on weekdays, Straits is open until much later and even on a week-day they had a steady stream of customers. The music is loud, the lights dim and the crowd trendy. Good choice SK.