David’s been acting pretty smug recently. Not just the normal “I’m-a-math-genius-look-at-my-Putnam-score” smug, or the “I like to measure all my ingredients to the microgram” smug. It’s most likely for the following:
Not only has he gotten me into an Indian restaurant, he’s actually got me to the point where I will happily pick up take out and bring it home for dinner. You may remember a while ago when I made him an Indian welcome back dinner and nailed it, despite never having eaten at one before.
Well, I finally caved and let David take me to Ambar on Ludlow last year, so I could try some of what is arguably the best Indian in the city. I tried the lamb korma and dal makhani, and it was indeed fantastic. I grudgingly admitted to David that I'd been foolish to have held out for so long.
And since then, I’ve been stopping by Akash, an Indian restaurant downtown, nearly every other week. I’m slowly trying new things on the menu, and I’ve been pleasantly surprised each time. For instance, why wasn’t I told about paneer pakura — which is basically a deep fried cheese nugget — sooner?
erhmagerd fried cheese nuggets
I think Akash does most of their business during lunch, because when I pick up my takeout in the evening, it’s always quiet. Service is fast and efficient, and I usually stick with my now favorite dish, the lamb korma. It has tender lamb, a tangy cream sauce, raisins, and my favorite nut, cashews, which I always get ridiculously excited about when I find them in a forkful.
David bounces around a little, getting vegetarian dishes, as we also usually get one of their flatbreads.
David's saag vegetarian selection
Though the food is always delicious, we have noticed the spice level depends on who is in the kitchen, and now have settled on a “2” on the 1-6 scale to stay on the safe side. We’ve definitely come a long way from when I was hesitant to even set foot in an Indian restaurant. Now David just has to convince me to order something other that the lamb korma!
Fat chance, David.
Beautiful pictures, and am glad you're continuing to eat Indian.
ReplyDeleteI remember how it happened for me... it was 1995 or so, and I was playing at the Cincinnati Chess club on Wednesdays, which was in the old YMCA building on Calhoun. A friend convinced me to go across the street with him (it's Krishna now but used to be this fantastic place called Vindu) - and I was hooked on Chicken Saag within a visit or two.
Like you and the Korma, the Chicken Saag is a favorite I have a tough time abandoning.
Once you've had saag, you can never... well, you know. :)