Note: 4/06. This review is out of date, and was replaced. However, the restaurant has now closed.
Vindalho- vin-dah-loo’ – Indian (from Portuguese vinha d’alhos): fish, vegetables, or meat (most commonly chicken or lamb) prepared with vinegar, garlic, sometimes potatoes, and tomatoes in an intensely hot spicy curry.
This is another of my first impressions of a new Portland restaurant. Vindalho was opened a few weeks ago by David Machado, owner of Café Lauro just east on Division. The Lauro chef has moved to this new location. The interior is spacious and modern, with high ceilings, a mezzanine level that looks over the space below, and some strange hanging art. The kitchen is open, giving you something to watch when your date is going down in flames. The range hood itself is a work of art. I found having the lights on an automatic bright/dim cycle to highlight the sculpture, very annoying. Noise levels may be a problem here. At times it can be difficult to hear other people at your table.
The room is in an L shape, wrapped around the kitchen with a bar that holds about 20 in the far corner. A large rollup door promises to open up the space even more during nice weather. There is lots of comfortable bench seating and bamboo topped tables. The upstairs seating area provides a nice vantage point to watch the comings and goings.
A full bar is available with four beers on tap, varying from a Isolation IPA to a Tsunami Stout. Five are available by the bottle. A list of excellent specialty cocktails is also available.
Portions tend to be large, service is excellent. Here is a recent menu:
Starters:
Mulligatawny soup with winter squash and lentils $6.00
Goan style mussels steamed in coconut milk with fresh chilies and toasted spices $8.00
Paneer pakora house made cheese and chickpea flour fritter with tamarind chutney $7.00
Spicy shrimp samosas with fresh coriander chutney $8.00
Lamb kofta – tender meat balls in a Pakistan style curry sauce $7.00
Bloomsdale spinach salad with spiced cashews, Asian pear, radish sprouts, pickled red onion and orange-mustard seed vinaigrette $8.00
Roasted beet salad with shaved fennel, mizuna, frisee, in a light cardamom-yogurt dressing $8.00
Tandoori chicken salad with shredded cabbage, carrots, peanuts, toasted spices and a creamy buttermilk dressing $9.00
Curries – served with sweet saffron basmati rice
Winter vegetable poriyal – baby carrots, turnips, pumpkin and fingerling potatoes tossed with grated coconut and chilies $12.00
Pork Vindalho – Carlton Farms pork shoulder slowly braised with red chiles and freshly ground spices. A true expression of the Portuguese – South Asian spice route connection.
Roasted rockfish wrapped in a banana leaf with a tomato and fenugreek masala $15.00
Chicken kulambu – tender Draper Valley chicken cooked in an exotic sambhar flavored with cinnamon, fennel, ginger, and cumin $13.00
Tandoor Oven – served with naan and chutney
Paneer & mixed vegetable kabab – house-made cheese and local seasonal vegetables basted with yogurt, saffron and garam masala $13.00
Chicken tikka – boneless Draper Valley chicken breast in a classic marinade. The intense heat of the tandoor seals in the juices and flavors. $14.00
Lamb Boti Kabab – Anderson Farms lamb garnished with sliced radish and shallot $15.00
Karara jhinga – jumbo prawns with a yogurt-lemon-ginger marinade $10.00
Sides:
Tandoori Yukon gold potatoes and cauliflower $5.00
Sautéed spinach with Bengali 5 spice and almonds $5.00
Channa Dal – baby chickpeas with tomato turmeric ginger masala $4.00
Spicy yard-long beans $4.00
Sweet saffron basmati rice $4.00
Roasted garlic stuffed naan $5.00
Condiments:
Roasted pumpkin raita $2.00
Mango pickles $2.00
Fresh coriander chutney $2.00
Zucchini pickles $2.00
Tamarind chutney $2.00
Ginger-pear chutney $2.00
Meals start with papadum with tamarind chutney. For the uninitiated, papadum is a very thin, brittle spiced lentil cracker, about the size of a plate. They are slightly oily, but still light and crisp. As is true with all the chutneys here, the tamarind that comes with this dish is excellent.
I am trying to eat a bit healthier lately, so started with the roasted beet salad. It was interesting, loaded with beets that lacked much sweetness, a light fennel flavor, a slight spice from mizuna (a green frequently used in salad mixes), frisee, and spicy little toasted chickpeas. There was a lot going on with this salad, but for the most part I enjoyed it.
Mulligatawny soup is South Indian “pepper water”. There are two basic types, the first, with spicy meat and lenitils with rice, lemon, and coconut milk, the second, a spicy soup adapted to include nontradtional ingredients such as meat or vegetarian. Obviously, Vindalho’s is the second version, and though the vegetables are cooked right and the entire dish has a nice stew-like flavor, the spicyness that is a requirement of both versions is lacking. It was also a bit one-dimensional.
I liked the prawn and potato samosas, though on my most recent visit they were over-salted. The pastry is properly cooked, light and crisp. It is hard to get the filling right on these, many places either over or under cook them. Here they are just right, nicely browned and the potatoes and little chunks of tender shrimp, still have good texture. Once again the chutney comes through as a great accompaniment, this time in a tamarind date version.
Goan is Portuguese-influenced cooking style of Goa, a state on the west coast of India. The Goan style mussels changed a bit from meal to meal. One night they were really nice with a marvelous sweetness from the coconut milk, and spices which combined well with the perfectly cooked, fresh mussels. On another visit they were a little bit toothy, but the sauce was still terrific.
Tikka means small pieces of boneless meat, marinated and grilled kabab style. The chicken tikka is good tandoori, though a bit under-spiced, and on one visit, somewhat dry. The excellent accompanying chutney and onion/lemon salad were really good, the simple salad consisting of onions, radishes, and a few thin slices of lemon in a light marinade. The chicken cochin also varied quite a bit. On the first visit I was amazed by the complexity of flavors all working together. A week later I tried it again and found the chicken a bit dry and the flavors muted. It comes with good basmati rice studded with nice plump currants, and a salad of onions, lemons, and greens on the side.
The pork vindalho over balsamic rice is probably the best thing on the menu, a good balance and depth of flavors. The pork was fork tender, though there tend to be a few dry pieces mixed among the rest. The sauce was sweet, tangy, and fragrant. I’ve had more intense and more complex versions, but the flavors were balanced. A pyramid of light and fluffy saffron basmati rice studded with raisins was served on the side. On my most recent visit, shoestring sweet potatoes had been added as a decorative topping. Unfortunately they don’t work – cold and chewy, they are quickly shoved aside.
The tandoor prawns were cooked as you’d expect, fresh and flavorful, but the Indian spices seemed to be missing, which made them somewhat bland. The yogurt ginger marinade needs to be a bit spicier. These are accompanied by another rice dish which makes the portion big enough for an entrée.
They also seem to be working on perfecting the naan, a flatbread that is cooked quickly in the tandoor oven. The first time it was too thick and fluffy, the next time it was thinner, but the spices were a bit too subtle. Both times it lacked the required thin, crispness. The naan is $3 apiece which is high compared to other places in town where a piece twice the size is the same price.
The pastry consultant is Lee Posey, who was the original pastry chef at Pearl Bakery. I’m hoping they haven’t quite settled in with the desserts yet, as lots of work needs to be done. For me the best of the lot was the bittersweet chocolate samosas, which blew a fuse somewhere deep in my brain. It’s not really Indian, just a puff pastry turnover with a layer of bittersweet chocolate sauce inside, quickly fried, drizzled with honey and caramel sauce along with sautéed bananas. The ice cream selections – coconut, chocolate, and a mango sorbet – were not great; grainy and full of large water crystals. Skip these. The rice crème brûlée was interesting, a layer of rice pudding underneath an average custard. Still, it was an interesting variation on the ubiquitous crème brûlée.
I liked Vindalho and thought for the most part that things were very well balanced and not over Americanized. Meats generally tender, sauces complex with lots of depth. The main issue I see is constancy, as they tweak their recipes. Since they have only been open a few weeks, I can’t really fault them too much. It is clear that they’re still experimenting, still working on things. Dishes are different day-to-day, and execution is up and down. Inconsistent is the best way to describe it; my one worry is that on three visits since they have opened, the trend in quality seems to have drifted a bit downhill. Still, I think Vindalho will work the bugs out and be a good addition to the Portland restaurant scene. No score yet, too new to rate.
503-467-4550. 2038 SE Clinton Street, Portland Google Map Vindalho Website. Tues-Sat 5:00 to 10:00 pm. Street parking. No reservations. Wheelchair accessable, but ask for downstairs seating.
45 Responses to “Vindalho – 11.1.05”
- Posted by: Rupi:
I look forward to checking out this new Indian fusion place. I know I haven’t tried the naan yet but usually naan is not crispy it is a soft bread. But again I haven’t tried Vindalho’s version.November 1st, 2005 at 10:45 pm - Posted by: ExtraMSG:
I wouldn’t call it Indian fusion (except in the desserts) so much as midscale Indian. As a friend said, you’d find it in India, but you’d find it in hotel restaurants, not on the streets. FD’s experiences seem more or less in line with mine.(I’ve got chicken marinating in tandoor marinade right now, btw, for butter chicken tomorrow ala Julie Sahni.)November 1st, 2005 at 11:57 pm
- Posted by: Stan:
First impression from looking at the picture:Is it a restaurant or a library? :)November 2nd, 2005 at 1:41 pm
- Posted by: Kris:
I posted my report from our trip last night on PFG.FD – looks like your waitstaff experience was more subtle than mine. I also agree with your assesment of the nan. The beer however, I believe, was Desolation IPA. (Though, I felt anything but desolate after a pint!)November 2nd, 2005 at 1:51 pm
- Posted by: Jen:
I went there last Friday night and was pleasantly surprised but agree that they have a lot of work to do. I disagree about the naan. I think they need to work on the length of time the naan is in the oven as one side was charred. Our server was amazing, very knowledgable but not overbearing. I loved the chocolate samosa, like a flattened chocolate croissant, but would like it see it in more of a samosa dough than just pastry. It will be interesting to check back there in about a month or two after they have worked out their kinks.November 2nd, 2005 at 4:19 pm - Posted by: Food Dude:
My main problem with the naan is it is too fluffy. I’m not saying it should be crispy like a cracker(!), but the skin itself should seal.I updated the review today – I had forgotten to include the mulligatawny soup.November 2nd, 2005 at 5:29 pm
- Posted by: tup?:
People open French and Italian places all the time in America without ever traveling to France or Italy. We don’t think about it twice. There’s no reason to, we have had brilliant apologists of the cuisines on our televisions and on our cookbook shelves for decades. So much so that pastas and baguettes line supermarket aisles and nobody thinks twice about it. While Julie Sahni and Madhur Jaffrey have had an impact on us, a lot of the cuisines are still largely unknown. That seems natural enough; India is a terrifically complicated nation.But I think it also means that it may be harder for a chef who hasn’t traveled to India to fashion tasty and reasonable renditions of the foods. In the case of Vindalho, I think this is true. While the menu offers many strong points, my overall impression after our first visit is that Mr. Machado doesn’t really get Indian cuisines. Dish after dish struck me as bland. I kept spotting lost opportunities for the food to shine with a pinch of blended spices, a sliver of chilli, a grating of coconut, a fresh fried herb.A friend whose opinion I respect *a great deal* on these matters characterized this lack of engagement (which was made plain on Vindalho’s old website) as merely whimsical. If the food was better, I’d cede. But a lot of it is lacking and would benefit from a wiser palate.
Vindaloo may be a chestnut but Vindalho’s is pretty good. The pork was tender and moist. It would have benefited from more vinegar, but no big deal. I like the idea of the fries, perhaps they will polish this detail. Our rice didn’t include balsamic, instead it was studded with nuts and raisins. It was good, too.
I also like the pastry on the shrimp samosa, if not the samosa itself. The filling was insipid, mushy and stingy with the shrimp. Why shrimp, anyway? They were not flattered by the treatment, burdened as they were with both potato and pastry.
The tamarind chutney that accompanies the samosa lacks any sparkle or nuance. It’s mostly just tamarind paste in need of sugar, chillis and spice. I like juicy, lip smacking, toothsome chutneys that add sizzle and flair to food. This one is boring. It’s also the same chutney that is served with the pappadum, so doubly so.
The “Goan” mussels were in a bland coconut broth livened up with red jalapeno slices. My friend liked the toasted coconut garnish. Meh. The mussels themselves were good, but this is really just the same mussels-in-coconut broth dish offered on menus across Portland adapted to seem somehow Indian.
We had the naan, too, which reminded me of the naan served by the Wazwan chain at local food courts. Maybe not as sweet as those, but definitely as burnt crisp on one side and chewy on the other. I liked the fennel, and would have liked some ghee even more. I sniffed, and couldn’t get a whiff of toasty butter.
I was really curious to see how Vindalho approached pickles. A lot of non Indians find Indian pickles to be overly salty, spicy and cloying. Personally, I love ‘em, and slather the good ones on all sorts of food at home. They’re usually at least sort of oily. Vindalho’s zucchini pickles aren’t, they’re a re-run of Judy Rogers’ Zuni Cafe recipe (also served at Castagna) without the sugar and not as good. A few lonely mustard seeds didn’t help much. An inedibly bad item in my book.
Also sharing the pit of despair were the yard long beans *”tarka.”* These were mostly *unseasoned.* Crunchy fresh with a bit of lemon juice on them, they needed a lot of help.
The chocolate samosa with bananas was good. Its seeming relation to Indian food was its triangularity. “Sinful!” squealed our ridiculous server. She should warn people that the chocolate is BURNING HOT. Oh my god somebody is going to get hurt by these things.
I’d like to warn people about the service. “Everything IS GREAT!” squealed our ridiculous server. “I haven’t had A SINGLE complaint!” She launched into a glowing appraisal of everything on the menu, and it was the tackiest service I may have ever had.
Another issue is the greeting, or in our case the lack of one. Vindalho has two doors, and if you enter by the bar the staff is seemingly trained to ignore you. After a few minutes of looking hopeful, we wandered past three or four employees who were standing around watchfully (?) and asked to be seated. Included in that gaggle of workers was Mr. Machado himself, I’m afraid. Please, Mr. Machado, don’t stand there like a proud sack of potatoes. Greet us. Thanks.
I’ll be back to see if Vindalho improves. At this point, I’d still rather eat in Beaverton and that’s not saying much, sadly. I appreciate the venture to South Asia, just wish it were better.
November 2nd, 2005 at 8:18 pm
- Posted by: Food Dude:
Tup?: Excellent post. I’d forgotten the ‘yard-long’ beans. Boring boring boring. Um, I burned my mouth on the choclate somosas too.I’ve never had the hard sale that you and a few others have talked about. It sounds like they are desperate to increase the average tab. As for the seating issue, the first time we went there, the same thing happened. They need some sort of entrance stand.November 2nd, 2005 at 8:34 pm
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
The problem with your theory in the first two paragraphs is that the faults with Vindalho are actually the same at Lauro. I like Lauro, but it’s not especially good food and often lacks in the same needing-a-burst-of-flavor-and-a-more-adept-tongue-at-the-helm sort of way. It’s worth noting that Machado did go to the Bay Area on a tasting trip at least, so he should have had decent Indian fresh in his mind when he was recipe testing.The walking through the bar door thing happened to me, and like you, I just got blank stares.I thought the tamarind chutney was too sweet if anything. Tamarind is so tart, but this was more sweet than sour, though I thought overall it was relatively balanced.
I thought the interior of the samosa was excellent. All around an excellent dish. The spiciness of the interior worked well with the sweetness of the shrimp. Also it was a nice texture change.
November 2nd, 2005 at 8:52 pm
- Posted by: Marshall Manning:
Our visit was fine, but not really exciting. The shrimp samosas were pretty tasty, but were tongue-burning hot on arrival. The mussels had good flavor, but were definitely overdone and a bit dry. The pork was the best dish we had, but a couple of pieces were on the dry side. The lamb kebobs were a nice-sized portion and had a nice tangy, yogurt flavor but were also a bit overdone, with little pink inside (lamb needs to be served on the rare side to keep its tenderness). All of the various sauces were good, although I also could have used a bit more spice and heat. The wine list has a few interesting choices, but is pretty limited at this point and priced a bit on the high side. We were charged for both $15 corkage fees on the wines that we brought.November 2nd, 2005 at 9:09 pm - Posted by: tup?:
Mine may be the more generous theory, Extra. It suggests there’s hope for Vindalho if the chefs can only eat some good Indian. Yours suggests the fault lies, umm, elsewhere. ;-)November 2nd, 2005 at 9:27 pm - Posted by: Jen:
My husband is from India so we tend to eat a lot of Indian food, mostly homemade as we have yet to find a great restaurant in Portland. I went to Vindalho without him and with every bite I would change my mind as to if I would actually bring him there or not. The jury is still out on that one.I was also intrigued by the pickle. I ordered the mango pickle as that is one of my favorites. The salty goodness in traditional Indian pickle just compliments any meal. I ordered the mango pickle at Vindalho, as well as the pumpkin raita. I was so intrigued by their version of mango pickle that I brought it home to let my husband try it. If I didn’t know what to expect I probably would have liked it more. The raita on the other hand was not as good. I tasted neither pumpkin, nor yogurt and the texture wasn’t that great either. I would stick to the other chutneys and skip the raita.November 3rd, 2005 at 9:11 am
- Posted by: Guilia:
Finalemente, una ristorante di Portogallo! Era bravissima, Portland hai bisogno di mangare il cibo della paese non che in vicino da voi. Questo e veramente importante per la fortemente della citta degli cibi diversi e anche per i genti! Tanti Auguri e Bravo Machado!November 3rd, 2005 at 11:32 pm - Posted by: ExtraMSG:
Guilia, it’s an Indian restaurant, not a Portuguese restaurant.November 4th, 2005 at 2:07 am - Posted by: Guilia:
Dove pensi tutti l’inspirazione di cibo? Vieni in Portogallo per imprare la storia della cibi.November 4th, 2005 at 5:16 pm - Posted by: ExtraMSG:
Sorry Guilia, I can’t understand what you’re saying quite well enough. Are you saying that Portugal is the inspiration for Indian food? If so, don’t you think Indians with thousands of years of food history would take issue with that. Certainly the Portuguese and other cultures influenced their cuisine, but every cuisine is the same.November 4th, 2005 at 10:29 pm - Posted by: Richard Bennett:
I agree with Tup that Vindalho doesn’t get the concept of spice. The food had the right degree of heat, but didn’t have the complexity of flavors I expect in Indian food. It’s as if the Vindalho folks woke up one day and said “dude, let’s do Indian food!” and they opened a restaurant the very next day where everything is shiny but the food.The potato and shrimp samosas were bland, and served with only one chutney instead of the two or three that most restaurants provide.The rockfish in banana leaf arrived cold and only semi-cooked and had to be sent back; the waitress could see it was uncooked from four feet away, in the dark. Truly disgraceful, and they didn’t comp anything despite this faux pas. When it arrived the second time, we discovered it was simply cooked in canned tomatoes and cumin. They re-cooked the green beans that came with it so they were overdone the second time, to the point of mushiness.
The pork vindaloo was made out of good quality meat, but didn’t have any tang; not enough vinegar and made with onions rather than shallots. The rice served with it was an inadequate portion.
The dahl was fine, no problem with it at all, and the spinach was acceptable, if uninspiring.
The chocolate samosa is a great concept, but you can seriously hurt yourself if you’re not careful with it.
The tea menu made me laugh it was so pretentious. I had ordinary coffee that wasn’t on the menu for some mysterious reason. A little South Indian coffee would have been better than all those wanky teas.
The Singapore Slings were a fair imitation, but too sweet, lacking the dash of bitters that’s an essential part of the Raffles Hotel recipe. But when you’ve had them at the Long Bar itself, it’s hard to be satisfied with an imitation.
The naan wasn’t right either, too salty so we sent it back. It was annoyingly glutenous, overworked and undercooked.
The practice of charging for every chutney and pickle is really annoying. The food is seriously overpriced for a restaurant on training wheels, and they nickel-and-dime you to death for every condiment. I was surprised we didn’t have to pay extra for napkins.
The service was good, but the decor is tired ole techno-industrial and they played some crazy techno/house music with some vocals that sounded like a kid torturing a cat. Didn’t go with the spice route concept at all.
I’d give this place a pass until they’ve learned to cook their food until it’s done and taken a class on spicing.
November 6th, 2005 at 4:32 am
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
If all the comments are accurate, I’d say the defining characterisitic of the place right now is: inconsistent. Seems like several items get described with wild variation.November 6th, 2005 at 12:36 pm - Posted by: Richard Bennett:
There’s a general agreement that the food is under-spiced. I would bet you fiddy cent that they don’t fry their spices.November 6th, 2005 at 4:35 pm - Posted by: Food Dude:
Richard: I wouldn’t take that bet. If they were frying them, you’d smell it in the air, and now that I think about it, there is no real scent when you walk in. I bet you are right.The thing that annoys me, is the food was pretty darn good the first few days, then went rapidly downhill. Shows they can do it if they want to.November 6th, 2005 at 4:44 pm
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
Doesn’t that sort of assume that they’re making the sauces to order, which seems very unlikely to me. Perhaps someone like girl_cook could speak better to that, but it seems just like you wouldn’t expect a bechamel to be made to order you wouldn’t expect a vindalho to be made to order. For what item would they be frying the spices at time of order?I know we’re really getting picky here since it doesn’t really matter the actual fault, only that there is one.November 6th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
- Posted by: nancy:
I think the point is, the aroma of fried spices lingers; fenugreek, coriander, fennel and cumin toasted in the morning will leave a bit of themselves come evening.November 6th, 2005 at 9:19 pm - Posted by: tup?:
Ventilation systems aside, there are a couple of preps on the menu which would normally utilize a la minute techniques. The beans and spinach chiefly, and perhaps to a lesser extent, the poriyal. So, I’d sniff the air for the scent of those dishes.Of course, most of the food journeys from the suction of the hood to the suction of our nostrils. I’d expect to get a whiff of spice at that point, too. Alas.The problem isn’t that they’re not frying their spices. (That’s polish.) The problem is that they’re not *using* spices.
November 6th, 2005 at 10:17 pm
- Posted by: girl_cook:
It looks like an open kitchen from the picture-if so someone just needs to sit at the counter and watch. I’d doubt they were doing sauces to order though.November 6th, 2005 at 10:36 pm - Posted by: Food Dude:
Toasted! That’s the word I was looking for.November 6th, 2005 at 10:45 pm - Posted by: ExtraMSG:
GIRL COOK
I wish you could. They only seats are over near the bar and wouldn’t provide much of a view of the kitchen itself, I don’t think. The balcony seats might do, though.NANCY/FD
I’d be surprised to find out they’re toasting spices daily. At least in any quantity. I would think they put together their spice blends on a less constant basis, assuming they make their own. However, when they add those to their dish, I imagine they’re frying them in ghee first to get them started again in many cases, especially the case of curries. At least that’s my experience in making Indian food.But it’s all beside-the-point, really, anyway and just an issue of trivia that’s more symbolic than substantive. Tup’s right. If the food tasted more intensely the question wouldn’t even come up and it could smell like lillies and no one would care if it didn’t smell like cardamon or fenugreek.
November 6th, 2005 at 11:17 pm
- Posted by: Richard Bennett:
Here’s some background on tadka, the tempering of spices in hot oil that’s a basic technique in Indian cooking from the Times of India:One of the commonest cooking techniques in India is tempering or the tadka. The ingredients that go into it originated in many parts of the world. For example, asafoetida or heeng came from Persia and Afghanistan (it still does), cumin or jeera from East Mediterranean and West Asia, fenugreek or methi from East Mediterranean, garlic and onion from Central Asia, turmeric, pepper and ginger from South-east Asia, mustard seeds from Eurasia and the chilly from South America.I’d submit that most of the listed spices are absent from Vindalho’s kitchen, most especially and egregiously asafoetida and curry leaf, as well as the tadka technique. The tadka is performed in some curries at the beginning, and for others just before serving.
November 8th, 2005 at 4:08 am
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
Oh, that’s ridiculous. No cumin, tumeric, pepper, garlic, mustard seeds, or ginger in their pantry? Crazy. I bet many non-Indian restaurants have most of those. Lauro probably has all those, except maybe tumeric.Asafetida? Probably not at Lauro. But isn’t it more of a digestive than a flavor enhancer. Isn’t it — to put it bluntly — to keep you from farting? The stuff is rank. I finally threw my bag out because the smell was worse than any gases it might prevent. We’d probably smell asafetida if they were frying it before service — and run.Is curry leaf a part of Goan cuisine?
ON TADKA
Found this in Sahni’s Classics:This is an age-old technique, used since the Vedic times for flavoring all varieties of dal, yogurt salads, vegetables, relishes, and meat preperations. Tadka, also known as baghar and chaunk, is the simplest and most effective way to aromatizing food. It is prepared by heating Indian clarified butter to a very hot point (375-400 degrees F) and frying certain fragrant spices and seasonings, such as asafetida, cloves, cumin, black mustard seeds, ginger root, garlic, onions, or green chilies, to imbue it with fragrance. This perfumed butter is then folded into the dish with fried ingredients.
She goes on to explain some regional differences and common combinations. She distinguishes this from frying spices (sookha masala bhoonana) and special fried garnishes (tadka aur bhone piaz ke lache).
I’ve never made a tadka. I fry spices everytime I make an Indian dish. Frying spices is pretty common outside of Indian food as well, even if to a lesser degree. I imagine they’re frying spices, but not making a tadka.
Of course this is all just rampant, unsupportable speculation. I’d also guess that many of the best Indian restaurants I’ve visited aren’t making a tadka either. Doesn’t seem very restaurant friendly. But I’m going to try it next time.
November 8th, 2005 at 1:11 pm
- Posted by: tup?:
Extramsg,using seasoned oils, known as tadka, baghar, chonk, so on and so forth in various Indian languages is elementary to most of India’s cuisines. I have a hard time imagining one of the cuisines in which it would be unfamiliar. I have an even harder time imagining *any* Indian restaurant which does not use the technique in some critical fashion, including the top end. It’s an inherent Indian step in working with spices, seasonings and herbs of all kinds.As far as I know, curry leaves are available in Goa, but not a particularly important part of the cuisine. Though even in a smallish area like Goa there are a variety of mini-cuisines, so they may feature in the repertoire of some Goans. Why do you ask?Asafoetida is much, much more important in Indian cuisines than as simply an anti-farting agent. It adds an alluring pungency (mellowed by hot oil) that is crucial to much of South India, and featured across a lot of the rest of the nation. It’s very likable when used with a deft hand.
Richard Bennett, I agree with you that there is a strange lack of the spices you mentioned being used by the kitchen.
November 8th, 2005 at 5:13 pm
- Posted by: Richard Bennett:
Curry leaf is widely used in Goan cooking, particularly in seafood and coconut milk curries. It’s also an essential part of Goan pickles and balchao. Balchao is probably the single most important element of Goan cooking.So while curry leaf isn’t quite as important in Goa as it is in South India, it’s nonetheless essential.November 8th, 2005 at 5:50 pm
- Posted by: Richard Bennett:
[Asafoetida] is rank. I finally threw my bag out because the smell was worse than any gases it might prevent. We’d probably smell asafetida if they were frying it before service — and run.Such barbarity is truly shocking. With such an attitude toward pungent spice, you must be very uncomfortable with blachan/mam tom/trasi, the shrimp paste that’s essential to Indochinese cooking of all kinds.Well, at least you have Burgerville.
November 8th, 2005 at 6:06 pm
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
TUP
Because allegedly Machado is trying to somewhat focus on Goan dishes.I meant frying before order, btw, as not very restaurant-friendly.November 8th, 2005 at 6:10 pm
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
BENNETT
Well, I wasn’t using it enough and every time I opened my spice cupboard it would assault me, even in supposedly airtight containers. Shrimp paste stays in jars (and I have it and multiple kinds of fish sauce). Southeast Asians wince and joke and complain about the smell of items like Durian and fermented seafood pastes, too. But a lot of them have outdoor kitchens.November 8th, 2005 at 6:26 pm - Posted by: Food Dude:
As I recall from their early blog, the owners of Vindalo did their research by taking a week long trip to San Francisco.Admittedly, it has been 5 years since I have been to many Indian restaurants in SF, but at the time I never found one I really cared for. Why David & Co. didn’t just head up to BC I just don’t understand, but to me this reflects poorly on their desire to open a great place.November 8th, 2005 at 6:28 pm
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
I think they were actually in the East Bay, Berkeley, not SF. I think they should have made a trip to the South Bay if they were already down there.The thing is: the food that they ate in Berkeley was probably better than what they’re making, yet was probably also cheaper. I know I’ve been to a couple of the places they went and they were better.November 8th, 2005 at 6:34 pm
- Posted by: Food Dude:
I had a roomate one time that loved Kim Chee. Even sealed in a Mason jar it smelled bad. I still don’t care for it.November 8th, 2005 at 6:34 pm - Posted by: Richard Bennett:
I seem to recall their saying they were going to the Slanted Door in Frisco, Breads of India in Berkeley and some other East Bay hangouts. I sent them an e-mail suggesting they visit some of the joints on Mahatma Gandhi Road (local nickname for El Camino around Lawrence in the South Bay) such as Udippi Palace, Empress of India, Straits Cafe, and Komala Vilas but it didn’t take.Yesterday when I was in Pleasanton I had lunch at an ordinary all-you-can-eat South Indian buffet, Chef India, and sure enough the naan was better than Vindalho’s. Three of us ate for $36, the price of one meal at Vindalho.November 8th, 2005 at 6:52 pm
- Posted by: ExtraMSG:
I had a Korean roommate in college who used to warm dried squid in the oven. That was a nasty smell that lingered for days. I think it would have been too fishy for me back then, but I’ve always loved kim chee and don’t find the smell that offensive. I had a dish at a Thai restaurant in Houston recently that the staff warned me not to get because farangs end up not liking it and even Thais think it’s too stinky. I really enjoyed it but it was worse than an overdose of asparagus on the urinary tract, if you know what I mean.November 8th, 2005 at 7:04 pm - Posted by: tup?:
Extramsg, the allegation that there is some Goan connection to Vindalho’s cooking is very thin. From the menu that I grabbed, only two of the dishes could be argued to have some Goan inflection. The rest originate, sort of, from other cuisines.Richard Bennett, interesting about curry leaves. None of my resources, online or print, list them as being all that central to the cooking. I know they get used there, though, of course.Balchao is probably the single most important element of Goan cooking.
Going out of bounds for most readers, I imagine, but is there really a single most important element?
November 8th, 2005 at 10:25 pm
- Posted by: girl_cook:
I have to grin as I read all of this. I made a comment on portlandfood.org about being able to pick up some books and do just as good food as Vindahlo(provided one had some sort of culinary ability). From reading all these comments I guarantee that there are at least a few of you that know just as much or more and that if I gave MSG a tandoor he’d probably be able to make us as equal or better an indian style meal. I could be wrong, but that’s my guess.I still maintain though that one can not know all they need to know or should know (when opening an ethnic restaurant) just by reading a few books and eating at a few restaurants-you need to live, cook, and immerse one’s self amongst experts.November 8th, 2005 at 11:38 pm
- Posted by: Vapid1:
Berkley or San Francisco, their destination was still far too western for their intentions.November 9th, 2005 at 2:36 am - Posted by: s:
MSG — which Thai place in Houston? Is it the one with the crunchy crab salad? (Vieng Thai)?November 9th, 2005 at 11:46 am - Posted by: ExtraMSG:
Yeah, Vieng Thai. Though I didn’t get the crunchy crab salad. Sukhothai made a fermented crunchy crab and green mango salad for us once at PortlandFood.org.
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