kailash: authentic indian cuisine
indian food is definitely not something you can be casual about.
you either like the heat or you don't. you can't play with curry.
i've never been a fan. but i've been told that i'm wrong. so i tried it. several times.
there are two indian restaurants in ridgewood: kailash indian cuisine and brick lane curry house.
we went with kailash. i've meandered in on several occasions, so this post is not based on a one-time taste.
yesterday, my sister (B) and i put our tongues to the final test.
my go-to meal
+chicken tikka masala lunch special (i'm basic, i know)
+mango lassi
for those of you who don't know:
1) tikka masala is a creamy tomato sauce, with a variation of spices, yogurt and coconut flavors. its almost like a very thick tomato soup all spiced up and ready to wow you.
2) lassi is a yogurt-based drink. kinda like a smoothie, but not. definitely not. it's consistency is comparable to one of those dannon kid's drinkable yogurts.
3) naan & roti are breads, similar to pita. roti is made with whole wheat flour.
(i apologize in advance for the not-so-glam photos. it's hard to take attractive pictures of food when you order it to go and you're eating out of plastic and aluminum.)
the lunch special ($10) consists of
+8 oz of chicken tikka masala (one of the medium sized chinese food containers),
+rice (a hefty portion. and this is coming from someone who eats rice like everyday)
+choice of naan or roti (2 LARGE pieces that together are the size of a small pizza)
+dessert of the day (i only got it once. it was some version of bread pudding, which i'm not interested in because of the consistency)
other recommendations
+manchurian (fried cauliflower)
+chicken curry
+mango lassi
+butter chicken
my two cents
dude. this is LIFE CHANGING. i mean, LIFE C H A N G I N G.
my palette will never be the same.
the first time i tried it was a mere piece of naan dipping into my friend's order. and i couldn't stop thinking about it for WEEKS. at this point, I've had it mild and medium. the mild is so flavorful! (i want to take a bath in the sauce. is that weird?) it's a perfectly creamy and pureed sauce with no chunks. the chicken is cooked to perfection, and is cut into acceptable pieces (it's the worst when food is cut into weird sizes. it just adds more steps and then prolongs the amount of time it takes to get the food to your mouth. no thanks.) it's just blended so perfectly. they give you an awesome amount of sauce, since you do have rice AND naan. you can always get more rice, but you can't always get more sauce.
personally, i think it's more difficult to taste all the flavors if tongue is on fire from the spice. however, both were equally delicious. my sister and i followed up our spice train with a cup of mango lassi to put out the fire. the naan/roti is bizzangin, like any type of bread should be.
the staff
they're great! there's a guy who works there with INCREDIBLE eyes (is that creepy?) who is wonderful! the first couple times, he helped me out, and all was right in the world. i even saw him carry a table outside once for a group that came with their dog so they could sit outside. that's a good person right there.
but they have this new guy. i don't know what his deal is, but he just doesn't do well with customer service.
the first time i ordered with the new guy, i didn't say "lunch special" (which i ASSUMED was common sense since it was LUNCH TIME) and he gave me the dinner entree, which is 16 oz of chicken tikka masala and rice for double the price. the next time i specified lunch special, i didn't get the dessert or dal. and i ordered MILD, but i got MEDIUM.
my advice is to just be specific in your order, especially if you call it in!
input from B
"i had chicken curry, mild spice. it was good but too spicy for mild. when my indian friend cooked for me, his curry was better, and he gave me yogurt with my rice. dairy subdues the spice a lot, which is why it's incorporated in so many indian dishes. so my advice is always get lassi to drink after your meal. no matter how mild you order, your tongue will thank you. but your tikka masala was the best i've ever had (except my favorite indian restaurant in chicago)."
so there you have it, folks. we will definitely be trying brick lane curry house to do a comparison!
thoughts, anyone?