Well Fed On the Town

Masalas has its work cut out for it if it is going to beat the odds.  It recently opened in one of those places.  You know, one of those places that seem like a great location, but no restaurant can ever make it there more than three months before closing down.  That building has been a Hawaiian restaurant, a Baja Fresh and before that, it was just a gleam in a builder’s eye.

Still, not to take anything away from Baja Fresh, but Masalas may be the restaurant to break the curse because of its distinct advantage: its food is nothing short of amazing.  Chandra, the restaurant’s project manager and head cook, has a flair for flavor and is a vegan.  This means that he cooks as many of his dishes without dairy as possible.  Instead of robbing the dishes of flavor, the lack of butter has made his food less heavy, which can be a real problem in some Indian restaurants.

Both times I have gone since it opened, I have had the buffet, which has both vegetarian and meat items.  The first time I had the buffet, it featured cauliflower Manchurian (which I went back for twice) and tofu in yellow curry sauce.  The cauliflower was a perfect blend of sweet and hot, salty and savory with flavors taken from both China and India.  The tofu curry reminded me a lot of paneer (Indian cheese) curry, but was more healthful.  I was actually a bit surprised that tofu (an Asian flavor) worked so well with an Indian sauce, but it did.  Also on the buffet were potato phaji, fried potato dumplings of which I ate far too many.

The next time I went, the array of dishes was completely different.  The potatoes had been replaced by a fried vegetable dumpling that was also very good.  Instead of cauliflower and tofu curry, Masalas offered an eggplant dish with a dry crumb topping and paneer in spicy red curry with vegetables.  I have never seen anything like the eggplant before, which was good, but could have used more sauce.  The spicy red curry more than made up for it, though.  I am not a big paneer fan, but I thought the red curry did a wonderful job balancing out the salty sourness of the cheese.

If this sounds good and you want to bring Masalas home, Chandra shared his recipe for potato phaji and an unusual tangy lamb curry thickened with poppy seeds.

Potatoes Phaji

• 2 large Russet potatoes
• 1 tablespoon of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of ginger, minced
• 1 cup of lentil flour
• 1 tablespoon of chili powder (American or Indian)
• ½ teaspoon of turmeric
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda (optional)

Slice the potatoes into ¼ inch strips lengthwise.  Put in water to soak.

Next, blend the garlic and ginger in a food processor until smooth.

Combine all the ingredients but the potatoes with just enough water to make it thick like pancake batter.

Drain the potatoes, dry them, and dip them in the batter.  Enough should stick to the potato that it should be the same thickness as the outside of a corndog.  Fry in a neutral oil until golden brown.  Remove to a cooling rack or a plate lined with paper towels and sprinkle with salt.

Poppy Seed Lamb Curry

• 4 tablespoons of garlic
• 4 tablespoons of ginger
• 3 teaspoons of chili powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons of turmeric
• 1 ½ teaspoons of garam masala
• 3 pounds of lamb, deboned and chopped into bite sized pieces
• 1 tablespoon of dry tamarind
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil or butter.
• 1 large tomato, chopped and seeded
• 3 tablespoons of black poppy seeds (for those with allergies, tahini can be used instead)

First, make the lamb marinade.  Combine the garlic and ginger in a food processor and blend until smooth.  Remove 1/4 of the mixture and set aside.  Add the chili powder, turmeric, garam masala and lamb to the remaining garlic/ginger paste and mix thoroughly.  Let the lamb sit in the refrigerator for 3 hours.

After three hours, add the dry tamarind to a glass of hot water and stir until the tamarind breaks up.  Remove any seeds.

Sweat the onion and tomato in a skillet over medium heat until the onion begins to turn translucent.  Add the garlic/ginger paste left over from the lamb marinade and continue cooking.  In a second skillet, dry roast the poppy seeds until they turn blonde.

Blend the tamarind, onion/tomato mixture, and poppy seeds in a blender and add enough water so the mixture has the consistency of milk.  Pour back into a skillet and add the marinated lamb.

Cook the lamb until tender.  This may require adding more water to the cooking liquid, but before the dish is served, it should be reduced down to the point where it is thick like heavy cream.

Garnish with cilantro, ginger, and chopped chilies.

If you like these recipes and live in the Kansas City area, Chandra has offered to teach cooking classes and answer questions about Indian cookery.  You can contact him at mail.mowlee@yahoo.com.

Masalas
7301 W. 91st Street
Overland Park, Kansas 66212