I have been meaning to write this one for some time. Given my background, Indian food is near and dear to my heart and my stomach. I have eaten a lot of great stuff but in the end it is the equivalent of comfort food for me, especially if it's from my mom! This being said let me tell you about the best Indian restaurant on the east coast. Call it destiny but across the street from my hotel was the sign for Anokha (means unique in Hindi). I did not bother reading reviews or looking up info on the restaurant, I was at a starbucks close by and said I have to go there when I am done my day.
I headed over and to my surprise was in one of the coolest and posh looking Indian restaurants I have seen. Most of the time these places are pretty low key, in low rent strip malls with names like india palace or my all time favorite name the Taj or some thing like that. This place boasts white table cloth, deep pastel colors you would see at an Indian wedding, married by hip urban style that you see in the decor and art in the establishment, not to mention the cool lounge music in the background. I was greeted by whom I found out later was the owner of the place along side his wife and the chef his brother and law. The menu is diverse and has cuisines representing the various parts of india. This means a lot of meats and tandoori dishes, but your typical veggie dishes.
Whenever I dine with people new to this cuisine I like to ask them some simple questions to help choose our dishes. What are your favorite vegetables and meats? From there I am able to rattle off some dishes that I think would fit everyones needs. In this instance cauliflower was on that list along with chicken. To get our palates ready we ordered some appetizers that were just simply fantastic.
We started with lightly fried cauliflower in spicy glaze with potatoes.
Next to sample the meats we tried their tandoori appetizers on a platter. It featured different marinades of chicken that had been grilled in the tandoor or clay oven. Most people seem to think that tandoori is a recipe. Like many of the world's great dishes this is actually a cooking method that has become synonymous with the food that is prepared. Put simply tandoori is a marinated meat cooked over an intense fire in a tandoor. A tandoor is a clay oven in which a hot fire is build. Marinated meats are lowered into the oven on long metal skewers and cooked in this smoky and extremely hot environment until done.
Onward to our main entrees where we went off one of the chefs recommendations which was the chicken tikka masala. Normally not something I would order as it is very touristy if you will, but the chef said this was the real deal and that it would not be like any other eaten before. How do you say no to that! I tell you what, it blew me away, what ever notion of this dish I had in the past went out the window. The sauce is what makes the dish, normally it is too creamy or yougurty, but this has just the right infusion on the above with spices and flavor to tie all the ingredients together. I could eat this stuff with a straw!
Next on the list traditional that is one of my favorites, the vindaloo. Traditional vindaloo's are from the south specifically Goa. It usually is one of the hottest dishes spice wise on the menu and typically served with chicken and or lamb. In this instance since we had one more lamb dish coming we opted to make those a veggie dish. The mixed array seen below was a great accompaniment with our naan bread from the tandoori oven as well.
Lastly we opted for another southern speciality called biryani. The spices and condiments used in biryani may include but are not limited to: ghee, peas, beans, cumin, cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, coriander, mint leaves, ginger, onions, and garlic. So as you can imagine this is not your uncle bens rice. The flavors are kicking!
Hands down the best Indian restaurant I have eaten at across the eastern sea board. If you have something better let me know, I would love to try it out! On the other hand, if you are ever in the Richmond area this is the place to be for authentic Indian food with the look and feel of an upscale hip eatery!
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