I first read about Priyani Ceylon Cafe, a Sri Lankan restaurant, on FoodGPS’s blog who in turn found out about this hidden gem from an LA Times article. Reading about the dishes in both those articles really intrigued me and although it took a while, I was happy to finally pay a visit there along with some adventurous friends. First, I have to say that I’m glad that I read up on Priyani before dining there. Their menu wasn’t very detailed, but the photos and descriptions of the dishes that I got from FoodGPS and the LA Times article really helped a lot when it came time to figuring out our menu. We also got additional help from husband and wife owners, Nahil and Priyani.

Our meal started with a complimentary trio of deep fried goodness, which included pattis, chicken rolls and fish cutlets.

The pattis were shaped like empanadas with a light flaky crust and filled with curried beef and potatoes.

An interesting thing about the chicken roll is that the chicken filling was first rolled into an egg roll wrapper and than the wrapper was in turn breaded and fried.

My favorite of the three was the fish cutlet, which had a nice kick to it because of the diced red peppers that were mixed into the filling. What took these fried appetizers over the top was the addition of a peppery tomato-based sauce that was just out of this world.

Next up was the Lampreis, which was also referred to as Lump Rice. It’s a mound of rice topped with eggplant curry, onion sambola, shrimp sambola, green banana curry, chicken curry and fish cutlet and then steamed in a banana leaf. This a meal in itself with a variety of wonderful flavors. The onions were wonderfully caramelized and I enjoyed the tartness of the green banana curry. A lovely hit of pungency also came from the shrimp sambola, which was made from shrimp paste. Overall, if you don’t order anything else, this is a must try dish.

Another tasty dish was their Biryani which was mildly spiced; yet, still flavorful fried rice that was cooked with cashew curry and included a side of eggplant curry. There were also yogurt-marinated chicken thighs hidden under the pile of rice and smack in the middle was a roasted egg. That cashew curry added an unexpected, but welcomed sweetness to the rice and because of its marination, the chicken was was delectably moist and juicy.

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Using the word “Mysterious” as part of the title of this blog entry is probably not as mysterious as it may seem, but heck, it made you look, didn’t it? Seriously, I’ll tell you about the mystery later, but before I go into that, let me tell you how I ended up at Little Dhaka, a Bangladesh restaurant and market in Artesia.

It all started with an episode on Bizarre Foods where Andrew Zimmerman did a show on Indian cuisine. The part of the show that perked my interest was when he sampled Bengali cuisine. Go figure that I once had a Bengali college roommate, who if I had the same culinary interests as I did now, may have opened my eyes and my palate to this type of regional Indian cooking. You can read about the show by clicking here. What interested me in particular about Bengali cuisine was the utilization of mustard oil as a main ingredient. I’ve never had any food where mustard oil was used, at least not that I know of, so I was curious.

In my quest, I decided to ask the opinion of Smita, owner of an Indian ice cream shop, Saffron Spot, in Artesia. I previously had done a couple of ice cream tastings at her shop, so I figured, she’d steer me in the right direction. She directed me to Little Dhaka, which was also in Artesia. When I looked it up, I noticed that it was a Bangladesh restaurant, which also served as a small market. Confused, I thought maybe she made a mistake, but after some more investigation, I found out that Bangladesh means “Country of Bengal” in Bengali. To find out how Bangladesh and Bengal are connected, click here.

Finally, it was time to check out Little Dhaka and with Smita’s help, the owner of Little Dhaka gave my dining group a nice meal deal where for $10 we got a salad, a choice of two entrees, naan, paratha bread, rice, a rasmala dessert and a soft drink. Even without that special lunch price, great cheap eats can still be had. Little Dhaka has steam tables and each of the entrees run around $3.00 to $4.00. Realistically, you can have a tasty meal for between $10 to $20, depending on what you order and there’s great variety since they switch out the dishes they serve every day. Luckily, my group likes to dine family-style, so we broke up into smaller groups, sat at different tables and proceeded to share our bounty.

First up was a simple, but fresh salad. Nothing to it but cucumbers, tomatoes, red onions and a slice of lemon. Interestingly enough, I used these veggies almost as a palate cleanser (except for the red onions) in between the entrees. The thing about the entrees was that they were just so flavorful. However, since I was unfamiliar with the spices being used for this cuisine, the “Mysterious” thing about these dishes was that I couldn’t really describe what I tasted. I felt like I could taste the tang of mustard oil, but maybe I was imagining it? Of course, there were probably a myriad of other seasonings included in everything we sampled. The strange thing was that I asked the owner briefly about his use of mustard oil in his dishes and he told me that Bangladesh cuisine is actually all about the usage of poppyseed oil. Huh? Now, I was totally confused.

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Paneer Tikka Kebab Vs. Argentine Flap Steak

Thanks to Lord of the Grill Ali Khan and his pal Nissar Modi for stuffing TACO’s gullet this labor day weekend in Los Feliz at their epic India Vs. Argentina BBQ. Khan is fresh off his first appearance on Bobby Flay’s show where he rocked the set with tasty lamb hoagies, and the man knows meat and heat better than Bo knows baseball.

“King” Khan set off an extensive explosion of dishes from both South America and the Sub-Continent. Over 6 lbs. of lamb were marinated in homemade preparations and 100% hardwood was used in the fire. Repping those randy Argentines was chorizo and flap steak, while the incredible Indians stepped up to the coals with chicken tikka, lamb tikka, and paneer kebabs, which were handmade by Mr. Modi.

When the dust and tequila cleared, both countries came out charting high on the BBQ taste meter, but possibly due to the few thousand years India has on Argentina to find out what the people like, the Indians dominated in flavor, tenderness, and more Big-O’s per bite. The steak was perfect, juicy, and hot just like at an asado, but it was still no match for the intricate zest of that deep red tikka. The soft chicken burst in our mouths, the lamb juicily melted away, and Nissar’s paneer kebab had more flavor and pleasant texture than those at our beloved Khan Chacha in New Delhi.

In the end, bellies past full, Ali decided against a coup de grace of pulled lamb shoulder, leaving us all with the Labor Day wisdom to keep it under $50 if we ever find ourselves at Costco. Here’s to good eating, being with friends, and most importantly to three-day weekends!!!!!

Grill General Ali Khan

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117 W. Santa Monica Blvd. Santa Monica, CA 90401 ~ 310-656-1664 (TACO Guide)

My oral enthusiasm for Indian delicacies eventually steered me to Gate of India, Santa Monica’s well-spoken of ‘Atala’ dripping in festive tent fabrics, gorgeous detail and ornament, swish figurtative paintings, and the occasional random string of Christmas lights, resembling some middle-aged gal’s 40-thieves-induced wet dreams aboard a first flight to Delhi. Stoppering the northside of the 3rd St. Promenade, mere yards from the beach, Gate of India’s first non-surprise was disclosing the buffet’s $10 price as relative to the suggestions of its high-profile real-estate.

Desi ex-girlfriends and bent ex-roommates can back me up, I munch more than a man’s fair share of South Asian fare, so a 10 buck all-you-can-eat buffet seemed like the right idea at the time of this blazed lunch. Service was friendly, the spot bright and buzzing with worker bees, plus the buffet is convenient and wide open enough to fit my dear and personal interpretation of Eric Wright’s ‘Eazy Access Legislature of 1988.’ Atmosphere aside, hot curry in my mouth is what I seek, so onward did I press….

Why yes, now that you all mention it, my subcontinentally-slanted tongue can be a harsh judge of which particular Indian is coming into my mouth, as countless cruel lashings and cunningly twisted slips of upbraiding has resulted for those whose curry-pots just couldn’t be tamed. Would I dress down Gate of India for a ‘sari’ performance, calling it to the carpet for a cruel castigation of its flavors, appearance and hustle? Or maybe I’d merely subject said Punjabi pleasures to a waggish, smart, and randy soul kiss? Eh…in the end, that shit was just alright…

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3764 Watseka Ave. (@ Venice Blvd.) ~ 310-836-1269 ~ Culver City (TACO Map)

305 Rose Ave. ( @ 2nd St.) ~ 310-836-1269 ~ Santa Monica (TACO Map)

I know I’ve been all up in the Hare Krishna’s salad lately, but Govinda’s is a treasure for vegetarians and healthy eaters. Located inside of the Krishna temples of Culver City and Santa Monica, the Govinda’s (the Govindases? Govindi?) are tiny diners that resemble hostels. Both feature cheap, all-you-can-eat vegetarian buffets with a slight Indian twist as well as an occasional eavesdropped exsistential conversation.

For $6 in Culver and around $9 at Radha Govinda’s near the shore (higher rents), you get a salad bar of fresh, colorful variety with sunflower seeds, peppers, and tofu, among many other choices and different light dressings. Then there is usually a pasta course with a hearty sauce low on oil. Last time I was there it was a corkscrew pasta in a peppery creamy white sauce that had me back three times. Next comes the small section that usually has three to four Indian influenced curries, daal, and one or two side snacks. The curry tinged broths are intricately spiced, pleasing my picky tastes for Indian with flavors familiar and creative. The crunchy, lightly-fried red-peppers I had at the Santa Monica localation were some of the best things I’ve ever tasted.

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Chutney’s ~ 2406 Barrington Ave. @ Pico Blvd. ~ West LA

Having dated a few more than my share of Desi girls, I’ve become an expert when it comes to eating Indian. Never has the experience of slipping my mouth around some subcontinental treasure been as regrettable as it was at Chutney’s. Presenting itself like it’s the Baja Fresh of Indian food, this one-off with not-so-subtle dreams of becoming a chain can’t even be called the Del Taco of Indian food.

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Artwallah is not your Mama-ji’s typical Indian party…if it had been, the food would have been a lot better, the music louder, and the place more packed with old people who are somehow related, talking about other people’s marriages, gold jewlery and pickle recipes.

A celebration of art and culture, Artwallah, curiously at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, skews towards the youthful, underground side of South Asian life in the U.S.– the indie Indians if you will. Thus present were a smattering of groovy Gujaratis, new-wave New Delhians, punk Punjabis, rockin’ Rajasthanis, hoo-ridin’ Haryanayans, tuned-in Tamils and utterly-progressive Uttar Pradeshinans, along with their neighbors in the subcontinent, such as bangin’ Bangladeshis and savvy Sri Lankans (yes, we really could do this all day).

What Artwallah lacked in attendance (and great food), it certainly made up for in the spirit of both those attending in support of the community and the sheer camaraderie of celebrating South Asian heritage together…(CONTINUED BELOW)

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New India Sweets and Spices ~ 1245 Fairfax Los Angeles 90035 @ Packard

Although I am a Southern Californian son, I did an 8-year tour of duty in New York City and an equally long tour-of-duty in a relationship with an Indian princess. I grew to love homemade Indian food as served in the Punjabi taxi cab eateries where mustachioed, broad-shouldered Northern Indians devoured their curries before hopping into their yellow chariots for 12-hour shifts of drunkards and agitated cheapskates. The girl’s mother, a sweet Bangalorean with a love marriage to a wonderful Punjabi, was unequaled in her preparation of dishes from both ends of the subcontinent, be it a crisp dosa from the south, bhel puri from Bombay and a host of tandoors, naans, and rotis from up north.

However, I have been unimpressed by my forays into Los Angeles Indian food. The highly recommmended Gujarthi curries at Jay Bharat on Artesia, I found near disgusting, while Indian restaurants from San Vicente West to Fairfax to borders East have turned me off at best, made me sick at worst. I was feeling Electric Lotus in Los Feliz, but my Desi friends say they refuse to touch it. Pasadena’s Sitar was quite excellent hosting a recent Mendhi ceremony I attended. But sill, my search continues…

Little did I know, there was a tiny storefront behind my temporary sublet, New India Sweets and Spices serving up the kind of no frills Indian curries my palate desires. New India resembles a tinier version of Atwater’s India Sweets and Spices, though I have no clue of any relations. New India is not fancy, basically a small market of pre-packaged Indian spices and boxed meals, decorations and mammoth bags of basmati and lentils, Bollywood DVDs and Bhangra CDs, Sikh shrines and a display of fresh sweets up the sari… (Continued below)

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