Category Archives: Food Type: Indian

Jassal Tandoori Restaurant, Brickfields

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Jerry Maguire: We live in a cynical world, a cynical, cynical world, and we work in a business of tough competitors. I love you. You…..complete me.

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biryani rice

It was like my senses were awakened by the taste of ghee.   At first, the twitch of the nose at the buttery aroma.   Then the tongue, as I placed a spoonful of basmati rice caressed by masala and ghee.  Utter bliss.  It is gratifying to know that one of the commonest articles of Indian cuisine can also be one of the most satisfying.

Chicken or mutton cubes are marinated in a yoghurt base and cooked in biryani rice.  Cardamoms, cinnamon, cloves and nuts spice the rice further and choppped coriander leaves complete the dish.   The biryani at Jassal Tandoori Restaurant is probably the best biryani I’ve ever tasted.   The rice is fluffy and full of flavour, and the ghee makes the dish highly palatable on its own.

The tandoori platter containing a selection of tandoori chicken, fish tikka and kebab is highly addictive.   I reckon it’s due to the spices used and the fact that it is cooked in a special tandoori oven resulting in flavours that blend well into the meats.

The mutton vindaloo has a tangy masala base and is not as spicy as I expected.   I’m not sure of its authenticity as a Punjabi dish (doesn’t it have its roots in Goan/Portuguese cuisine?), but it does make a lovely complement to the biryani.  The mango lassi is rich and the sweet scent of mango is apparent, but it tasted a little powdery.   All my hopes were placed on the gulab jamun (only my most favourite indian dessert ever!), a milky confection soaked in sugary syrup, but I found the texture rather hard, possibly because it was kept in the fridge before serving.  Nevertheless, the flavour was lovely and I shall have to try it again when I am hit by a gulab jamun craving.   Those who don’t have an affinity for gulab can also check out the other sweet, milky offerings.

Love at first taste.  That’s what Jassal is to me.

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Dorothy: Shut up. Just shut up…..You had me at hello. You had me at hello.

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Tandoori platter – RM17

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Mutton Vindaloo – RM14.90

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Chicken Biryani (big) – RM11.90

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Gulab Jamun – RM4.80

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Sweet confections

Jassal Tandoori Restaurant
No 84, Jalan Tun Sambanthan
Brickfields, 52000 KL.

Tel: 03-22746801

www.jesalsweethouse.com

Open 11.00am to 11.00pm daily.

Sri Paandi, Section 11 PJ

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Banana leaf rice – Indian fast food.  Environmentally friendly.

At Sri Paandi, service is efficient and quick.  You WILL be ambushed by men in purple before you can text “Ciki, save me!!”.

Once seated, allow the warmth of the service to envelope you.  Say “Nandri” (thank you) with a wiggle of the head each time something is presented before you.  “Chicken varuvel?”  “Nandri.” *wiggle*  “Thairu?”  “Nandri.”  *wiggle*  “Fish curry?”  “Nandri.” *wiggle*  “Fried bittergourd?”  “Nandri.” *wiggle*

You get the idea.  Of course, if you can’t see your partner’s face thanks to the mound of rice on your banana leaf, yell “Pothummmm!!“.  (enough)

*wiggle* 

paandi

Paandi

To indicate contentment, burp.

Sri Paandi
Jalan Dato Mahmud 11/4
Off Jalan Universiti, PJ

Acknowledgement: Concept and words inspired by my bff, ALilFatMonkey.  Rest assured that I will not be embarking on a career as a cartoonist in the near, or distant, future.

Oh, and real men wear purple.

Restoran Chaat Masala, Klang

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Garlic and plain naan

After finding the most amazingly gorgeous saree (which I wore to my brother’s wedding last week) in Klang, mum agreed to take a break from her usual wantan mee/curry laksa preference to sample some authentic punjabi cuisine in Klang’s Little India.

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Chapati

Aside from chapatis and naans, and despite growing up on a healthy dose of indian food, mum and I are pretty clueless about punjabi food.  It helps that we both don’t look Indian (thus preventing the potential barrage of questions ranging from “Aiyoh, what kind of Indian are you?” [insert look of disgust] to “Are you sure your name is Tangechi?”), so we happily asked them a million questions and even managed to taste some of their amazing masalas (spices) from their kitchen.  I must say that the proprietors were extremely accommodating, offering us a taste of some of their specialties like the mutton curry which was quite unlike the southern Indian version, carrying a certain richness that wasn’t overly…uhmmm….pedas? (spicy).

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Yoghurt flavoured with masala and coriander leaves

The naan at Chaat Masala has a beautiful fluffy texture.  Mum loved her chapati too which was perfectly cooked, light and dry.  Incidentally, chapati, an unleavened flat bread, is only fattening if one eats it with ghee; otherwise, these thin breads eaten with dhal and vegetables are healthy options to our usual rice and noodle staples.

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Pakora, samosa and other savoury tea-time goodies

We tried several different curries and vegetables, and the most obvious thing that struck us was the multitude of spices (garam masala and chaat masala) that made these dishes really special.  Chaat masala, a pungent and salty spice mix, is used in a number of the punjabi dishes.  The proprietors proudly told us they bring in the spices from India.  Incidentally, there seems to be a certain pride in getting ingredients from India.  I noticed that last Monday when we dined at our friends’ place, and they had cooked a yummy north Indian dish called Rogan Josh which contained spices from India.  Just curious, Malaysia don’t have meh?

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Ladhoo

Despite their sweetness, I am always partial to Indian sweets.  After all, what better antidote to spicy curries than a dose of sugary milky sweetness?  All the sweets are made in-house by their secretly-stashed away Indian cook.   Also available is kulfi (indian ice-cream?) which I found a little too crystallised, unlike the usual creamy kulfi I am accustomed to.  The palkova (milk sweetmeats) are lovely, though.

Not to be confused with the vegetarian restaurant by the same name in Brickfields (sans an ‘a’), Chaat Masala serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian and is in no way related to that restaurant in Brickfields.  The restaurant opens daily and serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Restoran Chaat Masala
No. A35, Jalan Dato Hamzah (Off Jln Tengku Kelana),
41000 Klang, Selangor.

Tel: Mr Sarjit – 016 617 9613 / Mr Sonu – 016 350 2248