Oct 2, 2010

west indian

Indian Night

Back when we lived in Austin, a most favorite place to eat at was a little hole in the wall, a 'fast food' Indian place, called Swad. If you live in Austin and you haven't been, you must go! The prices are reasonable (just review your receipt as some mistakes are made) and food is outstanding.


One dish we would always get was the Ragda Patties, which is a Gujarati Indian dish. The dish consists of potato patties with a mint-cilantro middles served with a thick legume gravy. So tonight's meal was based on the Gujarati cuisine.

Gujarati is a western Indian fare, predominantly vegetarian and mostly overlooked; North and South India tend to be in the spotlight, while the west goes on about its merry way. What a treat to miss!

The ragda patties I made were delicious - it literally took me back to Swad. David thought so, too, and Kate loved it (although she was one when we lived there, so she couldn't recall the flavors), but neither of the other two liked Indian food back then and were themselves too young to remember even if they had.


The other dish I made was a green bean dish with Muthias. Muthias are little dough patties made of chickpea and wheat flour that are simmered in the green bean sauce.


I am completing the how-to on this meal since my pictures didn't turn out blurry. Yay! Indian food is made so fast that there is little time to focus properly unless you have a plan. I had a plan this time and will be posting the recipes and the pictures.


Cost Breakdown:
green beans:$2
flours: $1
chillies, ginger, curry leaves, mint, cilantro; $4
spices, seeds, sugar, lemon, tamarind: $2
peas: $1
potatoes: $3

7 comments:

  1. I've found that the hole in the wall joints are almost always the best. Usually owned by people who know and love the cuisine.
    I love Indian food! This looks great, I'll add it to my meal menu for next week!

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  2. I think so, too. If you're ever in Austin you will know where to go.

    Thanks, Gwen... I will get cracking on cranking out the recipes :)

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  3. I love indian food... for some reason I have this odd attraction to it and really for no particular reason. it's not something I ate at all growing up, or as an adult for that matter. This looks amazing though, and more simple to tackle (for some reason I always think it's complicated). Thank you for this, great job and I will be sure to try :)

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  4. Great post! I am anxious to try making a few Indian dishes, so many great flavors and spices!

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  5. Thanks Tiffany!

    Ellen, I too have an affinity for Indian food eventhough I wasn't raised with it. The truth is, it just tastes so darn good!

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  6. Just found your blog and loving it! I love Indian food, not too spicey, but flavorful. You mentioned peas in your above recipe-which peas please? Thank you.

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  7. Mississippi, the peas are the dried version of green peas. You can get them at an Indian grocer or an International market. Thanks for the comments!!

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