I was at an Indian Restaraunt called Samrat the other night and I orderd the Tandoori Chicken. When I ordered the Tandoori Chicken three sauces (or sauce like things) came with it. One was a chopped veggie like thing that was mint green and kinda spicy. Another was also liked a chopped veggie and it was brilliant red also spicy. The last was a brown liquid that was sweet almost like honey, but not exactly. What I want to know is what is in that brown sauce? I must know. If any of you know the name of it or what is in it or how I could find out. I would really appreciate it.
one was probably mint chutney, one was onion chutney (the red one), and one was tamarind sauce (the brown sweet one). All are traditional sauces served with americanized indian food, and often also served like this in India. Dip your papadam in it, stir some into your rice/meat/veggie mix, and chow down. I prefer mango chutney myself, but you generally have to pay extra for that.
Tamarind sauce is almost certainly available at the closest variety store run by an Indian, or big grocery store. Papadoms are also great with raita, which you can make by mixing plain white yogurt with a mix of 1 tsp. each fennel, cumin, mint or coriander, chopped pepper, ground pepper and a pinch of salt.
Don’t be shy when trying ethnic cuisines forthe first few times to ask the folks there questions.
A recent experience I had with Drain Bead with our first time trying Vietnamese food was pretty typical: When we told the server that it was our first time trying Vietnamese food, we mentioned to her and the manager who sauntered over and after relaying the other exotic cuisine that we had eaten and what we liked about them, they went on to offer suggestions as to what we would probably like. The suggestions proved to be right on par with what we liked and we had a great time!
Don’t think that the folks will laugh at you or anything… They want people to keep coming in and converting people into fans of that cuisine is the best way to do this. So don’t be afraid to ask what’s in a sauce or what meat is best with a certain spice.
At the ones I have been to, they serve tamarind sauce and a bright green salsa-like sauce - by bright, I mean it is almost flourescent, as if it includes highlighter ink as one of the ingredients.
[Actual Child of Indian People stepping to the mike]
My family makes raita with cucumbers. I’ve seen it made without–but I don’t think it’s a regional thing, just being too lazy to go buy cucumbers.
What’s weirder to me is MINT in raita–I’ve never seen that. Must be some weird restaurant thing.
By the way, Tansu…
Not so. Mashed up orange lentils (toor dal) are BRIGHT orange, and naturally so. We make a chutney out of them that is a hideous '70s-style orange color, and not a drop of artificial coloring. [The stuff tastes hideous to me, though, and I won’t touch it…]
