Darbar India - Branford, CT

The other night, for no apparent reason other than the fact that I didn’t want to cook dinner, the wife and I headed out to our favorite local Indian restaurant, Darbar India.  We usually get take out and usually get the same thing every time.  This time, I decided to try something different.  The non-vegetarian smorgasbord meal.  When this thing came out, all I could think was “How the HELL am I supposed to eat all that?”  A large metal dish with a pile of saffron infused basmati rice surrounded by multiple interesting dishes.  Each just a few mouthfuls, but more than enough to fill my stomach.  Luckily, I had the wife to help.  Which also meant I got to take her chicken tikka masala home for lunch the next day.  So, here is what I got, with a brief blurb about each.  The first two I don’t have pictures of.  The others, I only have one.  I’m sorry it’s a crappy picture, but it was dark and the flash was lighting up the dining room and glaring off the shiny metal plates.  

Non-Vegetarian Thali

Choice of soup – Vegetable Dal - Lentil soup with vegetables, wild spices and a twist of lemon.  This was a basic soup.  Think, but not chunky, and the seasonings were very earthy.  It was not too heavy, and actually readied my pallet for the onslaught of flavors to come.

Lamb Samosa - Turnovers stuffed with minced lamb and spices, deep fried in vegetable oil.  One word.  DRY.  Not nearly as good as the vegetarian version.  The meat was like dry seasoned ground beef.  It would have had more flavor if all the saliva in my mouth wasn’t absorbed into it.

The following are on the plate.  Starting with the white dish at about 11:00 and going clockwise…

Dal, Raita, rice, papad, onion chutney – Dal=lentils.  Raita=Cold salty yougurt dish.  Papad=Indian lentil chips.  I’m pretty sure this was the cold white dish, since nothing else matches that description.  First of all, they should have warned me that it was cold.  It tastes like milky yogurt with cucumber in it.  I did not care for it.  Maybe I should have eaten it first, like a second appetizer.  Maybe I should have eaten it last, like a pre-dessert.  Either way, this dish stayed almost full.

Chana Masala – Potatoes and chickpeas cooked with herbs and Indian Spices.  This dish was OK.  I’m not sure I got any potatoes, just chickpeas.  I’m not a huge fan of plain old chickpeas, but the sauce on these was thick and flavorful.  It had a touch of earthy sweetness to it, which I believe was cardamom.  

Dal Makhani – Lentils flavored with freshly ground spices and sautéed in butter.  These were like Indian refried beans.  They were thick and chunky.  They were lightly spiced and not over-bearing with flavor.  To me this seemed to be more of an accompaniment than a stand alone dish.  

Saag Paneer - Fresh chopped spinach cooked with homemade cheese and spices.  I did not care for this at all.  I tried several fork fulls.  The spinach was in a creamed state, except it wasn’t creamed.  There were these chunks of home made Indian cheese.  I’m sure this dish could have been good if it tasted less like thawed out frozen chopped spinach.  Add some salt, a little white pepper, maybe even some garlic.  Then you got yourself a dish.  

Piece of Tandoori Chicken - chicken marinated in yogurt, fresh garlic, and ginger then tenderly spiced.  Baked in a tandoori oven.  If you’ve never had tandoori chicken, or any type of meat, you are missing out.  A tandoor is a cylindrical clay oven used in cooking and baking.  Temperatures in a tandoor can approach 480°C (900°F).  The meat that is cooked in these ovens usually takes on a reddish color and are delicious.  The outside is almost crispy, and the inside is still juicy and seasoned all the way through.  You can get chicken, lamb, shrimp, and several other types of meat prepared this way.  

Seekh Kebab - Minced lamb mixed with green peppers, delicately flavored with ginger, and barbecued on skewers.  This was like an elongated minced lamb meatball.  The spices were a little overpowering, but that seems to be the norm with lamb and middle eastern food (in my experiences so far).  It was a bit on the dry side, but not nearly as dry as the samosa.

Chicken Tikka Masala - Tender skinless and boneless chicken marinated in a blend of ginger, garlic, yogurt and various spices, baked in the tandoor and sautéed with tomatoes, butter and creamy sauce.  This is my favorite dish at this restaurant.  I almost can’t find the words to describe it.  It’s rich, flavorful bright orange sauce with chunks of white chicken meat swimming in it.  Put a few spoonfuls of this over some of the basmati rice and dip your naan bread in the extra sauce.  It’s a full, somewhat earthy flavor.  You can pick out the curry, garlic, ginger, and many more layers of spices and flavors as the food travels from the tip of your tongue to the back of your mouth and finally, down your gullet.  Great, now I’m hungry.

Baigan Bhartha - Eggplant cooked with green peas, onions, and tomatoes; flavored with fresh ginger and spices.  The wife loved this dish.  I should let her write this section since she had more of this that I did.  By the time I got to this dish, my pallet was overrun by flavors.  This dish was sweet and spicy and full of flavor.  It had the normal earthy flavors of the freshly ground spices that is common in Indian cuisine.  I'm pretty sure I tasted some of that cardamom in this dish as well.  

Lamb Curry - Tender cubed lamb cooked in our mildly spiced curry sauce.  This dish seemed to me to be an Indian version of beef stew, except with lamb.  The meat was tender and practically fell apart on my utensil.  It was surrounded by a thick gravy of a chunky curry sauce.  Picture Mom’s beef stew, without the vegetables, and heavily seasoned with exotic spices.  And replace the beef with lamb.  This was the only lamb dish that was not dry.

Choice of bread (Poori or Naan) – Naan.  Unleavened bread that is slapped on the side of the clay oven and baked.  The plain naan is doughy, kind of like a baked version of fried dough, without the sauce and cheese.  It is perfect for sopping up the extra tikka masala sauce.  They also make flavored versions, like garlic.  THis is pictured off to the left.

Dessert (Gulab Jamun) and tea or coffee – Gulab Jamun is some sort of pastry/dough ball fried and smothered in syrup/honey.  It's good.  Sweet and sticky and a nice light end to the bombardment of flavors that is Indian food.  However, they forgot my tea.