Wednesday, July 04, 2007

Om South Indian Cuisine

OM again. Last visit to Om South Indian Cuisine was a quick one, so Dad and I revisited when we had a chance the other night for dinner.

Indian Chips

Right away some Indian chips appear at our table, light and crisp while we make up our minds on the rest of the meal.

Idli Sambar

Our delightful host, suggested Idli Sambar, which is a traditional South Indian dish made of steamed rice cakes with sambar and chutney. This was light and had a most fresh and soothing taste at the same time. Listed as an appetizer, I would order it a soup. This is definitely something to try.

Chicken Anjappa

We followed his suggestion of having Chicken Anjappa, which is fried boneless chicken cubes marinated in yogurt and spices. I asked him what turns the chicken red, and he told me the secret, the spice mixture garam masala.

Valanadu Fish Curry

He waxed eloquently about the Valandu Fish Curry, made with fresh pompfrey fish (an Indian fish) a menu item on their weekend only list. It was served whole, including the head, and was so moist and flavorful inside, a very tender white fleshed fish. The curry was on the outside, and an extra small bowl of it was provided on the side so each could adjust the amount of curry on the dish. It also came with a huge bowl of fragrant basmati rice.

Semia Payasam

Dad was enjoying himself so much, he didn't want to stop at the fish, and asked "What's for dessert?". Our host again recommended Semia Payasam, a traditional South Indian dessert that was described as a 'vermicelli pudding'.

Semia Payasam - close up

Dipping into the Semia Payasam, there were raisins, tapioca and small lengths of vermicelli inside a milky pudding, topped with chopped pistacios. It was served hot, and we enjoyed trying the flavors.

Rasamalai

We also had the Rasamalai, which is a cheese patty in rose flavored sweet cream sauce, topped with pistachio. The cheese tasted exceptionally fresh and tender, and it was cool as contrasted to the first dessert dish. If you like Indian food, don't miss this place!

Finally, I hope everyone has a happy 4th of July! Dad and I are going to enjoy a BBQ in Glen Ellen at Linda's house and then the Sonoma fireworks display. Happy 4th!

5 comments:

Almost Vegetarian said...

Fish curry ... sounds like a wonderful idea. Don't know why it never ocurred to me. I adore curry and adore fish so you would think I would have a recipe already. Well, I will now. Thanks for the idea.

Cheers!

Farmgirl said...

Hi! New local reader here - I've enjoyed browsing through your old posts and seeing places I already know and love and new places to try. We've been eyeing Om for a while now, sounds like we better go try it!

Anna Haight said...

Almost V: It really was good, hope yours turns out well!
Syrrah: Welcome, and maybe I'll see you there!

Anonymous said...

One of the most well written blogs that I've seen

Anonymous said...

tandoori masala turns the chicken red, not garam masala like the guy told you. just fyi.