Masala Art

It seems I was observing radio silence the first time we went to Masala Art a couple of months ago, so let me rectify that after our return trip this week. Both times our reaction was the same: I love this place!

The name of the restaurant comes from its mastery of spice blends. As the Web site says: "Spice blends are called masalas. Indian cooks have mastered the timed roast of spices, releasing various flavors from the same spice based on its length of roasting. A spice is also manipulated by the way it is prepared. Each of the many spices has its own unique function: some spices tenderize, some intensify heat while others cool, some augment color, some thicken and others bring necessary tartness."

That must account for the remarkable freshness and novelty of the dishes we've tried. I can't remember the ones we had the first trip, but on this latest visit we split an appetizer, Aloo aur Pyaz ki Bhaji, which is juliennes of potatoes and onions in chickpea batter. This came out fresh and hot from deep frying with two very nice little sauces and was delicious. For main courses, we ordered a tawa -- cooked on a griddle like skillet -- and a tandoori. The Tawa Murgh Khatta Pyaaz was marinated chicken cubes with masala gravy, royal cumin and pickled onion. It had a rich tomato-ey flavor and a quiet, deep heat set off nicely by the pickled onion. The Bhuna Gosht was stir-fried lamb curry with spices. Somewhat less original but the lamb was very tender with a nice mature (muttony, the way I like!) taste. We got a rock salt and garlic nan (the one small criticism of the restaurant is that the nan portions are relatively small).

Prices are great: appetizers run about $5 and entrees $10 to $15. We split an appetizer and got two entrees. Next time we may get two appetizers and split an entree, with perhaps an additional half-order of a vegetable entree. All in all a great find, and close enough in Tenleytown to be considered a neighborhood restaurant.

Spice Xing

There's not a thing wrong with the food at Spice Xing (pronounced Spice Crossing). The restaurant in Rockville Town Center offers the high-quality Indian cuisine one expects from Sudhir Seth. However, there's no reason to make the trek to Rockville when Passage to India, with its fuller and more interesting menu, is right in Bethesda.

The Rockville restaurant is billed as contemporary Indian fare, featuring dishes influenced by other cultures in India. That may be, but the bulk of the offerings in Spice Xing seemed remarkably similar to those at Passage or other Indian restaurants. Decor may be upscale by Rockville standards, but decidedly suburban (more so than the Bethesda restaurant). And service in Rockville was spotty and sloppy.

That said, the four of us on this trek had some very good food, including Lamb Ishtoo stew with cardamom and curry leaf and another lamb stew, Persian style, with apricots. Starters, except for the exotic Bhel Puri, were not that distinguished. Well worth the visit if you live in Rockville or find yourself there for some reason or another. Otherwise, go to Passage to India.

660 Curries

I finally cooked a recipe from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer and it was delicious. I've decided to cook my way through the book over the next year -- 365 days, 660 curries. Just kidding, but I've been wanting to write that since seeing Julie and Julia.

Started with a very simple chicken curry with tomato and coconut milk. It was quick and easy and perfect for a week night. You just sautee some red onion, garlic and ginger, then sear the 1-inch cubes of chicken breast with curry mix, add the coconut milk and simmer till cubes are done (only a few minutes), remove the chicken and thicken the sauce, add tomato and cilantro, pour sauce over the chicken and serve.

I was going to grind the Madras curry powder myself from the component spices (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds, cloves, fenugreek seeds, black peppercorns, thai chiles, and turmeric) but Wholefoods didn't have either whole fenugreek seeds or thai chiles so I just used some of the packaged curry powders on my shelf. Obviously, though, the real secret to this cuisine is to grind the spices fresh and I will just have to improve my sourcing for ingredients.

I bought this book some time ago after reading about Iyer being International Association of Culinary Professionals Teacher of the Year. I have other Indian cookbooks, including a couple of the classics by Madhur Jaffrey, and I like Indian cuisine, but I've found the undertaking daunting. This book seems to me to make Indian cooking accessible in the way Julia Child did for French cooking.

Curry of course refers not primarily to the powder or the sauce in a dish -- though that is the way most Americans would define it -- but to the dish itself. The frontispiece of the book defines it this way: "Any dish that consists of either meat, fish, poultry, legumes, vegetables, or fruits, simmered in or covered with a sauce, gravy or other liquid that is redolent with any number of freshly ground and very fragrant spices and/or herbs."

It was a revelation to me the first time I went to Indique how the spices could burst with flavor when freshly ground. In the meantime, my favorite area Indian restaurant is Passages to India in Bethesda, where again that freshness is paramount.