 After visiting Bombay Café Bunty's, I couldn't get Indian food out of my head... And as I needed to spoil a big fan of Indian food, I decided to make my very very first curry. Ehmm ok, Asif (from L.A. Poke) told me yesterday that there is no "Curry" in India as we know it in Europe. Let's say I made an Indian Pumpkin and Chickpea Stew :) It had to be vegetarian and I always find it much difficult to create a recipe if there is no meat or animal broth in it. But to be honest, this was absolutely delicious. Not only because I made it but I still get love declarations directed to the curry instead of me. So let's start the curry-ing around:  Ingredients: (4 people): 1 red onion in halves 2 garlic cloves Thumb size ginger peeled 3 tbsp neutral oil 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp coriander (ground) 1 tsp garam masala 1 tsp cumin (ground) 400 gr Butternut squash, peeled 1 can of chickpeas (drained) 400 gr 1 can coconut cream or milk 1 cup veggie broth 2 full hands of spinach or baby spinach Salt Lime Fresh Parsley  Let's get started! the main thing to do is make the curry paste. For that, you put the onion, garlic, and ginger into your food processor or blender and add oil to it. Blend it to a paste. In a dutch oven or cast iron pan, fry the paste for a few minutes. (I diced my pumpkin at that time) add a pinch of salt to it.  Once your onion paste is starting to look light purple and a bit transparent, add all the spices and fry for another minute. Doesn't it look now like those store bought curry pastes?   Add the squash and chickpeas and mix with the spices, then add the coconut milk and broth. Bring to simmer and cook for 30 minutes until the squash softens and the sauce thickens,  Now it's time to add the spinach. Don't worry if it looks like loads of leaves! Just do it! Stir it all until the spinach is droopy! Now serve with some rice and squeeze some drops of lime to it and sprinkle with some parsley and toasted shaved almonds... ENJOY and let me know if you liked the "Curry". 
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 Two weeks ago I decided to try the new Indian restaurant in Charlottenburg: Bombay Café Bunty's. I thought I should tell you guys how it was. Bunty (bourgeois Suhasish Chakraborty), the super cool owner, opened the doors of his modern taste of India restaurant in October. Very close to Savignyplatz, the heart of culinary Charlottenburg. I really like Indian food and I never cook it at home as it takes real skills. I like to go to restaurants for this kind of food but it has been a bit underwhelming to try over and over Indian restaurants that aren't really super good. But then I got in Bombay Cafe Bunty's and it was Love at first sight & bite.  The first you notice is the beautiful interior design. It doesn't look like every Indian restaurant in Berlin. It looks modern, a raw brick wall on one side and industrial lamps. Close to the toilets a super cool neon sign that says: "BE NICE OR FUCKING LEAVE" shows you that Bombay Café Bunty's (BCB) isn't just another typical a European/Indian place. Bunty told us that in Bombay, where he comes from, the cafés actually look like this. Surprising, right?. You can see hanging on the walls beautiful artwork and amazing pictures by a photographer that spent many years in Bombay and in India in general.  So we started ordering food. Bae is vegetarian so he ordered the Tandoori Mango Paneer Tikka that is a homemade cottage cheese marinated with mango juice, yoghurt, and other herbs and I had to steal a bit of it because it looked delicious, and it was outstanding. The next one he got was the Samosas.. sadly I can't eat gluten so I couldn't try these ones (look to the main picture) They were baked Indian dumplings filled with mashed potato and peas covered with mint-tamarind chutney. WHY??? Why I can't eat gluten... Frank looked in cloud seven while eating them and he said they were the best Samosas he had in a very long time.  As a Flexetarian, I ordered the meat: Lamb Seekh Kebab. A Lamb skewer served with Zaziki and regularly with Lavash Bread. The lamb was so good! it was so tender and juicy and at the same time crispy outside. The spices were very good and you could totally taste the difference between BCB and other Indian restaurants in Berlin.  While I was enjoying my delicious white wine, the main dishes arrived. Starting with mine: Their Coconut-Lime-Shrimps curry. This is a west-Coast Indian dish made with coconuts and lemongrass. And I am not a person that would keep saying: "OH MY GOD! This is so good!" but I just couldn't stop myself from saying this the whole time. It was actually hard to keep a conversation while eating as it was so creamy and spicy and good. It was the kind of spicy that doesn't numb your tongue but let you taste all the diverse ingredients and spices... BRAVO!  The Vegetarian dish arrived: Aloo Mutter Curry. Franks go-to dish is this one. This is a potato and peas curry with caramelized onions. He said it was his favorite Aloo Mutter Curry in Berlin. We both really loved the food. The dishes were quite big so we didn't order any desserts (and there was none gluten-free) but I doubt I could have been able to eat any other pea that night.  As I wrote on the title: This is in my honest opinion the best Indian Restaurant in Berlin. And I wasn't paid to say this or blog about it. And as I am already sending my friends there when they ask me about new places, I thought I would share them with you. Get your bum all the way to Charlottenburg, cause it is super worth it! And let me know how did you like it!  |
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February 2020
AuthorsI am Andrea, or as my friends call me, Jinx. I am a foodie living in Berlin, eating my way through life. Here are my recipes, cooking events, dining experiences and more... |
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