A few weeks ago, I met up with a mitra* from Sanskrit class. Since she is of good Indian stock and I am not, and since I do love Indian food and so does she, we decided to head over to Udupi Palace on Gerrard Street in Toronto. Read on to see what we ate!
*Mitra is Sanskrit for friend. I remember this because one of the chapters that we studied from the Hitopadesa was called Mitralabhah, or the “gaining of friends.” Whether or not my use of “mitra” in this situation is properly conjugated is another issue (sigh, I feel useless without my notes or Coulson).
Assorted Palace Hors D'oeuvre
Here’s my attempt to identify the different items on this delicious platter:
Clockwise from top:
- special bondha (lentil dumplings with onion and potato)
- medhu vada (fried lentil doughnuts)
- bhajia (sliced potatoes breaded and deep fried)
- chilli pakora (spiced chilli breaded and deep fried) –> this one was… interesting. Let’s say I won’t ever eat an entire chilli like that again. But you have to live life at its fullest, right? Just once?
- tamarind chutney
- sambhar
- coconut chutney
In the middle, clockwise from top:
- iddly (steamed rice and lentil patties)
- onion pakoras (chopped onions battered in chickpea flour and deep fried)
- mint chutney
L posing with her chilli cheese dosa (dosa smeared with spicy chutney, cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese)
L explains to me that this is an unusual combination – cheese in Indian food? I’m not talking about paneer. I’m talking about melted cheese, “Western” styles. But apparently it works.
Last sighting of my paneer masala dosa
I liked the food at Udupi Palace. Goodness, writing this post is making me hungry.
In case I’ve made you hungry too:
Udupi Palace
1460 Gerrard Street E
Toronto ON
M4L 2A3
Tel: 416-405-8189
Email: info@udupipalace.ca
http://www.udupipalace.ca
Tags: Indian
August 17, 2008 at 4:30 pm |
… And now I am craving idlis and sambhar. A great looking meal, thanks for sharing it.
August 24, 2008 at 8:55 pm |
mmm. That paneer masala dosa looks yummy. Although I don’t like spicy food, Indian restaurants smell nice inside. Might have to bring my spicy-stuff-loving brother to Udupi Palace one day…
August 26, 2008 at 10:39 pm |
Hi Em,
I’m such a sucker for paneer (a la palak paneer makes me weak at the knees), the paneer masala dosa was really good. I liked their masala chai (literally, “spiced tea”) as well.
Siddhartha, also on Gerrard Street, is supposed to have good Indian food too.
…and then of course there is Mt. Everest on Bloor Street, one of my personal favourites. Mmmm