A Passage to India

By Heinz Bulos
August 2002
hen people talk o India, you
think about an ancient
ciilization, exotic locales, and -
since this is an e-business magazine - darn
good computer engineers. \hen people
talk o Indian cuisine, well, most lilipinos
don`t know a thing, except or chicken
curry.
Blame it on Lonely Planet, but those
shows got me ascinated with India and
craing or Indian ood. I the closest
thing to a man`s heart is through his
stomach, then the nearest passage to India
is through her cuisine.
1he best-known place or authentic
Indian ood is Kashmir, which is also the
irst Indian restaurant in the country,
haing started almost thirty years ago in
the Old Poblacion in Manila. 1he owners,
the Sehwali sisters, remain actie in
managing the restaurant. 1he restaurant
expanded to as many as our branches
until it settled with two, one in Lrmita in
Manila and the other along Pasay Road in
Makati.
1his is not my irst time to try Kashmir. I
had a taste a ew years ago when they had
a branch in Robinson`s Galleria in Ortigas
and paid another isit last year at the
Pasay Road branch, which is the one with
the more elegant and classy interior. 1he
irst branch, I learned, used to hae a
harem tent, which is v, kind o ambience.
1he closest I`e eer got to a unique
Indian ood experience was at a small
restaurant in Little India in Singapore,
where I had biri,avi, lamb in orange
laored rice.
Kashmir in Makati is newly renoated.
1he walls are painted blue, orange, and
red. Star-shaped lanterns hang rom the
ceiling corners, dcor rom a Dirati
celebration, an annual estial o lights
equialent to New \ear`s Day. Lery year,
eery home is alit with the orange glow o
dias, which are small earthen lamps, to
welcome a/.bvi, goddess o prosperity.
1he owners decided not to take them
down anymore, as guests hae taken a
ancy or them.
Indian artiacts, lamps, and tapestries
adorn the restaurant, adding a touch o
Indian royalty. 1wo unction rooms, the
Mabara;ab ,King, and Mabaravi ,Queen,,
hae long tables and elegant decoration.
1he tables and chairs used to be low in
height, adding an authentic eel.
Unortunately, they hae been replaced
with standard ones apparently or the
comort o guests who can`t get up rom
eating too much.
Gene Cruz, who`s been managing the
Pasay Road branch or ten years,
graciously sered as my host. I`e tried
mutton curry beore, so this time I
decided to hae cbic/ev ti//a va.ata,
sered hot. Now, let me gie you a short
background about Indian cuisine.
Like in the Philippines and other
countries, there are dierent cuisines
depending on which part o India we`re
talking about. 1he ood in Kashmir, the
restaurant, is northern ,Kashmir, the state,
is, you guessed it, at the northern part o
the country,. In India, meat dishes are
more common up north. Rogav ;o.b
,curried lamb,, biri,avi, 1avaoori cooking,
and kebabs are all northern cuisine. llat
\
breads are the staple ood. Down south,
it`s spicier and more egetarian. Coconut
is also a major ingredient and rice is the
staple ood. On the \estern ront, there
are plenty o seaood dishes.
Indian ood is not so dierent in the
sense that they hae appetizers, soups,
main courses, desserts, and drinks. But
that`s where the similarities end. Open the
menu and you`re bound to get lost. Start
munching and your taste buds will be in a
dierent world altogether.
1ake their condiments or example. \hile
lilipinos hae the usual ati., to,o, and
catavav.i ,or ketchup, hot sauce, and
mayonnaise i you`re thinking o
American ast ood,, Indians hae cbvtve,.
Cbvtve,. add a burst o laor and zest to a
meal. At Kashmir, you get the sweet-
tasting mango chutney, the spicy mixed
chutney, and the curiously strong mint
chutney.
1hey`re best eaten with appetizers, like the
.avo.a, which are meat or egetable pies
similar to empanada. I had two pieces o
.avo.a., and I`m not surprised why it`s one
o their bestsellers. Mine had chicken,
potatoes and green peas as illing. And, to
my mind, they`re best with mixed chutney
,the mango chutney, though popular with
sweet-toothed lilipinos, tastes like dessert
beore the main course,. Another popular
appetizer is the bvvvv., a traditional mid-
Lastern dip sered with pita bread.
Kashmir seres an appetizer called cbarro
or ree, which is mixed nuts. It`s actually
addicting to munch on while waiting or
your order. Since this is ine dining,
there`s no need to rush.
One thing to note about Indian cuisine is
the absence o bee in the menu. As you
know, cows are considered sacred in India
,or as Robin would put it, loly Cow!`,.
1here`s no pork either, since pigs are
considered dirty ,or as Samuel L.
Jackson`s Pvt ictiov Jules \innield
character would put it, Pigs are ilthy
animals.`, loweer, there`s chicken, ish,
lamb, and mutton ,that`s goat or you,.
Kashmiri cuisine is basically meat-based.
Chicken and mutton dishes are local
aorites. Meat at Kashmir is halal, or
kosher, i.e. animals are slaughtered in a
certain way.
Bread or roti is also a staple, particularly, in
Northern Indian cuisine. 1he popular
ones are vaav, grilled leaened sot bread,
and cbaati, grilled unleaened wheat
bread. Rice, on the other hand, is more
popular in Southern Indian cuisine.
\hicheer you order, an Indian culture
we`re amiliar with is eating with your
ingers, except in this case, you should use
only your right hand to keep your let
clean. \ou can learn more about Indian
cuisine rom \eb sites like Cuisine
Cuisine ,www.cuisinecuisine.com,.
Indian cooking makes use o the 1avaoor,
a clay pot oen sunken neck deep in the
ground. Charcoal is placed at the bottom
o the pot and long iron rods are used in
cooking. 1avaoor is used to cook /abab.,
roti, curry, and the like, giing a distinct
taste. 1raditional 1avaoori cooking is
practiced in Kashmir`s own kitchen.
\hat most distinguishes Indian cuisine is
the curry. 1he curry is perhaps the best
part o Indian cuisine. 1hey gie o that
strong, aromatic ragrance and create the
bright red color. 1he word curry` is the
\esternized name or /ari`, meaning
sauce. Indian curry is a blend o spices
such as turmeric, cardamom, ginger,
coriander, nutmeg and poppy seed. 1hey
are prepared by hand, as it`s done in
Kashmir, and do not traditional come in
powder orm. Real Indian curry combines
stir-ried va.ata, spices, and seasonings.
Spices, herbs, and other seasonings
ground or pounded together into a
mixture called va.ata. So i you see an
item on the menu with that word, you
know what to expect. 1he secret, as they
say, is in the sauce. No wonder, hotels
hae been trying to pirate Kashmir`s
cooks.
My aorite is mutton curry, but a strong
contender is the cbic/ev ti//a va.ata. 1his
dish has six skinless boneless chicken
thighs, salt, red chili, lemon juice, and
butter. Now, the thing to remember when
ordering va.ata dishes is to understand the
meaning o hot`.
A common misconception about Indian
cuisine is that it`s too spicy. Actually, the
degree o spiciness can easily be adjusted.
Kashmir gies customers our choices.
lor the cowardly, there`s no spices`. lor
the adenturous, there`s mild`. lor the
brae, there`s medium`. Now, medium`
actually has two arieties - lilipino-
medium and oreigner-medium. Medium
spicy or lilipinos is just not spicy enough
or oreigners, hence the other ariety.
linally, or unsuspecting ools, there`s
hot`.
I was, admittedly, one o the unsuspecting
ools. I had medium beore so I was quite
conident I could handle hot. Ater two
pieces o cbic/ev ti//a va.ata, I was already
sweating like a pig, and my host can`t help
but order another glass o water ,I just
swallowed a bottle o Coke and a glass o
water in ie minutes,. Keep in mind that
Indian curry has chilis, which is nothing
like our .iti. I`m talking about iery red
chili peppers our inches long that are
brought rom India. Chilis that can make a
grown man cry.
An order o cbaati gies you around 4
large, round pieces. \ou hae to tear them
o piece by piece, dip each into the curry,
and ideally use them to wipe o the
unbelieably tasty sauce. I could inish
only 2 pieces as my tongue was already on
ire.
Since bread, water, and sot drinks weren`t
enough, Gene got me a bowl o yoghurt
or aabi. \oghurt, I tell you, can sae a
man`s lie. It seres to cool your tongue
when things get too hot to handle. Not
only did mixing a little yoghurt mixed into
the curry gie me a new lease in lie, it
more importantly allowed me to eat all the
chicken pieces, a gesture that is most
appreciated by the legendary hospitable
Indians when sering ood or their
guests. My only regret was that I was
unable to completely wipe the delicious
curry o the aluminum pot ,traditionally,
Indian dishes, especially curry dishes, are
sered in aluminum pots or tbati, not
ceramic or plastic plates, to keep the ood
warm,. Speaking o yoghurt, this is not
your o-the-grocery-shel ariety,
Kashmir makes its own.
As a inal lie-saing measure, Gene got
me a cold yoghurt shake called ta..i, a
aorite, by the way, o Sharon Cuneta
and a popular drink in India. It`s sered
sweet or salty ,yes, salty,. It`s a great way
to end a meal.
Other noted personalities who requent
Kashmir are Jaime and lernando Zobel
de Ayala, who like the bvvvv., cbic/ev
tavaoori, and baigav /e ti//a ,eggplant
casserole,. Irene Marcos-Araneta and
Imee Marcos-Manotoc are regulars.
Robert Jaworksi, Lrnesto lerrera, and
Jullie \ap Daza are customers as well.
Gene says most o their clientele are
oreigners, including Americans, British,
Singaporeans, Malaysians, Japanese, and
Arabs. 1hey also cater to the Australian,
British, and Israel embassies and the
residences o the well heeled.
Most Indian nationals who lie here
usually eat at home and just bring guests
on special occasions. As or lilipinos, you
won`t ind your regular Pedro here. lor
one, the prices are quite out o reach or
the man o the street. Orders are in the
P200 aerage or appetizers and P350 or
the main course. lrom what I ate, it
would cost a regular customer P140 or
the .avo.a, P320 or the cbic/ev ti//a
va.ata, P60 or the cbaati, P60 or the
Coke, and P100 or the ta..i. 1hat`s P680
without tax and serice charge. And
second, Indian cuisine has yet to become
widely acceptable in the country. 1hat`s
ironic, since Indian ood is the third most
popular cuisine in the world.
So it comes at an opportune time or a
more aordable Indian restaurant to help
spread the word on Indian ood. New
Bombay Iood Inc. started just in 1996
as a small canteen in Buendia, with a new,
smaller branch along Dela Costa St. in
Salcedo Village.
I caught 20-year-old Manish
Khanchandani, son o the owner, who
manages the Salcedo branch. Manish is
the eer-hospitable and riendly young
man who always asks you, Did you like
it, sir` I`e eaten at New Bombay twice
or thrice beore, coincidentally during
rainy nights when traic was bad.
I irst heard o the Indian canteen in a
ood reiew rom the now-deunct
Localibe.com a couple o years ago. I
irst isited last year and was instantly
hooked.
Unlike Kashmir, which is Kashmiri
cuisine rom the north, New Bombay is
Gujarat cuisine rom the west. Gujaratis
are known or egetarian cooking, and use
a lot o lentils and rice.
But since I`m a meat loer, I always order
the mutton, chicken, or shrimp va.ata,
along with vaav, which I like better than
cbaati. Prices are more aordable at
around P120 or the main dishes at P25
or the bread. 1he serings are a bit less
but illing just as well.
\ou won`t get the Indian royalty
ambience here, but the almost bare,
canteen look neertheless adds an
authentic regular Bombay street restaurant
ambience that has its own appeal.
Manish says there`s a mix o lilipinos and
oreigners who eat at New Bombay. In my
isits, there`s always a \estern or Asian
expat around and there are more regular
oice workers eating. ligh-brow, well-
dressed executie types are not an unusual
sight either, though it seems most take out
instead o dine in.
1he aorite orders, Manish says, are the
cbic/ev va.ata, cbic/ev tavaoori, vvttov ti//a,
and egetarian dishes.
Vegetarians are aorite clients o Indian
restaurants. Indian cuisine is quite healthy.
1hink o their traditional ingredients -
cottage cheese, yoghurt, chili peppers,
ginger, garlic, egetables. So you`ll also
ind lindus, egans, and lare Krishnas
here.
Lating at Indian restaurants is a great
adenture. 1he condiments, spices,
curries, laors, and drinks play with your
tongue. 1he aroma and ragrance play
with your nose ,and can, don`t say I didn`t
warn you, stick to your shirt, but so
what,. It`s not like anything you`re used
to. I you`e grown accustomed to spicy
1hai cuisine, Indian ood should not scare
you. 1here are plenty o non-spicy dishes
to choose rom. Besides, it`s only as hot as
you want it. And i, in case you
oerestimated your capacity or spice as I
did, there`s always yoghurt to sae your
lie.
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vitaivg, 1 Pa.a, Roaa, Ma/ati, tet. vo..
11121 ava 1112, ava ^er ovba,
ooa at agittariv. tag., Deta Co.ta t.,
atceao 1ittage, Ma/ati, tet. vo.. 122 ava
111.