Because we had a Labor Day Barbecue to attend on Monday, my parents treated me to a birthday dinner Sunday night. Hey, I was born in England, so technically, it was my birthday at the exact time we celebrated… Not that I didn’t celebrate on Monday as well. Two birthdays are better than one.
Tell me if any of you have this problem: You’re such a good cook that you don’t normally like to eat out, because the entire time, you’re sitting there thinking, “I could make this better.” When I do eat out, I try to go to places that offer food I can’t easily make myself, such as Indian (like this past Sunday’s dinner) or Korean (think Hangawi in NYC) or Ethiopian, like my vegan Ethiopian post of a few years ago.
This weekend, we decided to try a new restaurant, called Clay Pit. Well it’s not really new, but it’s new to us. They have a separate section specifically for vegetarian items, so I was a happy camper. Plus, when I called ahead of time (to ensure that the vegetarian items could be made with oil, not butter), the manager told me that they can even change some of their non-vegan dishes to accommodate my needs if I so desire, such as leaving the cream out of the dahl. A lovely offer, but I didn’t even need to take advantage of it, as there were plenty of already-vegan options at my disposal. Sometimes it’s actually simpler if there aren’t; it’s easier to decide! That night, I went with Aloo Ghobi, a traditional Indian cauliflower-potato dish. However, since I’m not the biggest potato freak (I think they’re mushy and bland), I asked for mixed-veggie Aloo Ghobi instead.
Above, my no-potato Aloo Ghobi, alongside an order of roti bread. This was so good! You bet your socks I licked the dish clean (when no one was watching, of course). The whole-wheat roti bread was a perfect accompaniment for the saucy curry. Ingredients: whole wheat flour, oil, water, and salt. That’s it. Oh, it was so soft and flavorful… I must learn how to make this!
Curry close up. The veggies were cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, peas, and broccoli.
So, that huge plate of curry made me crave curry! So I made my first Indian curry dish last night! Also, having just found your blog, I added chocolate chips to my steel cut oatmeal with blueberries yesterday morning. It was like dessert for breakfast! Happy Late Birthday!
Oooh yay! Chocolate chips in oatmeal are the best, because they get all melty… so yummy!
Happy belated birthday!
This has been bothering me for a while so I thought I should share…aloo is hindi for potato and gobi is hindi for cauliflower. So when you exchanged the potatoes for other veggies you changed the dish from aloo gobi (meaning literally potatoes and cauliflower) to sabji (pronounced sub-gee). Sorry but I feel better now.
After re-reading my post I realized that I sounded like a complete jerk. Sorry. I do love Indian food and I’m glad they’ll make it without dairy so you can enjoy it, too.
No way are you a jerk! I’m a language nerd; I love learning about word meanings/origins! 🙂 🙂
FIRST OFF HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Im sorry Im late on the happy birthday, I have been away and soooooooooooooooooooooo crazy busy! I love ya girl and it looks like you had a great birthday for sure!!!!!
The pic of you and your dad is so nice! U are so beautiful Katie! Just love that pic!
love you! xoxo