By Courtney Buell
Photography by Cody Buell

My first experience with Indian food a few years back was slightly intimidating. Something about picking from 18 kinds of curry and words with double vowels (naan, saag, etc.) was a bit overwhelming—even for a daring diner. Luckily, I was in the company of friends who had vast Indian cuisine experience and they guided me into the wonderful world of chicken tikka masala and coconut kurma. Soon, Chinese and Thai food were demoted by this new favorite good; the hierarchy was forever altered and to me, Indian food became king.

Here in Utah, we’re blessed to have several great options for Indian cuisine but among the best in this royal loop is Himilayan Kitchen in Salt Lake City. Gear up for a great meal and start out with vegetable samosas. We risked burning our mouths tearing through these bad boys, consisting of curried potatoes and peas wrapped in pastry dough and deep-fried til crispy, accompanied by mint and tamarind chutney. Another great option is the Himalayan vegetable platter which includes samosas as well as vegetable pokara and onion bhaji—kind of like Indian tempura veggies and onion rings, and totally delicious.

I can’t seem to leave an Indian joint without sampling their chicken tikka masala recipe (a great option for novices, and too tasty not to be frequently revisited). The chicken was skewer-roasted before being dropped into a spicy and creamy tomato sauce that’s best soaked up with rice and naan. But we had to try something from the Himalayan menu—this is Himalayan Kitchen, after all. Our server recommended the Himalayan momos: chicken dumplings with onion, ginger and cilantro mixed in, and curry sauce for drizzling. Even if we had to consider hiking Everest to sample these again, we’d seriously consider it.

For dessert, try the mango pudding. It’s sweet and creamy, topped with unexpected but welcome cashews and raisins. Delicious and and authentic. Just like everything else on the menu.

{The Himalayan Experience}

Himalayan Kitchen
73 E. 400 South, Salt Lake City
(801) 328-2077
www.himalayankitchen.com

This entry was posted on Monday, February 16th, 2009 at 8:30 am and is filed under Eat Your Heart Out. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.