Dinner at Kashmir

There are several Indian restaurants in Manila and Kashmir is the oldest one. It’s been around since 1976 and that can be considered a miracle in Manila’s fickle restaurant scene. It’s also unbelievable that it’s the first time for many of us to eat there that night. Good thing Deb had been going to Kashmir since the late 80s and she ordered the food for us. She did an excellent job if I may say so.

Instead of plain peanuts they served an Indian spiced “trail mix” made of peanuts, potato chips, fried noodle bits and raisins. It was salty, spicy, crunchy and totally addicting.  We kept asking for refills and only stopped munching when the food came out.

In India bread like naan are eaten with curries and other main courses. In Manila we eat it as appetizers. By the time the meat was served the naan and roti chanai were all gone.

roti chanai P90

curry sauce

garlic naan P90

I ordered lassi to calm my tongue and throat from the spicy food. It was so delicious that I was half way through it before I even took a bite of the spicy lamb.

lassi

The lamb or mutton stew was my favorite dish of the night. It was fork tender and mildly spiced. A piece of lamb and the sauce was enough for at least half a cup of biryani rice.

rogan josh kashmiri P450

This was the Indian equivalent of the Greek moussaka or the Italian eggplant parmigiana. Considering I don’t like eggplant this was very, very good. It must be all that gooey cheese on top and the assertive spices used on the eggplant that made this a big hit with all of us.

baingan ke tikka P300

Deb had to pre-order the roast leg of lamb a day before. It was good but way too spicy for me so I just stuck to eating the lamb stew.

raan-e-taj P550-1,050

Deb made sure we had as much veggie dishes as meat dishes. She ordered this flavorful vegetable dish cooked in tomato and cream sauce. Yes it was spicy too.

kashmiri subzi P260

The chicken was well marinated but a bit dry for my taste.

chicken tikka masala P450

Everyone raved about the okra except for two non-okra eaters, Cherry and me. We did try it and simultaneously declared, “yuck! it’s slimy.” So it was a pass for us.

bhindi masala P260

Eating at Kashmir was an exciting adventure for our palates. The food ranged from mildly spiced to extra hot. And that meant rice, rice and more rice. But who’s complaining, right? As long as we’re happy and you can see we truly were.

Kashmir menu
appetizer/soup, salad/yoghurt/lentils, bread/vegetarian specialties,
seafood/mutton/chicken, grilled/international, rice/dessert, Malaysian