Amber - Indian Deliciousness

3505 Birney Avenue, Mossic PA 18507

570.344.7100

“Birthdays was the worst days …Now we sip champagne when we thirst-ay”

As a full time student and only a part time food critic, unfortunately, I cannot drink champagne whenever I am thirst-ay.  However, birthdays are still birthdays and an appropriate break from studying and discussion of future exams should be taken when they do come around.  And we still gotta eat right???  The birthday boy requested Amber so we loaded up the cars, vowed not to discuss Asperigillus fumigatus or hypoparathyroidism and drove south.  

We got there while the sun was still high in the sky for the seniors dinner hour

They started us off with some crackers "papad" served with two types of chutney.  A green chutney "hari chutney" and a red chutney "imli chutney".  I preferred the green chutney which had a strong but not overwhelming minty flavor.  An amateur Indian food eater like myself did have to take extra precaution because the crackers are not very absorbent and the chutney is not very viscous.  The combination is dangerous and
one must either move one's hand to mouth very quickly or have pretty fine motor control and balance. 

Notice the authentic Punjabi hand

 In the company of fellow students of Pakistani, Afghani, Indian (and Harrisburghi) descent, I knew my best course of action was to just be quiet and yield to their more advanced Indian-food-ordering expertise.  This was not difficult as I will be the first to admit that of all types of cuisine my knowledge of Indian food is probably the least well developed.  We decided on a two different types of naan, tandoori mixed grill, a lamb dish, and an okra veggie dish. 

I also followed the lead and ordered a Mango lassi ($2.95).  This refreshing drink was a mixture of fresh mango and yogurt.  Interestingly, this led to a discussion that Pakistan grows the worlds best mango's (This may be slightly biased as his family grew up on a mango farm in Pakistan).  Our Afghan friend agreed and the fella from Punjabi, India was surprisingly silent on the subject.  I have had neither so the jury remains out on the debate. 

 

Drink Mango lassi when I'm thirst-ay

The food arrived and was devoured by all.  The stand out in my mind was the Bhindi Masala ($9.95).  This was the okra dish served with onions.  I don't eat okra often, but I think I should.  The onions and okra were cooked perfectly, flirting dangerously close to burnt, but still just right.  Difficult to explain.  The fish and chicken in the tandoori mixed grill ($19.95) were also very good.  Although, were we not ordering family style I would never order the mixed grill due to its lack of sauce.  The lamb karahi ($12.95) was not super exciting.  I preferred the regular garlic naan ($2.95) over the keema naan ($3.95) which was topped with some sort of meat. 

Rice, lamb karahi and bhindi masala

After the meal, we sang happy birthday and ate a traditional Indian dessert -  a Boston Creme Cake (which was graciously supplied by the birthday kid's sigO).   

Were Biggie alive today and his crew ended up in Moosic, Pennsylvania, I know that he would really enjoy some of Amber's fine Indian cuisine.  I certainly did. 

What do ya'll think???  Any tips for a good okra recipe?  Stay hungry NEPA.