September 4th 2008
Touch of India
Postjesweg 91 Amsterdam
Touch of India is an Indian-Nepalese restaurant that has recently opened in Amsterdam. I would highly recommend it to anyone who is looking for reasonably priced, yet very good, Indian food.
I went with colleagues, and amongst these there was an Indian guy who actually chose the restaurant. He ordered plenty of food for everyone so we could all get a taste of what he thinks were the best dishes.
The first thing that was brought to the table were baskets of crunchy Papadums with 3 sauces: minty yoghurt, tamarind, and something unidentifiable and spicy. These kept us busy until the first of what was ordered arrived.
The official starters then came and were Samosas, onion Pakoras, and spicy mini chicken wings. The Samosas were slightly on the doughy side, although the filling was as delicious as can be and tasted great with the tamarind sauce that was on the table. The Pakoras I can't say much in favour for, since the batter was so heavy (and also on the doughy side), that I couldn't make out the flavour of what was inside. The chicken wings must have been yummy because Stefan had about 5 of them.
When we finished the starters we ordered rounds of beers and I had a Chai tea with milk. I can honestly say the Chai was possibly the best I've ever had, with the perfect amount of sweet and spices. Absolutely delicious. It even had a little skin of milk on top, perfect.
A good while later (this could have been due to the fact that we were waiting on another person to join the party), the food arrived. Plates were put on the table containing lots of different things. There was a large plate with what looked like fried yellow rice with large shrimps mixed into it and was covered with spices and thinly sliced almonds. Another dish contained a very red curry sauce with chicken pieces. There was also a dish with a similar red curry and shrimps. Another curry was a very dark red verging on brown, lamb curry. As I mentioned that I don't eat meat, there was also a plate with a mix of vegetables all cooked together in the same spices along with blocks of homemade Indian Paneer cheese. There were also bowls of Daal (yellow lentils) and yoghurt raita which is excellent for putting out the flames in your mouth caused by a very spicy dish. On the side we also got a large bowl with white rice with some spices on it and freshly made Naan bread.
The faveourite has to have been the lamb curry, it got eaten so quickly that we had to order another round. I personally would vote for the vegetable mix with Paneer. The cheese was of perfect consistency and taste, and it made an excellent addition to the well cooked and spicy vegetales. The Naan bread must be spoken of also, it was fluffy and had just the right amount of garlic and oil, which wasn't much, to give it an extra special taste. I had 2 whole pieces. Yum.
When we had finished there was so much food left on the table I felt pretty guilty. We had eaten already so much though, that there was not much we could do. We all watched sadly as the waiters cleared the table. We sat around smiling and feeling full for a while. Before we knew what was happening, desert was being laid before our eyes. Small bowls of Kulfi, or Indian ice cream, were served. I was so full I thought I would never be able to even come close to eating half of the dessert. I couldn't have been more wrong. The taste was unbelievably delicious. The spices mixed with sweet and swirled into milk and cream, all frozen, was more than I could ever imagine. I ate the whole plate. And then had some of Stefan's.
I must say, the ride home on the bike was quite a feat, considering that I could barely move without feeling so full. Nevertheless, it was well worth it.
