Pictures from Flavors Of India!!

Mango Lassi
Papadum
Chicken Pakora
Our Waiter
Outside of Restaurant

What we'll be doing!

Our schedule for what will be appearing on the blog!
Pictures of food from Flavors of India
Pictures from Lunch
Video from shopping on University Ave.
Videos and Drinks from Cooking On May 21
Review of Indian Market

Please keep checking our blog!

All about the Naan!

The naan is a very popular flat bread typically found in South Asian cuisine. The first recorded history of the naan, is found in a Indo-Persian authors poem in 1300 AD. Naan was originally baked in Delhi as a "light bread" cooked in a tandoor oven. During the time period of the Mughals, naan accompanied kebabs and was a popular breakfast for the royal family. The word Naan comes from the Persian word Non which refers to bread. Naans are still cooked in tandoor ovens. They are generally made with dry yeast, flour, yogurt, salt and sugar.

Food History

The earliest Indians, or the Harappans, mostly ate wheat and rice. Some of the wheat and rice was made into flat breads or soups. But around 300B.C. under the Mauryans, a lot of Hindus felt that animal sacrifices added to your karma and kept you from getting free of the wheel of reincarnation. Animal sacrifices became less popular, a lot of people became vegetarians. During the Gupta period, around 650 AD, Hindus began to worship a Mother Goddess. Cows were sacred to her. This explains why now cows walk on the streets, and no one eats cow. Since the Mother Goddess loves cows, they became sacred to Hindus. The vegetarians mainly at wheat flatbreads, or a kind of flatbread made out of chickpeas, with spicy vegetarian sauce, and yogurt. A lot of spicy peppers grew in India. This is why Indian food is spicy.

Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken or Murgh Makhani is an Indian dish, popular all around the world. The origins of Butter Chicken can be traced back to Delhi, during the period of the Mughal Empire. According to a documentary by the Discovery Channel, butter chicken was invented by a person working in a famous restaurat called Moti Mahal. Famed for its Tandori Chicken, the chefs used to recylcle their leftover chicken juices in the marinade trays by adding butter and tomato. This sauce was then mixed with tandoor-cooked chicken pieces and it was finally ready! Indians first prime minister, Jawahlal Nehru, when asked about his favorite things about India, he replied "The Taj Mahal and Moti Mahal"

Food Review

Here is a review of the food we ate at Flavors of India.

Mango Shake: It was fresh mango, and you could actually taste the fruit! It was creamy, silky, and sweet. The colour was a vibrant orange and the shake was delicious! We decided not to have the Mango Lassi ( the more traditional drink, because this way we could compare the shake and lassi later- we're making the mango lassi.) Sarah and I shared the shake and both thought it was delicious!

Chicken Pakora: The chicken Pakora is boneless chicken dipped in a mildly spiced batter and quick fried. The chicken is wrapped in Saffron, and then fried. It came with an amazing cilantro sauce, and it is not spicy. It's a great family entree, but it might not be too traditional. The chicken was absolutely great!

Tandori Chicken: The chicken legs marinated in Indian spice marinade tasted amazing! It was crusted with spices, and it wasn't too spicy. It had a red crust, and was tender. It was Sarah's favorite dish there.

Chicken Curry: Boneless pieces of chicken cooked in a zesty gravy with ginger, garlic and fresh tomatoes tasted great! It was creamy, subtle, tender, and not spicy, but very traditional.

Naan: The Naan was incredible, buttery, oily, puffy, and it is very traditional. It had olive oil, something that is not always necessary for naan, but definatly made it yummy!

Garlic Naan: It is sprinkled with parsley, garlic, and it's buttery. I personally thought that the regular naan was better, but both were really good!

The food was all very amazing, and I defiantly recommend for anyone to go there, for an amazing dinner. Sarah and I really enjoyed a great dinner there.

Flavors of India Review

• Parking Rating: Parking wasn't very good, because it's located on College Ave, Berkeley, a very crowed street. But we did get lucky and found a parking spot by the Safeway, close to the restaurant. I would give the parking one and a half stars out of five.
• Noise Rating: It was a very confined space, so the noise level was loud, but ok. It was fine, it was just hard to understand some people sometimes. I would give the noise level two stars out of five.
• Food Rating: The food was amazing! It was mostly all traditional and it was served warm and it tasted really good! It was brought on traditional dishes, and the food itself was also visually incredible. I would definitely give the food five out of five stars.
• Service: The service was great. Everyone was Indian or Nepalese and knew what dishes were the most traditional and where they came from. They could all speak Hindu, and were very friendly. I would give the service five out of five stars.
• Atmosphere: The traditional Indian stoves along the brick wall, the dishes, the traditional Indian food, made a great impression. I felt like I could have been in India. I would give the atmosphere four and half out of five stars.
• Prices: The prices were fine. The naan was a little expensive, but everything else was fine. Especially with the quality of the food, I would give the prices four and a half stars.
• Overall: The food was amazing, and I think there is something for everyone. I would definitely give the restaurant five out of five stars!

Additional Information

Who went: Sarah, Mrs. Engs, Mrs. Maag, and I

What: Dinner at Flavors of India

When Sarah and I went: 5/14/11 (for dinner)

Where: 3211 College Ave, Berkeley, CA 94705, (510) 658-3461

Open Hours: Monday-Thursday, Sunday: 11:30- 3 p.m., 4:30-10 p.m

Friday-Saturday: 11:30- 3 p.m.- 4:30- 10:30 p.m.