Masala Fusion Cuisine of India Restaurant Review

When I was in Uganda, I did a few restaurant reviews because I often looked for reviews when we were going to be out for the day. My blog got lots of hits so obviously restaurant reviews are popular! I decided to add a few to this blog as well.

I doubt this restaurant is vegan as Indian food uses ghee, clarified butter, but as a vegetarian option, it was amazing. Lots of choices for veggie and carni lovers.





We had one order of veggie samosas. There were two samosas and a dish of tamarind chutney. The pastry was flaky and the filling was mostly potato with peas and onions. Served piping hot.





We then chowed down on kadai paneer, chana masala. We ordered one dish medium and one dish hot and the chana masala (chickpea curry) was HOT! Not so unbelievable that we couldn't eat it but certainly hot enough to make us both sniffle and appreciate the yoghurt cucumber that I had ordered.





We also had one order of basmati rice and one plain naan. Both of those were plenty for the two of us.





We were stuffed and took leftovers home for lunch. We added two more orders of naan to bulk it up a bit but there was plenty of food for us both for both meals.

Total, including tip: $40. No drinks, just water.

We will certainly go again.

Address: 103 - 2106 Harvey Avenue, Kelowna, across from the mall, next to A&W.

They are closed on Mondays.

11.95$ Buffet lunch from 11:30-2:00 the rest of the week.

Website: masalafusionkelowna.com


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Drunken Beans

I like my slow cooker. I like finding recipes that are vegan for my slow cooker. No matter how lousy I feel, it takes little effort to throw things into the pot and turn it on for a cooked meal later in the day. That way if I feel better then the food is cooked and if I still feel lousy the food is cooked. Win-win situation.

This makes a small portion so next time I would double the recipe. That would require a lot of rum but never mind! We ate this on noodles but you could serve it on any starch or even have it on a salad to make like a taco salad or in lettuce wraps or in tacos. It's not very soupy so it won't drip everywhere if you do eat it with your hands.

Drunken Beans (adapted from The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester)

1 small onion, chopped
3 cups cooked beans pinto-black-garbanzo etc (or 2 cans of  beans if you don't have your own in the freezer)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup rum
1/2 tsp cumin
1 cube "chicken" stock
1 tbsp tomato paste
juice of 1 lime
salt and pepper to taste

Throw it all in the crockpot! Mix, cook on low 6-8 hours and enjoy.

Chickpea Barley Soup

At 6 degrees above zero, it's almost getting too warm for soup but our winter has been so mild so far that I feel like I've missed my soup making time this year. I love making soup! Here is a favourite that uses pot barley for added fibre. You can use pearl barley which cooks faster but then you don't get the husk. I like the crunchier texture of pot barley. And a note about miso - it does not like to be boiled. When you add it, bring the soup to a simmer but don't bring it up to a rolling boil. Why? No idea but every time I read about miso, the experts say that it is important not to boil it. Just passing the info on.

Chickpea Barley Soup

2 tsbp olive oil
1 large onion, sliced thin
1 large carrot, peeled and sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 pinch dried rosemary crushed in your fingers
1/2 tsp celery salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp mirin or water
2 cups cooked chickpeas or one large can drained and rinsed
1/3 cup dried pot barley
7 cups water (or veggie stock if not using miso - see note below)
1/3 cup miso dissolved in 1 cup hot water
1 bunch kale or chard, chopped thin (optional but why not add the vitamins and minerals?)

Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Turn the heat down to medium and toss in onions and carrot. Fry about 10 minutes until they start to soften. Add the garlic and herbs/spices. Fry for another 5 minutes, stirring so that the veggies don't burn. Add the 2tbsp mirin or water to deglaze the soup pot (you want to try to dissolve all the yummy brown coating on the bottom of the pan which holds a lot of flavour.) Add the chickpeas, barley and 7 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and let simmer about 30 minutes. Once the barley is cooked, stir in the dissolved miso and the greens. Cover again and let simmer 15 minutes until the greens are soft. Taste and adjust the seasonings.

Note: Depending on the type of miso you use (white rice, brown rice, barley, etc.) you will get a more or less intense flavour. You can also replace the miso by using vegetable stock instead of  plain water. It will change the flavour and you'll need to adjust the seasoning but I have done it and it is yummy as well. Enjoy!

You can freeze this soup.