Southern Spice In Washington

Hillary and Chelsea Clinton, Senator Joseph Leiberman, Andrea Mitchell, the owners of the Washington Post, the CNN crew, the Today Show folks as well as other movers and shakers from Washington’s power brigade have broken bread at the two Bombay Bistros, Indique and the newest, Indique Heights, both owned by chef K. N. Vinod and his partner Surly Rahman. Walter Scheib, who was the executive chef at the White House during the Clinton years, would consult Vinod about recipes for Chelsea, who is vegetarian. Madeline Albright is a regular devotee, and when she was secretary of state, she even came and lit the ceremonial lamp to inaugurate the annual festival of south Indian food at Bombay Bistro.

Vinod, who is originally from Kerala, came to the United States in 1985 to participate in the Festival of India in Washington organized by Indian Tourism Development Corporation, for which both Vinod and Rahman worked, and the Smithsonian Museum. “We were serving about 5,000 meals a day,” recalls Vinod. “At that time it was things like biryani, tandoori chicken and the basic curries.” He later returned to the United States to work in various Indian restaurants and in 1992 he and Rahman opened Bombay Bistro.

SALMON TIKKI

Ingedrients Qty Salmon Fillet 2 lbs Shallots 5 oz Green Chilies 1 oz Cilantro 2 oz Cumin Seeds 1oz Ginger 1oz Curry Leaves (chopped) 2 0z Egg (medium) 1 no Salt 1/2 tsp

Method

(a) Mince the fillet uniformly. (b)Add chopped green chilies, ginger, cilantro, cumin seeds, salt, chopped curry leaves, and eggs. Mix well. (c) Transfer the contents to a stainless steel mixing bowl. (d)Make into small balls (approximately 2 oz) each. (e) Flatten them out into patties 2″in diameter and about 1″ in thickness. (f) Arrange on a sheet pan, cover with cellophane wrap and set aside in refrigerator. (g) When ready to put two pieces per order on to a flat top griddle plate and cook for about a minute and half on each side on medium heat till done. (h) Serve with chutney of your choice.

“We have featured a lot of regional Indian dishes,” says Vinod. “India has so much to offer and there’s much more to Indian food than your standard chicken tikka masala. When you say “South Indian food”, people usually think of just masala dosa and idli sambar, but we have featured dishes from Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. We’ve put in a lot of regional dishes on the table, such as Tamilnad fish curry, lamb Nilgri korma and shrimp varuval.

So why is the mainstream is so fond of spicy food? “I think there’s much more awareness of spices since the time I came 20 years ago,” says Vinod. “All the top chefs in the country are fascinated by Indian spices. They are introducing them into their dishes. Almost any noted chef you think of will be familiar with Indian spices. Even the customers, I find, can handle much more spicier food. The Americans are very, very adventurous and they like to try different dishes.”

Vinod and Rahman must be doing something right, because this year Indique is among the five nominees for best informal dining restaurant of the year for the prestigious Rammy Restaurant Awards, which will be announced on June 24. Asked about the name Indique and whether it implies fusion foods, Vinod says, “We thought of India and we thought of unique and we coined Indique. The food is definitely Indian.” However, their newest may set a hot trend: Indique Heights offers the atmosphere of a Spanish tapa bar, with a large selection of wines and offerings on small plates (and small prices), so that instead of ordering one entrée, guests can order several small plates to share and try different dishes. Yes, Americans have come a long way since the basic curries of the Festival of India days, and Chef Vinod is having fun introducing them to the complex flavors of Indian food.