Monday, October 15, 2007

India House in Folsom

India House
2776 E Bidwell St
Folsom, CA 95630
(916) 817-4356


Vegetable Biryani

Veggie Samosa
Two crispy patties stuffed with potatoes and peas


Mango Lassi


Free Stuff!


Chicken Tikka

Boneless breast chicken marinated in herbs and spices

Masala Dosa

Crepes filled with spicy potato & onions

Indian "pickles"



We started off the evening with some veggie samosas. They are sort of like empanadas as far as the pastry is concerned and where stuffed with mainly potato, some peas and seasoned with an array of spices. I do not cook Indian food, so I could not tell you what spices were in it.

The next thing we had was the a masala dosa. As described by wikipedia,” A masala dosa is made by stuffing a dosa with a lightly cooked filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices, originating in Mysore. The King of Mysore hosted a big festival, after the festival there was a lot of food left over , he ordered his cook to think of somethig to make, so nothing is wasted. The cook came up with the brilliant idea of stuffing a plain Dosa with potatoes and spices.Hence originated the Masala Dosa.”

It was a huge (18 inches in length) crepe and had the potatoes, onions and spices. It was good, it could have been a tad bit crispier. My friend said at a place near her, they make it really crispy almost like a taco.

The drink I had was mango lassi. Lassi is a traditional North Indian beverage, originally from Punjab made by blending yogurt with water, salt, and spices until frothy. It was tangy and sweet at the same time. It was refreshing and help cut some of the heat back during the rest of the dinner.

The entrees we had were veggie biryani and chicken tikka. The biryani was good with a lot of vegetables and properly cooked rice. The chicken tikka was cooked nicely and not dried out. The orange red sauce was thick and had a ton of flavor. It matches with plain white rice vs biryani. The flavors do not try to compete so much. I wonder if they made the tikka with chiken thighs or wings? Maybe I will try that at home sometime.

The last thing that our waiter asked if we wanted to try was Indian “pickles”. Of course, I will try almost anything. It consisted of mango chutney; slices of tomato and japaleno, a lemon wedge and a curious pickled “something” I tried that something and was intrigued/shocked at the texture and flavor. I found out it was pickled lemon. As someone who eats and enjoys lots of weird food; pass on this.

Otherwise, the meal was solid with lots of good flavor and texture. I would give it 13/20 = Good. I would recommend eating here.