Tom and Sue's Incomplete Guide to Indian Food in the Lowcountry
Wed, 04/24/2024 - 10:51am
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By:
Tom Werner and Suzanne Detar
Introduction
Sue’s Take: In 2004, our family hosted a Rotary Club of Daniel Island exchange student from India. Nikita was a wonderful 16-year-old who, though quiet and reserved, blended in with my much younger and more boisterous children.
She liked to hang out with me in the kitchen when I prepared our family meals. One day, longing for the tastes of home, she handed me a packet of cumin with a hopeful look. I’m afraid my brand of fusion cooking with random Indian spices did not agree with the Detar kids’ tastebuds or my cooking repertoire.
At Nikita’s request, we took the family for dinner at Nirlep Indian Restaurant in West Ashley. She was anxious to share her native cuisine with her exchange family. Knowing it was important to her, I tried small portions, but I sensed her disappointment when her new siblings complained about the “odd” food.
While Nikita didn’t immediately turn me into a connoisseur of Indian food, many years later my food-adventurous husband Tom started taking me to the local Indian food buffets. It took several trips, but I became a convert.
I introduced Tom to Nikita when we met up with her and her husband in Portland, Oregon. Now in charge of her own kitchen, Nikita prepared a wonderful Indian curry dish that delighted our senses.
For many years, the Indian options in the area were limited to one or two restaurants. Today, there are many Indian and Indian-Pakistani restaurants in the Charleston area. While we didn’t hit them all, that just means we have more Indian outings in our future.
Tom’s Take: My first exposure to Indian culture was through Siran, a 23-year-old graduate student and teaching assistant who was also my fraternity pledge brother (it’s a long story that nearly ended with his expulsion, but that’s not important here).
With the endless shot-gunning of Milwaukee’s Best, pepperoni pizzas, and a slew of fast food, the pledging process and ensuing fraternity life were more like a one-sided corruption of a very willing innocent than a true cultural exchange.
However, one week during my junior year, Siran filled in as the fraternity house cook. He laid out meals of masala chicken, tandoori chicken, biryani chicken and, well, some other chicken concoction that ruined me for the undercooked shepherd’s pie and overcooked spaghetti that was our standard fare.
So, thank you, Siran, for introducing me to the food of your people. Why you ever risked family shunning over a Burger King Whopper when you could just whip up a chana tikka masala in your dorm room hot pot is beyond me.
Taste of India - West Ashley
Sue’s Take: We go for the lunch buffet. With adult children living across the globe and with families of their own, we are often on our own for a holiday. Rather than wallow in dishes, we seize the opportunity to hit up Taste of India’s buffet. Sometimes we couple it with a bike ride along the West Ashley Greenway. I like the variety. At Easter brunch I tried their goat curry – it did not disappoint!
Tom’s Take: Taste of India has been my go-to Indian buffet for over 20 years. During that time, I hadn’t learned the name of one offering because anything that found its way into one of their chafing dishes was sure to be north of awesome. I probably should not be as proud of this as I am, but I once downed six full plates from the buffet, topped that off with a couple of bowls of rice pudding, and half a dozen honey-soaked fried dough balls from the dessert station, somehow drove myself home, and slept for 16 hours. It was, without a doubt, the single greatest day in my life. EDIT: It was clearly and positively, the second greatest day in my life, as nothing, not even a belly full of honey-soaked dough balls, could come close to the joy of Sue’s and my wedding day (although that particular day was really, really close).
Spice Palette - Mount Pleasant
Sue’s Take: One of my favorite dishes is palak paneer. Spice Palette offers an exceptional take on the pureed spinach dish with Indian cheese, and its regular serving is supersized. The menu is extensive – I look forward to many, many visits before we have a chance to taste it all.
Tom’s Take: One does not go to Spice Palette just for dinner. There’s also the next day’s breakfast, lunch, and dinner that you will be carrying home at the end of the meal. I had the remains of my Kerala fish curry with mahi over eggs for breakfast, with basmati rice for lunch, and over a huge baked potato for dinner. With a bit of creativity, it was four meals in one, and it is also the main reason Sue is starting me back on intermittent fasting. How one quart of fish curry became an extra 10 pounds on my belly is beyond me. The math just doesn’t make sense.
Malika Canteen - Mount Pleasant
Sue’s Take: A work lunch to Malika Canteen turned into a delightful weekday surprise. Perhaps it was because we had a dessert-like appetizer of sweet chai tea and a cookie that was similar to, but better than a biscotti. The appetizer, dahi puri, was an explosion of flavors. (I felt like the woman on the top of the mountain after biting into a York Peppermint Pattie, not because it was minty, it wasn’t. It was just so good!) I look forward to taking my son and his family here, as there are plenty of options for my vegetarian daughter-in-law.
Tom’s Take: I question Sue’s York Peppermint Pattie analogy. Dahi puri is more like Freshen-up Gum, the 1970s concoction with the squirting liquid center, except dahi puri has a crispy pastry shell that is filled with chutney, yogurt, and magic instead of goo, artificial flavors, and xanthan gum. Pakistani street food is not technically Indian food, but a few servings of dahi puri snuck over the border could go a long way toward healing the religious and political differences that have separated those countries since their division in 1947.
Naan at Northwoods - North Charleston
Sue’s Take: Tom and I smartened up and took our friends Sara and Shawn to Naan so we could have more options to share. Plus, they always bring fantastic conversation to the table. Naan is a beautiful restaurant with an amazing menu. In addition to an extensive and tasty Indian menu, they also have several dishes that are Indian/Asian infused. They also offer a lunch buffet – which I can’t wait to try.
Tom’s Take: Sue is correct: The key to successfully dining with another couple is compatibility, both in terms of conversation and food. During our meal, I believe I overheard Sue and Sara discuss 18th-century economic theory and whether Adam Smith was still relevant in today’s hyper-Keynesian world of government market manipulation or some other such drivel. Shawn recounted the onerous task of replacing a blower motor resistor on his XC70 (seriously, Volvo, this should take 18 minutes and a nut driver, not 18 hours and a complete dash removal), and I shared videos of Bapkat playing Cards Against Humanity on the YouTube. At least that’s how I heard it in my mind, all this while we shared bowls of salmon tikka, spinach dal, saag curry, and a street-style hakka noodle dish from the Indian/Asian fusion menu. Stretchy pants, like the ones that can be found at Costco, are a prerequisite for these kinds of outings.
Takeaways
Sue’s Takeaway: We like to pair our food with a fun physical activity. Taste of India, bike, or walk the West Ashley Greenway. Spice Palette is a great entryway or exit stop from the beach or Pitt Street Bridge. Malika – enjoy shopping at the Towne Center or Lowe’s. Naan – try Wannamaker Park or a trip to the mall. With the growing number of Indian restaurants within driving distance, we have many tasty adventures in our future.
Tom’s Takeaway: Unless your idea of a “fun physical activity” is a 16-hour nap, you best plan on doing it before heading to any of these restaurants.