Masala Kraft Cafe, Hartsdale

This Saturday we decided to check out Masala Kraft Cafe, located in the snug downtown area of Hartsdale.

To call Masala Kraft Cafe a "cafe," is sort of misleading. Those who are fond and knowledgeable of Indian food would call this a "chaat house." Chaat being the small or portable snack type things usually found in road side vendors in larger metropolitan areas in India (such as sev puri, samosa chaat, chana bhatura, dosas, etc).

To call it a "chaat house" is not a way to denigrate this fine establishment. I make the distinction to put a finer point on what type of place this is. It would be on par with a deli, sandwich shop or coffee shop, offering a limited menu of items for early to mid-day meals or snacks, rather than an establishment to go for a multi-course dinner.

Masala Kraft Cafe is very thoughtfully appointed with a modern, yet nondescript type of atmosphere. It is clean, modern, and accommodating, with some nice decorator touches, but without the typical decorations one would expect from an Indian establishment. Even the stoneware dishes the food is served upon has the personal touch, as each are emblazoned with the Masala Kraft Cafe name.

The restaurant itself is fairly small with about six tables and a long granite snack bar with high bar stools which face out onto the busy main street to accommodate a small amount of patrons at a time. The place was just about full when we arrived.

Parking is conveniently (and if you're not familiar with the downtown area, it's deceptively) around the corner in a municipal parking garage, we happily parked our car and walked in the cold for what we hoped would be a great lunch.

We placed our order and settled into some bar stools up front to "people watch" until our food arrived.

Masala Kraft Cafe has been open for roughly seven months, and business was bustling for a Saturday, especially one where the temperature outside was near freezing. I can only imagine how busy this place will be once the weather warms up. I gladly snagged one of their take out menus, and intend on enjoying their food by way of take out, rather than fight the crowds with a stomach grumbling.

Service was good. The person taking our order was helpful with suggestions, and the person delivering the food to where we sat was pleasant and unharried.

My husband ordered pao bajji which was on the specials menu (pao = bread; bajji = vegetables cooked on a grill with spices), however we had the option to have it served in a dosa (a crispy south Indian crepe made from fermented rice and white urad, a type of lentil), which came with coconut chutney and a vegetable sambar (a south Indian brothy soup/condiment thing made with thoor dal, another type of lentil, and south Indian spices and tomato). I ordered the channa bhatura, which is a type of channa masala (spicey chick peas with a tomato gravy) with a deep fried biscuit. Both of our items came to us hot, and made to order.

The bhatura was delicious and decadently crispy, almost too brittle for me to wrap around the channa to eat traditionally (barehanded), so I'd tear off some of the bhatura and spoon the channo on top, but I wouldn't even call the brittle-ness a complaint. Every last morsel was eaten gladly.

The dosa containing the "pao" bajji was delicious, and reminded me of a masala dosa. The chutney was fresh and intensely coconutty, and the sambar was traditional, authentic and tasty. Typically dosa is eaten by pinching off a fingerful and dunking in the sambar and then put a bit of the chutney on top for the "perfect bite."

Each component, the dosa and the sambar were delicious independently as well as together. I didn't let a drop of the sambar go to waste. When my husband finished his meal, I slurped the last few spoonfuls of his sambar down. Speaking as an American who is well-versed in south Indian cuisine (I even make my own sambar), I feel sambar could play the part of a (stand alone) soup quite nicely, especially given the cold snap we are having. Sadly, their menu does not appear to have sambar vada (vadas are deep fried fritters made from a batter of rice and lentils). I wonder if I asked for it, if it could be made as a special request.

We topped our lunch off with a faluda, which was served drink style in a tall glass. Faluda was a milky type sweet drink, flavored with rose water, a scoop of vanilla ice cream, some cooked vermicelli and I believe basil seeds. I believe this is something more adventurous Americans would have to acquire a taste for. I love rosewater in sweets, but the notion of the cooked vermicelli is a little odd. But all in all a deliciously unusual treat. (At my own wedding we had faluda, as it's one of our favorite items.)

Though a tidy and limited menu, they seem to offer nearly everything you could want in the "chaat" subset of Indian food. It's all vegetarian, and all made to order. There are daily specials and a wide array of beverages from which to choose. There are interesting twists on their offerings such as their Salad Dosa, Masala Taco, and Bombay Roll; as well as an assortment of traditional items such as Masala Dosa, Papadi Chaat and Dal Vada.

Portion size, quality of food and price are all exceptional.

One last modern convenience: You can place your order online.

I wonder how far they will deliver to? Hmmm?

Chutney Masala, Irvington

Just a quickie post devoted to my first visit to Chutney Masala, which is along the waterfront in Irvington.

Overall first impression: Great location. Nice building. Great environ. Close to the water, but not RIGHT on the water (as my previously blogged about Xaviar's X2O is). But close enough to get that vibe. Down by the water, warehouses are being repurposed into retail spots and restaurants. I wish I could find a condo nearby to settle into. It's an ideal location for a walker (or in my case, a walker who wishes to walk more).

Note: We had difficulty finding the restaurant. So those intending on enjoying Chutney Masala who are not familiar with Irvington should make note that when you follow Main Street down to the crossroad of Astor, make a right on Astor (this apparently is West Main Street). Go up over an overpass, and follow down. The restaurant will be on your right after about 50 yards or so.

Where we ate: Main dining room downstairs. Very clean, very nicely decorated. Plenty of visual eye candy, pictures, good color on the walls, and comfortable seating; yet nothing was over the "over-the-top-typical-Hindustani-kitsch." Sure there were old timey photos dating back nearly a hundred years, of men in turbans in front of buildings or driving sporty coupes of the day. But lacking were the over-done paintings and prints of women in saris or representations of Hindu deities or religious sagas. The place was nearly sequin and spangle-free.

Service: Attentive without being obtrusive.

Cost: Roughly $17 per person for brunch. Affordable enough to become a regular haunt.

Eaten: The buffet featured the expected butter chicken and channa masala, and a lamb curry. But what we went there for was to experience the Chettinad style fish curry. We were happy that there was a red cabbage dish on the menu, a thuial, or some-such; a simple subzhi (veggie stir fry) with toasted split channa, coconut, and cabbage being the main features. I was very happy with this and the bread. The lamb curry was pleasant.

Note: For dishes which could have been a bit more "garam" or spicy-hot (the channa masala; and especially the Chettinad style fish curry) things fell a bit flat. Rather than opting for something closer to an authentic taste, the cook dumbed down the flavor for the American palate. This is unfortunate, but did not completely mar our experience. The naans were fluffy and pleasant, and the behl puri (an Indian chaat containing chopped tomato, onion, cilantro, chile, tamarind chutney and puffed rice crisps and sev crispies, was very fresh, very authentic, and very enjoyable.

We shared dessert of gujar halwah (carrot halwa) and gulab jamum (little fried dough balls made of milk powder, served in a sweet rosewater and cardamom syrup). Both were delicious.

Result: I would like to go back and try to order off the menu next time, and be able to request the spicing to be "authentic." I look forward to my next trip there!