A few weeks ago, my friend told me about an Indian food restaurant in Fishkill called Tanjore. I wasn’t really thrilled to try it. I must admit, I was a bit narrow-minded because I assumed that all Indian food was made with lots of curry. I once had a bad experience. But when she described some of the dishes and I looked at the menu on their website… I decided to be open-minded and give it a try.
On the spur of the moment, I asked her family if they wanted to join us. I think I felt that for my first time, I would be better off if I had a tour guide, you know, someone to “guide’ me thru the intimidating menu. And on the flip side, if I did not like it, she would be right there to take the brunt of my unhappiness. So she agreed!
On entering, the decor is cute. Nothing over the top, but nice. There are some funky light fixtures and rich colored swag draperies with gold trim. The menu is extensive. I mean pages and pages. We all had a hard time deciding. We all agreed to order some different things, so that can all try each others dishes. First, we started with the crispy rice bread on the tables. Sort of like India’s version of potato or tortilla chips. Very unique flavor.
We shared Vegetable Samosas
Ragada
and Nan bread, which is ‘thrown’ against the side of the tandoor. There are several different kinds, including cheese, raisin and nut or onion and green pepper. For main dishes we all shared Malai Kofta, which is a vegetable and cheese dumpling served in a mild cashew and almond sauce; Chicken Tikka Masala, boneless chicken breast grilled in the tandoor and slow cooked in a creamy tomato sauce; Mogilai Murgh Korma which is boneless chicken breast cooked in creamy cashew and almond sauce and finally the Tandoori Chicken, which is chicken on the bone marinated with Indian spices, yogurt, ginger, garlic and grilled in the tandoori. It comes out steaming hot!
chicken korma, jasmine rice tandoori chicken
chicken tikka masala
All the dishes were wonderful. They are served alongside a huge bowl of long grained basmati rice. Both the Kofta and the Korma has a deliciously thick and creamy cashew sauce, with large bits of nuts mixed in, and just enough spice. Not to hot, not overwhelming at all. The Tikka Masala was earthy and warm with a bit more spice and heat. To go with my meal, I ordered a Mango Lassi, which was like afresh mango yogurt smoothie. It was absolutely delicious and fresh, and was quickly devoured!
For dessert, we enjoyed Khelfi, which is an Indian Ice cream, in flavors of mango and pistachio, topped with pistachio nuts. Our friends enjoyed a cardamom rice pudding dish, called Kheer. It was smooth and creamy, with a spicy, sweet taste with a hint of lemon.
khelfikheer
We had the greatest time at this place. Everyone was so friendly, the prices were more than reasonable. Nothing on the menu was more than $18.95. The menu has so many choices, there is something for everyone. They even gave you a few fennel seeds (in place of mints) on the way out. I left knowing that I would soon be coming back. I need to find a way to eat my way through the whole menu! Who would have thought that I would love Indian Food. It just goes to show you what can happen when you are open-minded….