The counterman was Pakistani, the server, Bangladeshi, the salad, a curiosity.
Even in the realm of catch-all South Asian eateries — this one embraces Indian cooking, too — I'd never seen the trio of apples, bananas, and grapes ($3). A little online sleuthing suggests that, at least in Pakistan, seemingly Western-leaning fruit salads aren't unusual. Some recipes suggest (but don't insist on) more-exotic fruits or a masala of spices, either of which would have brushed aside my school cafeteria flashback.
From the same coincidentally narrow spectrum of color: a chicken chapli kebab ($2), creamy daal ($4), an aloo paratha, in tearaway view ($2), lamb and eggplant curry ($5).
Janaan Tikka House
964 Coney Island Ave. (Newkirk-Webster Aves.), Kensington, Brooklyn
718-552-2633
www.JanaanTikkaHouse.com
This is fruit chaat! My Punjabi mom-in-law makes this all the time as a snack at home. The sweetness of the fruit is offset by tangy lime juice and "chaat masala," a spice mix that is slightly hot but mostly salty and mildly cumin-y. It's best freshly made -- the version they're serving looks a little worse for the wear. Was it tasty?
Posted by: City Spoonful | September 08, 2011 at 04:06 PM
This fruit chaat (thanks for the ID!) was not as tasty, I don't imagine, as your mom-in-law's. I'm sure she'd never let hers sit as long as this one might have.
Posted by: Dave Cook | September 09, 2011 at 12:05 AM