India Oven

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India is on my bucket list of places to visit. Until I’m able to travel there in person, I pretend travel through its food.

My book club met at India Oven for dinner. The restaurant, located at 1031 Patricia Drive near Churchill High School, serves the cuisine of North India seven days a week. We ordered a variety of items so that everyone could have a taste.

Our feast included Channa Masala, spicy garbanzo beans; Bhini Masala, spiced okra cooked with onions; Sag Paneer, spinach with homemade farmer’s cheese; Chicken Korma, chicken in a mild cream sauce with cashews, almonds and raisins; Karahi Lamb, lamb stir fried with bell pepper, onion, tomato and spices; Tandoori Roti, wheat bread; and Vegetable Samosas, pastries stuffed with spiced potatoes and green peas. Everything tasted heavenly, but I loved, loved, loved the Sag Paneer and the Chicken Korma. My tastebuds hadn’t been so happy in quite some time. Evidently, India Oven’s food keeps plenty of other patrons traveling back for more.

You could also try a Dinner Special for two that includes Vegetable Pakoras, fresh vegetable slices dipped in garbanzo bean batter and deep fried; Tandoori (grilled) Chicken, Tandoori Shrimp, Seekh Kabab, slice minced lamb broiled on skewers; Chicken Makhami, grilled chicken simmered in a tomato sauce and fresh herbs; Sag Paneer; Rice Pilav, saffron-flavored rice; Garlic Nan, leavened bread baked with garlic; and Khir, saffron-flavored rice pudding. The price is $31.99 or $15.99 per person.

A vegetarian dinner special is also an option: Vegetable Samosa; Sag Paneer; Dal, lentils; Navratan Korma, mixed vegetables with homemade cheese in a mild cream sauce with cashews, almonds and raisins; Pratha, buttered and layered whole wheat bread; Rice Pilav; Raita, yogurt with cucumber, tomatoes and potatoes; and Khir, all for $13.99 per person.

India Oven also has a lunch buffet for $8.95 on Mondays through Fridays and $9.95 on Saturdays and Sundays. Their lunch hours are Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. On Sundays, lunch is from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Dinner is from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays and 5 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

So until I’m able to see the Taj Mahal with my own eyes, I’ll head back to India Oven to tide me over…with a side of Bollywood!

Pasha Mediterranean Grill and Ali Baba International Market

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One of the things I like most about doing this blog is that it gives me an excuse to be a tourist in my own town. It’s a bonus when I “travel” to someplace exotic that didn’t require purchasing a plane ticket. (Check out my earlier posts on India Oven, Demo’s, and España Bar de Tapas for inspiration.)

Pasha Mediterranean Grill at 9339 Wurzbach Road and Ali Baba International Market at 9307 Wurzbach Road (right behind Pasha) are two more San Antonio exotics that deserve to be placed on your Alamo City itinerary.

I went to Pasha with my daughter, a friend and her daughter. After we ordered and sat down, a server brought us a giant Naan (flat bread) to dip in spiced olive oil. It didn’t last long. Each of us ordered a different wrap, a Saj pita filled with the following deliciousness: 1) Falafel Wrap, deep-fried vegetable patties with tomato, hummus, parsley, lettuce, pickled cucumbers, turnips and Tahini sauce; 2) Shawarma Wrap, thinly sliced, vertical pit-roasted chicken with tomato and picked cucumbers; 3) Sheesh Tawook Wrap, chicken breast cooked over an open flame with cabbage, mayonnaise, tomatoes, pickled cucumbers and garlic sauce; and 4) Koobideh Wrap, a skewer of chicken Koobideh seasoned with soujouk sauce, cayenne pepper, hummus, garlic sauce, tomato and pickled cucumbers.

The wraps, priced at $7.99 each, all came with a just-right Greek salad. A table neighbor’s Shawarma beef plate, served with hummus and a salad, also looked quite wonderful. Pasha’s entree menu is quite extensive. It’s going to take multiple visits before I eat my way across the Mediterranean, but I’m up for the task.

After lunch, we strolled over to Ali Baba International Food Market to check out its shelves. Spotting mango juice imported from the United Arab Emirates was the first clue we weren’t in H-E-B. A green fruit/vegetable I’ve never seen before was the second. I picked up a jar of pickled turnips to bring home because I just couldn’t resist their DayGlo pinkness. My husband has since dropped by Ali Baba to check the store out for himself, and he came home with a giant container of Aleppo pepper that he sprinkles on just about everything. And for those of you with a sweet tooth, you’ll be in heaven at Ali Baba. An entire aisle is calling your name. Check out their honey nuts and the rose-flavored Turkish Delight.

Pasha and Ali Baba are both open seven days a week. Visit their websites for their hours of operation.

Fun things to do and see in San Antonio!

Please use this alpha-ordered list of my San Antonio Tourist blog posts (June 2010 through December 2012) to plot your next adventure in the Alamo City! For a visual index, go to my ¡Viva San Antonio! board on Pinterest.

Also, if you’re not a subscriber, please take a minute to type your e-mail address into the box on the right-hand side of the page so that you’ll never miss a post. And why not share a little Facebook love while you’re at it? Gracias. ¡Viva San Antonio!

artpace

Bambino’s

Barbecue (B-B-Q) Station

Big Lou’s Pizza

Bistro Bakery Café

Blue Star Arts Complex

Boysville Thrift Store

Brackenridge Park

Broadway

Buffalo Exchange

Carver Community Cultural Center

Central Market