Paneer Tikka and Chicken Biryani at Y Not Indian

Paneer tikka and saffron rice. #yegfood #yegeats #foodporn #yeg

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Apr 5, 2018 at 12:35pm PDT

Y Not Indian is the restaurant that has replaced my dearly departed Naanolicious. The restaurant interior looks very much the same, and the menu has a few familiar items like stuffed naan break and wraps. Staff and service are very friendly, and prices are reasonable. I tried the paneer tikka the first time, and found the cheese moist and full of flavour - paneer can often be dense and dry, but that was not the case here. Paired with saffron rice, it was a very satisfying dish.

Chicken biryani #yeg #yegfood #foodporn #yegeats #biryani #whyteave

A post shared by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Apr 21, 2018 at 6:16pm PDT

I had the bone-in chicken biryani the next time. The chicken was tender and delicious and the rice which enveloped it had a symphony of flavours. It was a bit spicy for my taste and the chicken was completely buried within the rice making it a little difficult to eat in terms of avoiding bones. I would probably go for the chicken tikka or tandoori chicken instead.

Butter Paneer Poutine at Naanolicious

Butter paneer poutine #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Apr 5, 2016 at 12:01pm PDT

One of the favourite menu items at Naanolicious is the selection of poutines. You can get fries with butter or curry sauce, or you can add meat or paneer. I added paneer to my butter sauce, and the result was a rich, decadent treat. The fries carried the sauce quite well, and were literally soaked in buttery goodness. I could only finish about half because it was so rich. Fortunately, Naanolicious has take-out containers!

Paneer with Lababdar Sauce at Naanolicious

Paneer with lababdar sauce @naanolicious #yegfood

A photo posted by Paula E. Kirman (@livingsanctuary) on Feb 13, 2016 at 5:13pm PST

One of the things I really love about the new menu at Naanolicious is a section where you can pick your protein and your sauce and create your own curry. I absolutely love how the paneer is done - often perfectly grilled on the outside and soft on the inside - so I had that with the lababdar sauce. This was a creamy, tomato-based sauce with onions, not as rich as a butter sauce with slightly more kick. The delicate flavour of the paneer worked well with the spice of the sauce, much of which was mixed with the side of saffron rice.

Just Desserts: Gulab Jamun at Naanolicious

I have pretty much worked my way through the entire menu at Naanolicious - at least, until the new menu comes into effect - but have had few of the desserts that go so well with their new chai bar. The gulab jamun was a small portion of intense sweetness: small, round cake bites in a warm syrup. A perfect way to end a spicy meal.

Festival Food: Fringe 2015

I was once again a volunteer on the Multimedia Team for the 2015 Fringe Theatre Festival so again I hit up some of the food on site. While there was actually quite an impressive selection of food this year, much better than in the previous couple of years, I stuck with the tried and true - I think I was more focused on taking pictures than eating.

I got started with the Chicken Tikka from Zaika. The dish is very flavourful and making it a combo with the samosa really made for a hearty meal.

It would not be a true Fringe experience without eating something greasy, so I went for the spiral potato from Punky Potato. The deep fried, thin slices of potato had a great texture in addition to flavour. Plus, Fringe volunteers got a 50% discount. Can't beat that.

I tried Quick Meals, which offers Mediterranean and Western fare, because they too were offering a 50% discount. My greatly reduced falafel was fresh and crispy, with refreshing tzatziki sauce that did not overpower the wrap.

Mini-doughnuts are also a staple of the Fringe, and again, the 50% discount for volunteers was more than an incentive. The portion was so huge, I had to share it! And thank you to all of the food vendors who supported the volunteers this year - much appreciated!

Bhel Puri at Naanolicious

Sometimes when I go to Naanolicious with another person, we order an assortment of finger foods and share. In addition to the delicious (and gluten free) vegetable pakoras and fish bites, we tried the bhel puri for the first time. It reminded me of a bagged mix my dad used to sometimes bring in from the grocery story, with rice-based crunchy noodles, puffed rice, and peanuts on top of coriander and tamarind sauce. It was crunchy and fun and I could see it going very well with beer. I would have liked it a little wetter - the tamarind sauce was very sparse at the very bottom, and a little more cilantro would have made the drier top part be a little less one note.

Just Desserts: Indian Sweets at Naanolicious

Naanolicious has a new chai bar with dozens of kinds of flavoured chai. I had a chocolate chai recently, and it tasted like hot chocolate with a spicy tea twist. A new addition at the chai bar is a showcase of delicious Indian sweets. The milky, dense, sometimes chalky sweets are very hard to find in the city other than in the extreme southern neighbourhoods, so I am very excited that I will be able to enjoy them more often. And if Indian sweets are not your thing, there is also in-house made chocolate mousse. I like that too.

Sizzling Paneer Wraps at Naanolicious

These sizzling paneer wraps at Naanolicious were listed under the Lighter Fare section of the menu, but it was a hearty serving of paneer which sizzled, as promised. It was amongst some cabbage and other veggies like a paneer stir fry, topped with some crunchy noodles. I ordered some naan bread and declined the lettuce wrappers. If you like paneer, this is enough to satisfy and also enough to share.

Fish and Chips - Indian Style

I have to start this off by admitting that this dish was my idea. I suggested to the owner of Naanolicious that she offer a fish and chips made up of her delicious, crispy white fish pakoras, Bombay roasted potatoes, and cauliflower salad. All things already on the menu in different places, but brought together for a perfect fusion of a dish that everyone is familiar with, especially the bar patrons next door. The portion was huge and it was fish and chips like I have never tasted anywhere else. However, it is not on the main menu - yet. Ask for it.

Dinner at Guru

I had lunch at Guru recently, but have never had supper there until this week with my father who loves Indian food, but doesn't get the opportunity to have it often. He ordered the Guru Daal, which was a colourful and flavourful combination of lentils. I had the Palak Paneer, which had smoky undertones and was made with pine nuts. It was the most uniquely flavourful Palak Paneer I have ever had. We shared a saffron rice, and he had an order of roti and naan for me. An order of naan is actually two pieces - we could have shared that too. As it was we had plenty to take home to enjoy later. Plus, our server was very personable. The prices are high end but the portions are large an the quality incredible.

Kadhai Paneer at Guru

I visited Guru for the first time in ages, to join a friend for lunch. The lunch menu has a number of pre-plated vegetarian and non-vegetarian options that are served with rice, fruit salad, and naan. I opted for the Kadhai Paneer, which is fresh cubes of cheese in a tomato-based sauce. The paneer was firm and absorbed the flavour of the sauce nicely, which was spicy without being overly hot. The finely diced melons mixed well with the rice and the sauce, adding an element of sweet coolness. And the naan was perfect: hot, buttered, and full of bubbles. At $17 this was not an inexpensive lunch, but it was not overpriced either. To drink we had the masala chai ($5), made to order and very aromatic.

Mango Butter Chicken at Naanolicious

It's Saturday evening. You guessed it - I went to Naanolicious for supper. Believe it or not, there are still a few menu items I have not yet tried. The mango butter chicken dinner is one of them. A generous portion of creamy, delicious butter chicken is served with basmati rice, a wedge of mango, and a shot glass with mango puree, to sweeten things up to taste. If you like butter chicken, you can't go wrong with this.

Chai, Samosa, Dahl Combo at Remedy

I stopped in to the Jasper Avenue location of Remedy on Friday to grab a chai and some samosas before heading to film a rally. I decided to get the combo of one large chai, a dhal soup, and two samosas. I have never had the dhal soup before. It has a yellow lentil base, is very spicy, and if it was colder outside, would certainly have defrosted me. Many of the luscious lentils settled at the bottom of the bowl, which made the soup get thicker the further down I got. My samosas were packed with potatoes and spices, but were almost cold by the time my plate got to me. I have a feeling they were sitting while the soup was being prepared. I forgot that the chai would be waiting on the counter, but it was still warm when I finally got up to get it. I was also full for the rest of the day. At $12, this is a combo with value and flavour.

Fish Bites at Naanolicious

I missed a couple of Saturdays on Whyte due to work/community obligations, but managed to drop by Blues On Whyte for a shirt time this past Saturday. In doing so, I had supper at Naanolicious, my go-to Saturday night place. I tried the fish bites for the first time. Delicate pieces of seasoned white fish were fried in a lentil batter. This was a portion made for sharing, and went well with the accompanied dipping sauce. It was sort of like fusion fish and chips, without the chips. I can see the restaurant preparing a smaller amount of fish, with some curry fries on the side, for a really delicious experience.

Hakka Noodle at Naanolicious

Naanolicious is well known as my go-to place for post-libation nourishment on Saturday evenings. I had the opportunity to try a few bites of the Hakka Noodles, an Indo-Chinese fusion vegetarian dish that is essentially a vegetable stir fry in a spicy, savoury sauce with elements of teriyaki and ginger. A very bold flavour, if I ordered this for myself I would add chicken and ask that the heat be turned down just a touch.

Paneer Naan-Wrapture at Naanolicious

Last Saturday, I had lunch at Naanolicious. I ordered a paneer naan-wrapture. Naan-wraptures are Naanolicious' take on donairs: different kinds of meat or vegetarian fillings in a curry, wrapped in a naan with some vegetables. My paneer was in a butter sauce, and it was loaded with pressed cheese. Naan bread can break easily at the crunchy parts, so it was a little messy to eat, but for $8 it is one of the cheapest and most filling items on the menu.

Breakfast for Lunch: Masala Morning at Artisan Cafe

Saturday morning say another visit for brunch at Artisan Rest-Cafe I tried the Masala Morning, of which I was curious for quite some time. It was basically a scoop of chicken curry, with a spicy sauce, potatoes, and slices of chicken breast. Two eggs (any style) and toast were served on the side. The eggs actually seemed a bit disjointed from the rest of the meal, and I found peanut butter went really well on the toast. I think the concept of an East Indian brunch dish was creative, but did not really say "brunch" to me. No eggs and a little more of the curry would have made a great lunch, though.

Tandoori Salmon at Naanolicious

I have been to Naanolicious so many times that I have pretty much settled into a routine of ordering my favourite dishes in rotation. Tonight, I decided to try something new. I love tandoori chicken, so was curious as to how the tandoori salmon would measure up. The results were impressive. The salmon was moist, tender, and full of flavour without diminishing the natural taste of the fish. Served with saffron rice, a few roasted potatoes, and a salad, the plate was as attractive to look at as to eat. One of the most incredible salmon dinners I have had in a long time. It's also one of the pricer items on the menu at $22, but worth treating yourself to.

Paneer Kebabs

Another Saturday at Blues On Whyte can mean another supper next door at Naanolicious. I went for the paneer version of their signature sizzling kebabs. My plate was filled with large cunks of the pressed cheese, cooked perfectly to my taste (I like it mild). The paneer is not as absorbent of the flavours as its meat equivalents, but it was still an excellent alternative when desiring a lighter meal. The accompanying saffron rice was perfect.

Palak Paneer at Naanolicious

I had lunch at Naanolicious with a co-worker last week, and was thrilled to discover Palak Paneer on the menu of specials. The spinach curry with pressed cheese is one of my favourite East Indian dishes, and I had yet to find it on their menu. The curry was creamy, smooth, and not overpowering, while the cheese was delicate in flavour and had a good, firm texture. One of the best I have had in a long time.