Indian Dinner
Good Indian restaurants is something Antwerp is really missing. So when we’re in the mood, we tend to dedicate an entire Sunday preparing dinner. This time we chose to recreate the delicious dahl we had at Dishoom in London’s King’s Cross. Although rather than cooking for 24 hours, I only had the afternoon and let it simmer for 5 hours (the next day it was even more delicious!).
Main ingredient for the mango chutney
On facebook, I saw a list from Buzzfeed of 23 Classic Indian Restaurant Dishes You Can Make At Home and immediately wanted to make everything. I chose four dishes to begin with – Mango Chutney, Raita, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Naan. I have to say that normally I cheat a bit whenever I make Indian food. I buy jars of mango chutney, raita (yoghurt cucumber sauce), a basic curry paste for which ever main course I’d like, and prepackaged naan (Indian yoghurt based bread). When I browsed the recipes they each seemed easy, but when it came time to make everything in one day I instantly regretted it. Unless you want to spend your entire afternoon cooking, you should definitely make the mango chutney 2 days before and the raita 1 day before. It will taste better anyway because the flavors can settle. If you prepare these two sides ahead of time, then you have time to focus on your main course and making the naan. All four dishes were fantastic! At least all the time and effort I put in was worth it 🙂
The Famous Katz’s Delicatessen
By our 10th day in NYC, we had already seen quite a bit – so we slept in before enjoying lunch at the famous Katz’s Delicatessen, founded in 1888! Everyone knows the famous scene in Katz’s Deli from the movie When Harry Met Sally. There’s sign hanging in the restaurant if you’re interested in sitting in the same booth! After our HUGE lunch, we headed to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The collection at the Met is overwhelming. In general, it’s so amazing how much art is at your fingertips while you are in New York City. Koen and I will be back in NYC September 2014, and we’ll definitely head back to the Met! If you’re on a budget, admission for the museum is based on donations. So if $25 is too much, you can give what you can any day of the week. After our trip to the Met we met Christina when she got off from work for Mexican food.
An American in Antwerp 