Salt 'n Pepper

I'm proud to announce to you the opening of Salt 'n Pepper, the best Indian Restaurant in Ghent. My friend and her husband are the new owners of this place, that serves the Indian Mughlai Cuisine. All dishes are prepared on the spot and are super fresh. The chef integrates a special variety of herbs and spices. The ingredients of the Mughlai Cuisine are carefully selected. We talk cayenne pepper, cloves, cinnamon, ginger and garlic, to name a few. Indian food is good for you. It has plenty of vegetables and fresh herbs to tickle your taste buds.

papadum

Starting with the typical Indian home made roasted fennel papadums is just wow! Not to be compared to the store bought version: absolutely not edible. Dip your papadums (they could be compared to very thin crackers) in the accompanied sauces or chutneys.

samosa

We tried the samosa's to experience the street life of India. Apparently every streetcorner in India has samosa stands, just like we have our French Frie places. These deepfried triangles contain  minced meat and an exquisite pallet of flavor.
We asked for the vegetarian version, just for the hang of it. We got two and I wanted to ask some more, but we had other dishes coming up.
My friend had Matar Gosht, a lamb stew with peas, onions and tomatoes. The smell of turmeric, cumin and nutmeg was overwhelming. I even dared to pick a piece of lamb, although I am not a lamb lover. I must say: the meat was very tender. I still prefer vegetarian dishes, but the lamb was sweet. A side dish of white rice came with the stew.

Durbari Aloo

My favorite dish of Bombay Potatoes is called Durbari Aloo (aloo meaning: potatoes) in Salt 'n Pepper. It's a tasteful dish of baked potatoes,
tomatoes, mustard seeds, onions, ginger, cumin, coriander and fenugreek leaves.  It was rather spicy - a bit too spicy for me - so next time I'll ask to tone the spices down a bit. But I loved it! I dipped my freshly baked Naan bread (baked right there on the spot in a authentic Tandoori oven) in the sauce of the Durbari Aloo and I truly tasted India. My rice pilau was moist and a great side dish.
I wish I could have had yellow Pakistani mango for dessert. I will tip the owner about serving this delicious Pakistani fruit in his restaurant. It's just so sweet by nature and totally different from the more common green/red mangoes we know.
It was a wonderful visit. I hope to go back soon and have some more Indian Chai to quench my thirst after a delicious meal.