We just love it when chefs are imported from afar to bring a taste of something special to the table. Now through Sunday, chef Suvir Saran of NYC's Dévi (the first ever Michelin-rated Indian restaurant stateside) is offering a special menu at Cafe Sambal, inspired by his recently published cookbook, Masala Farm. Basically a how-to for the home cook who desires an integration of spice and American staples, this is where you will find a turkey and cheddar burger infused with plenty of curry and cumin. In addition to Top Chef Masters infamy, Saran serves as Chairman of Asian Culinary Studies for The Culinary Institute of America and runs a farm in upstate New York where his "pets" are heritage-breed animals. The man walks the talk.
The menu combines American expectations with Indian flair; chicken wings get a glassy coating of tamarind sauce ($14), and Saran told us that they are "Martha Stewart's favorite," (we would have them sent to us in the slammer too). A gluten-free fried chicken ($26) is doused in rice and amaranth flour, coated in cornmeal and crisped up in peanut oil. Everything is constructed with a healthy for you attitude in mind. Even the mashed potatoes are fat free, because as the chef noted, "there's no butter and cream in Bangladesh." They were still creamy, so that's starch genius.
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