Amrutha Aappakadai Indian Chettinad in Fair Oaks, CA

Above and below, our visit on July 27, 2019. Amrutha Aappakadai is still making Chettinad at the highest level, very nuanced curries, with surprises every time.

We had lunch today (8/23/18) at Amrutha Aappakadai Indian Chettinad in Fair Oaks, and once again, as always, we came away completely satisfied and most impressed by the cuisine here. 

OK, so in reference to the photo above, clockwise from 11: Garlic Naan, Tomato and Coconut Chutney, a bowl of Goat Soup, and my first plate from the buffet. From 12 noon going clockwise on the plate: the yellow rice is actually Chicken Biryani; right next to that is Chicken Chettinad, a dish I've never had before, basically a Chicken Curry with plenty of spices, but, as is the case with most Chettinad dishes I've experienced, at most medium spicy hot chile-wise; channa dal, a classic dish featuring garbanzos; a serving of another vegetarian selection, but I forget what's in that brown curry, but that dark green mass next to it? We were astounded by this dish! On the buffet line it was labelled "Okra Fry" but was nothing at all like the "Fried Okra" I know so well from my mother and grandmother's Southern American cooking--notice all the white strips? Those are julienned strips of coconut, raw, no sugar, they actually taste rather savory. This "Okra Fry" is mostly okra, curry leaves and coconut in a savory spice blend. Fantastic stuff. Ok, so next, is some Idly, then those puffy fried balls filled with mashed legumes (Aloo Bondi, I think), great for soaking up all the great sauces and curries, and finally next to the Biryani is Goat Curry, and a bright red little spot of Chili Chicken, an Indo-Chinese dish. Not something I'd ever order, but given that I've never tasted Indo-Chinese before, I thought it worth checking out. It was delicious anyway, but it can't hold a candle to most Chettinad dishes.

My second plate (above). More of the same as before, except for the yellow portion of Dal (Yellow Lentils, I think) lower right. This had who chile peppers and whole strips of cinnamon floating in it.

 I saved room for one more bowl of the incredibly rich Goat Soup, which I'm pretty sure was a goat bone broth--definitely had meaty pieces of bone in it, and whole spices, like anise, cardamom and cumin, though mostly it was the deeply rich Goat-Umami flavors. 

What better way to conclude our Memorial Day Weekend near Mount Shasta than to enjoy the lunch buffet at Amrutha Aappakadai? This is what we did yesterday (5/28/18), and some of the selections included Coconut Rice, Malabar Fish Curry, Goat Curry, Chicken Kabob, Vegetable Biryani, Coconut Curry, and Curd Chiles, in the foreground, which were very, very hot and spicy. My partner didn't dare try one, and when I ate them, I nearly had to order a Mango Lassi, but I was OK despite a red face and sweat streaming down for a few moments, followed by another round of that delicious Malabar Fish Curry and Coconut Rice, a classic combination I had never experienced until yesterday. For hours afterwards, I felt a warm buzz of spices and chiles all in my insides, the very expression of deep culinary contentment.

We're so delighted we were able to make it to Amrutha Aappakadai Indian Chettinad in Fair Oaks today (5/20/18), and on top of that, we tried some new dishes. Above and below is Gobi 65, fried cauliflower dusted with corn meal & flour, seasoned with chile powder, garam masala, garlic, ginger & other spices. Far and away the best cauliflower dish I've ever had.

Above: Lamb Saag, more of a North Indian dish by my reckoning, but one that stands out due to the robust spicing, succulent lamb, and fresh taste of the spinach.

Above: Okra Fry. Quite unlike other Indian Okra dishes I've had (Bhindi Masala comes most obviously to mind), in that the okra is chopped up and sauteed with lentils and coconut. Much closer to the Tamil Nadu Chettinad approach. Pretty sure there's chopped curry leaves in this dish, and/or methi (i.e. fenugreek leaves). Fantastic dish.

Above & below: Paratha with Goat Curry. I've profiled the rich Goat Curry they serve here at Amrutha, very rich and spicy, but the star of this dish is the Paratha unlike any I've ever experienced, Seriously flaky, a bit like eating cooked & crisp filo dough (as used in baklava) or a croissant. I'm guessing these were made with ghee, but whatever the case, I've never had paratha quite like this, almost delicate.

A shot of several dishes on the table.

We had this last time, and we couldn't resist ordering Aloo Bonda once again. Sauces are coconut and chile based. Sublime

Aloo Bonda at Amrutha Aappakadai Indian Chettinad in Fair Oaks, CA. Vegetarian appetizer.

Last night (2/17/2018) we had other errands to run in the Sacramento area, so we had dinner at our favorite Chettinad place. On Monday we went to the one in Santa Clara, which is quite excellent, but I think Amrutha Aappakadai is discernibly better, though Anjappar is serious competition.

This was my first time to taste Aloo Bonda (garbanzo flour deep fried with potato, served with coconut and another chutney). I doubt I'll encounter a better version. Below, you can see what they look like in the middle. Pretty sure that's a curry leaf.

Lamb Kothu Paratha

A Tamilnadu mix of Lamb, vegetables & spices, served with a deep lamb sauce and raita. First time I ever knowingly had a Paratha dish. Superb.

Baingan Bharta. I've loved every version of this Eggplant-based dish I've ever had, but boy, this one's very different. Yes, it has peas, onions and spices like all of them do, but there's something here that makes this version really stand out, probably because the chefs are from South India. It tastes acid, creamy and zingy like Sour Cream, but I'd guess it's lime mixed with either some sort of dairy, or maybe coconut milk. Robin thinks it could be dal & lime pickle

Goat Chettinadu. Slowly cooked tender goat with spices and coconut milk. Exactly the sort of dish I think of when I consider how much I appreciate Amrutha Aappakadai not asking how spicy I want my food. I want the very experienced chefs to decide.

A shot of the Lamb Kothu Paratha with the lamb sauce on top, on my plate. So glad we got leftovers!

Close-up of buffet selections at Amrutha Aappakadai Indian Chettinad in Fair Oaks, CA. 

Ever since our first visit to Amrutha Aappakadai a few weeks ago, we've been longing to return, especially for the weekend buffet, of which we've heard great things. Everything we tried today (12/30/17) was just as exalted and sublime as our first visit. I'll try to remember all the items I tried. Above, from 12 o'clock going clockwise: goat curry, tomato chutney, coconut chutney, mint chutney, fish curry, gobi manchurian (indo-chinese chili cauliflower), aloo bonda, yellow dal, channa masala, paneer curry, vegetable curry. On the inside goat biryani, fish curry, and a few I cannot identify, but I assure you were most delicious.

Here's Robin's plate mostly with the same stuff I got, but also some sublime Chicken Tandoori, which was so tender I'm sure it marinated in yogurt overnight. Pretty sure she was thinking about getting some of that Goat Soup to the left.

Sambar (l) and Goat Soup. Both outstanding. Sambar had pieces of turnip in it which I happily ate.

My second plate. Mostly the same, but that wheel is called a Fryem.

Now here's something I'd never had before, an Appam, a sort of pancake made with fermented rice batter and coconut milk that reminds me of Injera. It came with a bowl of coconut sauce, and I thought the interplay between the sour flavor of the fermented rice and natural sweet flavor of the coconut was quite compelling, something I could see eating for breakfast. Sure enough, apparently it is eaten for breakfast (& other meals) in Kerala, Tamil Nadu & Sri Lanka.

A couple of plain dosas which came in handy getting every bit of the excellent curries off the plate. This buffet is like no other, far surpassing other Indian buffets I've had. At $13.99 it's a real bargain.

Kerala Chemmeen Curry & Lamb Vindaloo at Amrutha Aappakadai Indian Chettinad, in Fair Oaks, CA, just outside Sacramento.

Our friend Dave, now living in Portland, but previously from Sacramento, recommended Amrutha Aappakadai to us. Dave has done quite a bit of travel around the world, including trekking around India on a motorbike. We took his recommendation seriously. Glad we did. I have never before experienced Indian cuisine of this calibre.

Kerala Chemmeen Curry, a coconut-based curry with prawns, exploding with a vivid array of spices and herbs, including curry leaves. Absolutely sublime.

Lamb Vindaloo. A Goan approach to a tangy, rich sauce, redolent of spices, big chunks of lamb and potato. A stunning, arresting earthy contrast to the ethereal Kerala Chemmeen Curry.

OK, this is just basmati rice and garlic naan (both perfectly executed), but I only included this because we were doubled over in laughter, so pleased we were that the bathrooms and hallway just outside was heavy with the pleasant aromas of Naan with Ghee.

And, to put an exclamation point on one of the best meals we've ever had, here's the Goat Biryani, with chunks of roasted goat on the bone, infusing the rice with deep umami richness, served with a spicy sauce and the yogurt raita that usually comes with Biryani, absolutely delicious and fresh.

Amrutha Aappakadai Indian Chettinad

8121 Madison Ave, Fair Oaks, CA 95628

(916) 967-1550

http://www.amruthaaappakadai.com/menu.php

Yuba Watershed Institute Mushroom Foray

The Yuba Watershed Institute is hosting a Mushroom Foray at the Shady Creek Outdoor School and Event Center (a few miles north of Nevada City) this weekend, and I just wanted to share some photos of the beautiful venue. First, there's the main hall's wooden dome ceiling, then a shot of the same from the outside, where you can see the Rammed Earth construction, a series of domes connected by rounded halls, and finally a naturally occuring boulder on the land. There's a constant roar of the river falls issuing from the hollow thicket below.

We arrived at the venue a few hours late because we thought it was starting later in the morning, and also Robin got a flat tire in Sacramento, where we had stopped at the Co-op to get a few groceries and more coffee.

But the vendors said it was no big deal as the forayers didn't tarry at the venue long. They set off into woods almost as soon as they arrived.

A series of speakers would start doing talks around 2pm, so we expected the mushroom hunters to begin returning about 1pm for lunch, which included a Bolete Potato Leek Soup, and a Herb Morel Onion Soup.

As you've already seen, it was quite the bonanza for those searching for mushrooms, the results of the hunt laid out on 5 picnic tables. Numerous experts on all things mycological were at hand, including my buddy Mike Wood, one of the authors of the definitive book, California Mushrooms: The Comprehensive Identification Guide.

Accounts from the mushroom gatherers all agreed, the land was generally pretty dry, as they searched around wooded paths at the foot of a hill. At long last, they rounded the other side of the hill, and came to a spot where there was ample evidence of underground water, then Eureka! Hundreds of mushrooms of all types, including many prized edibles.