After a string of spring like days, it was a raw and windy night in Tulsa. The kind of night you think twice about going out into. But, we decided to go ahead and Sheila suggested we try the new Indian restaurant at 4844 S. Memorial for our regular Friday night outing. I'm glad she did.
Himalaya's Aromas of India serves a buffet style meal for lunch and dinner every day. Tonight, there was a wide range of interesting choices on the buffet. I had a lamb meatball, Chicken Tiki Marsala, Chicken Curry, Chicken Tandoori, my favorite deep fried spinach leaves, a vegan potato and vegetable dish and fried bread. Every choice was fabulous. The chicken in the curry and the Tiki Marsala was buttery, almost melting in your mouth. The ground lamb was well seasoned with mint and cilantro.
After we were seated with our buffet plates, the head waiter asked if he could make us a "crunchy Indian salad." He proceeded to take a couple of large salad bowls and begin scooping up various items and sauces from the buffet line. In a couple of moments he sat the bowls before us. After one bite, we were both hooked. It was an intriguing mixture of tomatoes, onions, lentils, Indian crackers, other things we could only guess at and what tasted like several Indian sauces. The result was a delight to the palate. The mixture of textures was fascinating. The flavors were clean and at the same time savory and homey. The salad could have been a meal in itself.
We finished the meal with Mango custard poured over chopped apples and bananas and an interesting dish made from pineapples, raisins, nuts and cream of wheat. All I can say is that as unlikely as the latter dish sounded, it was nothing short of fabulous and I found myself wishing I had eaten less earlier in the meal so that I could have had more of it.
Despite its humble home, Himalaya's Aromas of India serves one of the best meals in Tulsa. It is a little pricey, around twenty five dollars for two, but the food is nothing short of fabulous. It is exotic, intriguing and satisfying. The staff are friendly and helpful and the surroundings, while humble, are spotlessly clean. We will be going back often.
Back in the stone ages we used to have to develop film in darkrooms and apply our artistic bent through both the camera lens and electro-mechanical monstrosities
called "enlargers." Now, with digital cameras and photo processing software, it is all so easy. But, despite that ease, I gave up photography when I began the long path toward becoming an attorney. I am coming back to it now. Recently, I decided that life is too short and I have lived too long to give up the simple pleasures God gave to us to make life enjoyable. I used to particularly enjoy doing character studies of people. Here are few shots from our recent cruise:
