Utsav

The last time we were at this restaurant, there were 4 of us, and we were introduced to Joseph's partner, Chef Bhimrao. For some strange reason, all the pictures I took that day vanished! So, the only way I could blog about some of the dishes we ordered was to do a repeat performance. 

Sujata, Sandi, and I had dinner at this restaurant yesterday. We love the food at this small venue located by the parking lot of Lampost Pizza and Ralphs Market in Torrance. We can never get enough of the Papad, the appetizer that resembles a potato chip, but this is made with chickpea. The two sauces, tamarind, and mint, go very well with the papad. The Kanda Bhajia was the best with the 2 sauces. I can become a vegetarian easily with this kind of fried onions!

We always have to have the Chicken Tikka Masala, which is excellent. This time I asked Joseph to make everything a level 5, which is spicy but manageable. We had to have the Garlic Naan but requested that it be well done so it gets really crispy. Sandi reminded me that we needed plain rice since the sauce of the Tikka Masala had to have more than just the naan to accompany it. 

Sujata ordered the Bhindi Masala, which is made with okra and ground spices. She loved it. The flavor was good, but this was not my type of okra. I prefer my okra deep-fried! She also had the Vegetable Biryani, a rice dish with multiple veggies and spices. I tried it and liked it though I would not order that with the Tikka Masala only because it wouldn't do the Masala sauce justice. You need something plain to appreciate the wonderful flavor of the sauce. 

We were served Rice Kheer to share for our dessert.  It's the Indian version of a rice pudding made with basmati rice, milk, sugar, nuts, and spices. I was too excited that I forgot to take a picture. Trust me, it was very good and refreshing. A nice finale from eating spicy food.

Joseph was able to drag his partner Chef Bhimrao out of the kitchen to meet us again. He was nice enough to pose for a picture. He wanted to know if we enjoyed the food, and we all said we would come back soon!

Utsav is located at 2937 Rolling Hills Rd. in Torrance, California.

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