A Vegetarian Happy Hour at Tantric in Boston

Tantric in Boston has a Happy Hour menu at their bar that offers several vegetarian and vegan appetizers for only $2.99 with a $2.50 minimum beverage purchase. This is great because most happy hour menus do not cater to vegetarians. Non vegetarian appetizers are also available. Below is the menu from their website.

2.99...

Aloo Kulcha - Potato Filled Fresh Baked Bread

Chili Cheese Naan - Pepper Jack Cheese Stuffed Bread

Gobi Manchurian Indo - Chinese style cauliflower florets sauteed with onions & green pepper, in a sweet and sour chili paste

Bhel Poori - A Mumbai favorite of Rice crisps, crunchy gram-flour vermicelli, onions, tomatoes & cilantro, drizzled with sweet and sour tamarind sauce and coriander mint chutney.

Pakoras - Vegetable fritters served with tamarind and mint chutneys

Available in the Bar Only Sunday – Friday 3:30-6:00PM and Monday – Thursday 8:30PM –9:45PM, Friday & Saturday 10 – midnight 2.50 Beverage Minimum Per Person Required

On Tuesday Nights, Tantric is offering free Henna Tattoos from 7-9:30 with any $10 purchase.

Boston Vegetarian Food Festival

On Saturday I went to the 2008 Boston Vegetarian Food Festival at the Reggie Lewis Center in Boston. There were over 100 exhibitors featuring, natural foods, restaurants, and other non-food products that support a healthy way of life.


Thousands of people attended the festival. Despite the crowds, I thoroughly enjoyed sampling different food products and learning about vegetarian offerings in the Boston area.

Here are some of my favorite vendors:

Super Seedz:





What an interesting concept? Super Seedz are shelled, flavored pumpkin seeds and are available in four different flavors, somewhat spicy, sea salt, original curry and sugar & cinnamon. The food producer, Kathy Rosenschein said that pumpkin seeds contain an essential vitamin B12 that is found mostly in meat. It's a great option for a low carb snack.

Buddha Hut:

Bhudda Hut is a vegan Asian restaurant located in Worcester Ma on Chandler st. They were selling Asian food from their restaurant at the fair. I ordered the noodles and the vegetarian fried rice, both were surprisingly really good. I will definitely have to stop by Buddha Hut for more yummy food and the best part is that I do not have to worry about fish sauce. The owner mentioned an opening of another restaurant in the Boston in the near future.

Good Neighbor Hommus




I sampled quite a few different brands of hummus at the fair, but Good Neighbor’s hommus brand was the best. It is made with organic ingredients and comes in unique flavors, my favorite being, Sweet Red Pepper Hommus. Their black bean dip was equally delicious.

The Boston Vegetarian Food Festival was a fun event and is worth checking out next year, admission and parking is free so there is not much to lose.

Kushboo

If you have never been to the downtown in Lexington MA its worth checking out. There are a lot of nice restaurants and shops where you can avoid the parking hassles in Boston. With its classy New England feel, dining in downtown Lexington Ma is perfect for a night out. Kushboo located on Massachusetts Ave in Lexington serves Indian food in an elegant setting. There is also a nice outdoor patio available in the summer time.

As an Indian, I am a bit biased when it comes to Indian cuisine as nothing tastes better to me than homemade Indian food. I find Indian dishes at restaurants to be too heavy and oily but in comparison to most Indian restaurants the food at Kushboo was tasty. I went with a few friends to Kushboo and between the four of us we ordered, Doaba Samosas ($4.25) for appetizers, Saag Paneer ($10.95), Navratan Korma ($10.25) , and the Tindi Bindi ($11.25).

The Doaba Samosas, filled with potatoes and vegetables were quite good. I liked the fact that they were not as oily as samosas at most Indian restaurants. The Saag Paneer was excellent, it was not too heavy and it was filled with flavor. Navratan Korma was okay, it would have tasted better if it had less cream. The Tindi Bindi was well made but it needed a few more spices to make it more flavorful.

For dessert we shared the Safforon Pistachio, $4.25, and the Doaba Exotic Kulfi Ice Cream, $3.25. The safforon ice cream was very good and the Kulfi ice cream was tasty but was too frozen to eat.

Overall I enjoyed my time at Kusboo, with good food and an elegant ambiance its worth checking out if you are in the area.

Curried Black Bean and Corn

Here is my recipe for curried Black Bean and Corn Dish. As a kid my mom used to make this dish with just corn and I loved it. Beans are healthy and filled with protein so I thought, why not add some black beans to this dish? Its yummy, healthy and easy to make.

Ingredients

1 can of black bean
1 can of corn
1 small onion chopped
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2tsp Garam Masala Powder
1tsp Chili Powder
2tsp Cumin Powder
2tsp Coriander Powder
1 cup water
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp of grated ginger
1 Tbsp of lemon juice


Salt to taste

Saute onions and garlic in pan with olive oil until onions are a golden brown. Add tomato sauce and water and stir. Add garam masala, chili powder, coriander powder, and ginger to the pot. Add corn and beans to gravy and then stir the ingredients in the pot. Cover and reduce heat and let it simmer for five minutes. Add lemon juice to dish and stir . Serve with roti, bread or rice.

Cafe Algiers

Looking to escape with a cup of coffee and a good book, Café Algiers is the perfect place. It is a sit down restaurant located on Brattle Street in Harvard Square and serves Middle Eastern food in a charming relaxed setting. The eclectic ambiance, with yellow and red walls, high ceilings and ethnic wall hangings is why patrons can’t get enough of this place. The restaurant is not upscale and even though the tables are wobbly and close together it ironically adds to the character of the restaurant. It is one of the few restaurants in the Boston area where you can spend hours relaxing with a cup of coffee or have an intimate conversation with someone, without the staff disturbing you. There is also a nice outdoor patio, perfect for the warm months.




Café Algiers has a few different healthy vegetarian/vegan offerings for $10 and under. I had the soup of the day, a vegetarian lentil soup ($4.95) and the Tabbouli salad ($.9.95). The lentil soup is thick and simple, a great source of protein for us vegetarians, but it lacked salt and maybe was a bit too bland for my liking. The Tabbouli salad also needed a bit of salt and lemon juice to give it more flavor.



They offer a wide selection of hot beverages including a mint coffee and tea which are both very popular. I ended the evening with a hot chocolate which was delicious but I was disappointed that they only made it with whole milk. The only con is that the service is slow and I had to wait a while after being seated to place an order.

Café Algiers is a great place to relax and unwind with its cozy and charming ambiance. The food is good, not excellent, but it is healthy and inexpensive and they offer a unique selection of coffees and desserts.