After enduring a considerable period of time feeling nauseated by the sight, smell and even thought of food, I felt really happy at having regained a semblance of my former appetite. I still don't feel like eating any kind of meat. But the one exception I can always make is for the Indian chicken curry at Java Noodles, an Indonesian restaurant in Austin. One might well wonder why would an Indian go to eat Indian chicken curry at an Indonesian restaurant. I did run a quick Google search on Indian curries in Indonesia, but not with much success. I have no idea if it is eaten in Indonesia or if this is creation that took place in the US. Since Java Noodles is a good 14-15 miles from my house and the Indian curry is served only for Sunday lunch buffets, it's not a regular feature of our lives. But some days, the craving hits and I start dropping not so subtle hints to R and a few other friends. Fortunately R and our friends like the food there too, so not much persuasion is needed.
Making sure that we have a light or preferably no breakfast in order to do justice to our hearty lunch, we reach Java Noodles around noon. First I head towards the soup counter and help myself to tangy coconut soup. After that although there is a decent spread of other good stuff like satay, nasi goreng, rendang etc, I head directly towards the Indian chicken curry, ladling plenty of curry in a soup bowl along with 1-2 chicken pieces.I also help myself to some the crusty bread, which is perfect for sopping all the curry. One of the key features that makes this curry is that the chicken is not boned unlike the flavorless morsels which are usually served at other South Asian places where boned pieces are poached beforehand and then added to the curry while it is being heated. The fact that the pieces cook along with the curry lends it a special flavor. I am not sure what other ingredients are used, but I would guess there was liberal use of minced onions, grated coconut and lots of turmeric. I have tried the other food there before, and although it is quite good in it's own right, I don't want to to dilute the flavor of my favorite and so have given up on trying anything else. I do hope the restaurant adds this dish to their regular menu soon!
