How about Indian food today?
Sorry, we won’t be able to visit a local Indian restaurant for one of the requisite all-you-can-eat buffets. To be realistic, I’m not sure we’ll see self-serve buffets like we used to have B.C. (before covid-19).
But let’s be honest, to really experience what an Indian restaurant can do, it’s better to order from the menu. So that’s what we’ll do at Saffron, the Indian restaurant on Sand Lake Road.
I phoned in my order and negotiated the total, including the gratuity, while still on the phone. When I arrived at the restaurant 20 minutes later, I had only a short wait before someone called to say the order was ready. A man approached the car and place it in the trunk.
Everything was good and hot when I got it back to Isolation Central. Because everything was tightly packed in plastic dishes with clear tops and then tied into the plastic takeout sack, nothing had spilled and all was intact.
My quarantine mate and I started with an appetizer of Onion Bhaji, the fritters made out of shredded onions coated in a batter fashioned out of chickpea flour and deep fried. Despite being fried, the bhaji had not gotten soggy, and they tasted fine, though I wish I had thought to order some chutneys to accompany.
For my entree I chose the Aloo Gobi, a vegetarian dish of cauliflower and big chunks of potatoes with myriad spices that gave it a pleasant bit of heat without being overwhelming. The cauliflower was cooked just right.
The Aloo Gobi didn’t generate much sauce to go with the fluffy basmati rice, but the Lamb Korma had plenty of sauce, rich and creamy, and enough to enjoy with the rice and also with the onion kulcha bread.
It was all good for a night’s meal with plenty left over for another meal.
Saffron Indian Cuisine is at 7724 W. Sand Lake Road, Orlando. Takeout and delivery are available daily, though delivery has a minimum order. The phone number is 407-342-2038.
