I hadn’t eaten Indian food in a year before we found Zareen’s…

About three weeks ago, my mom found this amazing Indian Food restaurant! I didn’t really know what to think then because I hadn’t tried that cuisine in the longest time. My first reaction, naturally, was “Hey, maybe I can blog about this!” I thought for a second and then remembered when my family and I ate at the Dishoom restaurant in London, which served great Indian food. It all started coming back to me. I pictured the samosas, the naan bread, the dal (lentil based dish), and one of my favorites, the Indian butter chicken (also referred to as chicken tikka masala).

I had no idea of what Zareen’s was going to taste like because I wasn’t familiar with Indian food in California. It looked really delicious though, so I dove right in! I twirled a piece of chicken in the butter sauce (onion and tomato based) and popped it into my mouth. Immediately I asked myself, “Why don’t I eat Indian food more often?!” It tasted as good as a burger does when you’re craving America food. The soft, tender chicken with that rich, creamy, tantalizing sauce made me go crazy. After trying everything else, I realized that Zareen’s was good stuff. I had almost three whole servings that night. In addition to the butter chicken, my mom ordered samosas, garlic naan bread, saag paneer (spinach and fried cheese), and traditional Indian doll (lentils). I know I’ve been stressing over how good the butter chicken tastes, but honestly, I couldn’t even decide what to eat when I came back for seconds. Even though I’ve only eaten Zareen’s twice (we had it again yesterday), I think that it’s safe to say that it’s a place for comfort food. I’d eat Zareen’s leftovers any day for lunch. Indian food in general can be quite spicy, but like I may have hinted at in my Tapatio post, I’m starting to like it. I actually didn’t have to put Tapatio onto my Indian food, which is really saying something.

I want to give a big shoutout to Uncle Nick Talwar for inspiring us to go out and find Zareen’s! He brought leftovers of it to our skiing trip and encouraged us to go there. Like he told us, you should all go and try Zareen’s. Even if you aren’t familiar with Indian food, c’mon, give it a try! You’ll find something you like. Zareen’s is just that amazing. The season of Lent isn’t quite over yet, so I couldn’t gorge myself on the wonders of naan, samosas, and rice (I gave up unnecessary carbs). However, when the 40 days are over, I think I know where I’m going.