hey everyone! coachella is officially over, but that doesn’t mean we’re gonna shut up about the awesome vegan food that was available to festival goers last weekend. today we bring you our third and final field report from our 2011 coachella correspondent, the sexy vegan. he did a great job eating his way through the indio polo fields, and his food experiences alone have convinced me i need to hit up the fest next year. screw the lineup—i want curry!

Coachella – Day 3: Here it is…the last post of the festival. The post that really doesn’t do you any good, since you won’t be reading it until Coachella is over. But that’s ok…I’ve got
some poorly lit pictures to share with you. Yay!

Dinner happened late, so there was not ample light to get a good shot of my Indian combo plate. I’m not sure if it would’ve really been all that pretty anyway, but it does prove one thing…I’m definitely NOT using non-vegan stock photography.

This was the Indian combo plate from the only Indian stand at the festival. I was a little aprehensive about having Indian food in such an environment, as itt can go wrong in so many ways: in addition to the fact that you’re already sweating, and you don’t want to be burping up curry all day, it can also be too oily or too spicy, and cause multiple, unpleasant trips to the port-a-john tent.

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Vegan curry is plentiful in Camden Market

Recently, we skewered an otherwise excellent food stand in London’s Camden Market due to its terrible customer service. Gladly, though, there are several wonderful food choices in the market that serve some pretty damn good Indian food. If you look hard enough, you’ll see “Halal Indian Food” on a few stalls, along with some huge, bubbling pots of very tasty curries.

yum

If you stay away from anything with meat, the vegetable dishes are nearly always vegan and absolutely always tasty…

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When flying back to America from mainland Europe, I rarely take the convenient direct flights. Usually, I find some excuse to stop off in my native London (even though the layover adds six or more hours to an 11 hour journey). Why put myself through such traveling torture? Because I can’t resist an opportunity to dine on my favourite of all cuisines: British Indian food, served in a local tandoori restaurant. That’s why!

Moments after touching down at Heathrow I’m usually in a black taxi heading east towards Central London and my favourite of all Indian restaurants: Victoria Tandoori. Yes, I really do like Indian food, the way we prepare it in Britain… it’s the best cuisine there is, and few places do it better than Victoria Tandoori. The travel time is more than worth it, and the smiling faces of the vegan-knowledgeable staff are a welcome respite from the rainy London streets.

Now, a word of warning: many Indian restaurants in the UK add ghee (a kind of thick butter), yogurt or cream liberally through the cooking process for most dishes – they say to satiate the Western taste buds. So, when dining in most restaurants I’ve become used to eating “healthy” style Indian food: Bhel Poori (a rice dish, requested without yoghurt), Chickpea curries, plain breads etc. The good news, though, is that most restaurants add in the dairy after they have cooked the base sauces, so can happily leave it or and substitute other oils (usually peanut) upon request.

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hey everyone, just want to let you know about an exciting offer going on at cowboys and turbans in silverlake and how you can get some FREE VEGAN FOOD. from now until march 15th, if you order a vegan entree between 11am and 5pm and mention quarrygirl, you also get a complimentary vegan taco with your meal! hell yeah, this deal is only available vegan, which is another reason why i love it.

vegan burrito at cowboys and turbans

if you haven’t been to cowboys and turbans, this is a great chance to check them out. we are big fans of their indian and mexican inspired street cuisine, their huge portions, and their low prices. check out our previous reviews of them here and here.

as far as what’s vegan on the menu, you are gonna have a lot to choose from. two types of tofu naanwiches (just be sure to get the whole wheat naan), tofu tikka masalas, tandoori burritos (my personal favorite), samosas, fries, and more.

and i speak from experience when i say that the tandoori tofu taco you’ll receive with your entree is pure delicious. it comes with huge chunks of cubed tofu, two types of chutney, vegetables and crispy pea strips. just be warned, at first glance the crispy pea strips look like cheese. don’t worry though, they are vegan!

so head on over to cowboys and turbans between now and the 15th for some great grub and a free taco! here are the deats all spelled out:

when: march 10th -15th, between 11am and 5pm
where: cowboys and turbans (silverlake location only)
how: order any vegan entree and get a free vegan taco when you mention quarrygirl

see you there!

cowboys and turbans
2815 Sunset Blvd.
213.483.7778
HOURS OF OPERATION
Everyday: 11AM – 10PM

One of the defining moments of any English person’s day is the breakfast ritual. Nowadays, rather than beans on toast, most of us Brits are partial to microwaving last night’s Indian takeaway leftovers. I can tell you, there’s nothing quite like a spicy vindaloo and a cup of strong black coffee to knock out the cobwebs and get one ready for a long tube ride on a cold and rainy morning.

tofu bhujiya. $7

Imagine, then, this English boy’s delight when I saw that Cowboys and Turbans, LA’s newest Indian-style restaurant has a special vegan breakfast item. I’d very much enjoyed the Tandoori Burrito and Tika Masala from our previous visit, so couldn’t wait to go back for the breakfast. Accordingly, wasting no time, we hit them up this morning for a breakfast to go, and I can tell you this is one of the best vegan breakfasts anywhere in LA, and is a steal at only $7.

The vegan breakfast, Tofu Bhujiya, consists of thinly diced tofu chunks which are lightly fried in Indian spices and vegetables including tomatoes, cilantro, onion and chilies. As if that’s not enough, the Bhujiya also comes with a succulent Aaloo Tikki, a thick, “meaty” Indian-style hash brown that’s spiced like crazy, and based upon a recipe from Chef Baba Ji’s mother. The smooth potato patty is punctuated by fresh peas cooked into it, like periods at the end of sentences in a paragraph of delight.

Breakfast is available on Saturdays and Sundays only (exclusively at the Silverlake location), from 8am-3pm. So next time you’re doing your best to wake up on a weekend, pop down to Cowboys and Turbans, order the vegan breakfast with a cup of strong coffee and wake up in style. You won’t be sorry!

Cowboys and Turbans
2815 Sunset Blvd.
213.483.7778
HOURS OF OPERATION
Sat and Sun: 8AM – 10PM
Mon-Fri: 11AM – 10PM

as of yesterday, there is yet another takeaway indian vegetarian restaurant on the scene in culver city (on washington at overland) and it’s called samosa house east. run by the same people who are behind the quarrygirl approved original samosa house just blocks away, the east location occupies a more simple and modern space with a menu that’s similar but with a larger focus on mock meats. with ample seating and no market attached to the restaurant, samosa house east is a great alternative for on-the-go diners who don’t want to muck about with people lining up to buy groceries, etc.

vegan samosa chat $3.50

i hit up samosa house east this morning, and on their first full day of being open they were still working out some kinks but served me some damn decent food. i ordered a vegan samosa chat which consisted of a crispy fried indian pastry pocket topped with chutney, coriander sauce and curry, all for just $3.50. it was absolutely delicious. plus, the dude behind the counter told me that as of tomorrow, samosa house east will be offering a vegan soy yogurt as an alternative to all dishes that come with real yogurt. so awesome.

when i was there, samosa house east was still setting up and didn’t have all their dishes out yet. but according to their twitter account, by the afternoon they were serving veggie fish, jackfruit, and smoked cauliflower—just to name a few things! i am so stoked that this restaurant has opened, and once they hit their stride, i think they will absolutely amazing.

cheap, fast, delicious, meatless, takeout. i fucking dare you to find something wrong with that.

right now, this restaurant does not have a phone number and they are still getting their hours sorted out. they should be open from 11am-11pm…but don’t quote me on that.

here is the samosa house east address, along with the original samosa house website and phone number in case you have questions!

samosa house east
10700 Washington Boulevard
Culver City, CA 90232-3314
310-398-6766

curry can be a vegan’s best friend, especially if you get it from a restaurant where the staff is knowledgeable and straight up about ingredients. fortunately for us herbivores who live west of vermont (sorry, ¡yo soy!), the owners of the vegan-friendly hipster hangout electric lotus also have another fine, less trendy indian restaurant on san vicente: india’s grill.

the service at india’s grill is impeccable, the interior is lovely, and most importantly, the food is delicious. we often get our curry to go, however, because india’s grill is on the way home from my husband’s work. plus, i like to eat dinner and watch twin peaks at the same time.

because the portions from india’s grill are pretty huge, i usually end up with leftovers. hence takeaway breakfast curry. i assure you, it’s just as good the second time around.

whole wheat roti ($1.95) with pulao rice ($4.95) and aloo gobhi ($8.95)

i think curry for breakfast is underrated. it’s great to wake up with tons of flavor and food that sets your mouth on fire. gets you ready for the day, i tell ya!

while india’s grill specializes in several vegetarian dishes that can be made vegan, aloo gobhi is my favorite. potatoes in cauliflower in a light sauce blended together with the perfect spices. i always ask them to make it extra hot, because most curry dishes are too mild for me otherwise. this dish goes perfect with the pulao rice: saffron, grean peas and onions all sauteed together.

and don’t forget to wrap everything up with a big piece of roti to make a scrumptious curry burrito. i’m pretty sure the naan contains eggs, but the roti is a-ok. just a minute on the grill, and the roti will be as good as new, even on the following day.

so if you want an indian feast near weho or beverly hills, be sure to give india’s grill a shot. dine-in or take-out, they always rock my world.

We British love our curry. For sure, a vindaloo is the British national dish over fish and chips – factually, more brits eat curry on a regular basis than any other cuisine. They say “you never miss what you never had”. Well, I’ve had it and I miss it, yearning frequently for a rainy evening where I can pop out of my local pub into the Bombay Palace restaurant across the road, and order an onion bhaji followed by vegetable vindaloo with pilau rice and a roti. Don’t get me wrong – there are Indian restaurants here in LA, but none of them come remotely close to the taste, texture and experience of a British curry.

So, I set out to emulate the Great British Curry in my own kitchen, and I can tell you that I’ve come pretty close.

Here’s a close-up of what you can expect:

And here it is in a dish ready to be served:

Within an hour of prep time I can make a curry dish that tastes so similar to a curry house back home that I can close my eyes after eating it and hear the patter of rain on the streets of London.

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