Suvir Saran
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Posts posted by Suvir Saran
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There goes the neighborhood
The good thing is that it seats only 40; bad news is that walk-in lunch and probably short-notice dinner reservations go out the window Cannot imagine what would have happened if eGullets management had dined at Amma and written about it in the same manner as they did about Mix....
the lines would already have filled our non-existing seats.
Strangely, Hemant and I are moved, alas in tears to see the support our little restaurant has received in the press outside of eGullet. We are a very small restaurant, and hired no publicist, wrote no press releases... and did no mailings (postal or email or facsimile). Something tells me Indian food and its popularity have given us such attention. We have been lucky and blessed.
Thanks everyone for your support.....fellow members have been very bold and encouraged us in the absence of much participation from eGullet officials. We were far smaller than the likes of Mix... and certainly no one connected to Amma has the celebrity of Alain Ducasse. We may have wanted to share our foods with our beloved Fat Guy and Mrs. Fat Guy (great fans of Hemant and my food at Diwan and champions of Indian food and all things ethnic and small) and Jason and Rachel Perlow (who had loved our tomato chutney and suggested we bottle it. Whose undying enthusiasm for the chutney, made me dig for recipes of so many more chutneys and pickles, all of which I thought they would help me bottle... hehe) and others from the sites management, but we appreciate the time and effort they place in keeping eGullet alive and active in the discovery of Mix and other restaurants that could use the extra press and have enough room to seat those people that are inspired by their online words of encouragement. I have been blessed to have had the association of these minds here, and I am lucky to also have the encouragement of each of you. Our official thanks to you for saving us from more people at our doors.... and from having us feel hurt as we have to send away more people who come walking in. You have given us a gift as you have been busy appreciating other fine establishments opening and making a new impression in our wonderful NYC. In India, it is always said that when the Janta (masses) participate without encouragement or endorsement of the officials of the state, the cause is really dear and noteworthy. That again, tells Hemant and I that we are lucky to have been cooking Indian food at a time when it is gaining interest in a country where it is still new and mostly undiscovered for its many finer and subtle nuances.
New York Magazine (preview and discovery - Gael Greene), NY Times (announcement from Florence Fabricant), NY Times (Diner's Journal - William Grimes), AM NY (review), Columbia Spectator (Jayanthi Daniel), NPR (Splendid Table), NPR CT. (Faith Middleton), New Yorker Magazine (Tables For Two - Dana Goodyear), New York Magazine (review - Adam Platt) & NY Times (review - William Grimes) have all been very kind and generous to us. The publications and their representatives have sought us out without our solicitation. And have given our unique effort in bringing the foods of Indian homes and regions, not overly exposed in the restaurant kitchens their endorsement through their attention. In doing so, it is our belief, they have helped the two of us in taking our food and our love of Indian food at its most basic form, into the next logical step. A place where the recipes of India, as one has known for millennia, find a place of pride without having to get lost in the accidents that easily take place in slipper slopes mostly afforded by mindless fusion.
The neighborhood while modest in this block, charmless in our closest vicinity, still has a large population of residents and day workers that are exposed to the world and its rich diversity in a bit greater depth than many other areas. The UN, plays a very important role in our blocks. The ambassadors of countries, their officials and visitors, are all dining around the restaurants in our area. These are diners that have a great level of awareness of what is authentic from the many countries that make up our globe. At Amma, we have found quick approval from our customers that are part of this group. They understand rapidly what Hemant and I are sharing... and to most of them, what is new to some others, is easily understood as food found in homes or certain establishments of India. Hence, this charmless block and the connected neighborhood has been actually a blessing as well.
Our having 40 seats makes our life easy as we try and share dishes that are not the usual suspects on popular menus in Indian restaurants. Believe me, it is plenty challenge dealing with those that come looking for Mango Chicken Curry (and certainly not made of green mango, which would be quite delightful, but made of mango juice, sweet and dreadful), Bright Red Tandoori Chicken and Fish Vindaloo. Our biggest challenge, and one that leaves me most sad, is our having to turn away scores of supportive customers that come by expecting tables but find no room in our small little room. I wish we had room to seat each and every one that ever entered our doors.
Anju, Hemant, Bikky, the team of dedicated and gracious employees of Amma and myself, all thank each of you on eGullet that have given us encouragement from day one. Perhaps in time, as those of you that live in NYC or vicinity, and those that come visit NYC from farther away make visits to Amma, we can share with you our thanks through service and food that we strive to take to greater levels each day. We are already working on new dishes that shall be introduced soon after we go into the next year.
I shall write more later. But the last few days have been rather busy at the restaurant and we have also been swamped with creating meals that we serve at Amma in remote locations for patrons that have been kind enough to open up platforms for us to share our food in outside of Amma in settings where Indian food would not usually find easy welcome. All of this is most encouraging to us at Amma, for it speaks of a new age of appreciation of Indian cuisine.
Certainly through your continued support of Amma, the Amma team shall do all it can to work alongside you, sharing with you and learning from you, as we move from where we all are today in this time and place in the world of Indian cuisine towards where it will logically end up in the next decade or so. It will be great to look back in time and realize we were here together. Thanks for all your posts of encouragement and appreciation. You shall always be remembered by us.
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We are planning on being in NY in late March. Please tell me how far ahead I should call in order to book a table for two.
Thanks,
Kathy
You can call us a week in advance and it should be just fine.
Thanks for your kind words. I hope the food will live up to be everything you read about it and then some.
By March, the menu should have dishes that are yet only in my mind and waiting to find form.
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I may have to plan a special trip to New York soon just so I can try Amma.
Seriously, though, we may be in New York sometime between Christmas and New Year's weekend and we have a definite trip planned in early April, when our daughter's high school orchestra will be performing in the national Band Festival at Carnegie Hall. After that, there's the Barnard reunion weekend in June (another CU connection there). So, I shouldn't have to wait too long to enjoy Amma.
Bushey, please let us know at the restaurant at your earliest if you are coming in December.
Amma is a small restaurant, it takes very little of a crowd to fill it up.
To give good service, we suggest people reserve in advance.. We also do our best to keep tables open for walk-ins. But there is not much room for either.
It would be nice to see you at the restaurant. You can call the restaurant to make the reservation whenever you are ready, or so desire, at 212-644-8330.
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Well, if music is the food of love, then wonderful food is the music of our survival.
"If music be the food of love, play on."
Twelfth Night - William Shakespeare
I slept amazed at your kind words... Thanks mikeyrad.
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Pumpkin lover, we had a current Columbia University Undergrad student and also some very well known past students dining at Amma last night. It was as if almost each group of people had someone who had studied at Columbia, or was still involved with it.
I am sure your piece had a great deal to do with that occurence.
Thanks for that great piece you wrote. Hemant and I spoke about it again last night, and Anju, the owner, was sharing our enthusiasm about your writing and your experience. It was impressive that you were able to uncover the most minute nuances of what we had spent a couple of months putting together.
Re: the CU student--
That's amazing!! If well-known graduates were eating there, then perhaps it wasn't my piece that led them there (well-known graduates of Columbia, I hope, can fend for themselves
), but I'll believe it if the currently enrolled student suggested it to them. I'm still a young-enough writer to be wowed when someone listens to my writing. 
And, Suvir, you're completely welcome about the piece. I'm so glad you and everyone else appreciated it (and I'm also honored that it's being mentioned around your staff!).
It should be noted, though, that from beginning to end, the meal deserved nothing but praise. All the reviews I've read, especially that Grimes one, have been (almost) spot on. It was just a night of fantastic food, simple as that.
Personally, the best compliments that I got about the piece were from my twin sister (also a CU student)--she's definitely interested in trying out Amma. We may be back before X-mas.
That picture of the spinach chaat is perfect! - Jayanthi
Jayanthi,
My mother in India was mighty impressed by your writing. I proudly and shamelessly sent your piece to her and some other family and friends of Hemant and I in India.
Anju mentioned to me how the review you wrote was spot on in synch with everything we have ever wanted to have understood about our food.
It was as if you read our minds, and were able to understand exactly what we all were hoping to formulate and give shape to in culinary form.
Your piece will live with us for a very long time. It has moved us not for the kind things you say about us... but because you revealed the things, those smallest of garnishes, that we chose with great care, but never realized most would find time to enjoy and savor at such a deep level.
We look forward to your return visit to Amma with your twin sister. Do give us some notice, and make a reservation if you can.... being very small, it would ensure we do not have to make you wait....
We have Tana to thank for the picture of the Spinach Chaat... She has caught the colors of the restaurant in her image. It is wonderful.
Again, my most sincere thanks to you and also my congratulations to you for having written a very wonderful and meaningful review in the eyes of a restaurant owner.
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My wife Sue and I (and our uncle Sy) had a memorable dining experience at Amma last night. I use the term dining experience because describing the food alone doesn't convey the warmth and graciousness of Bikky, Suvir and the rest of the staff. One can instantly tell that this is a labor of love as much as it is a business venture. The principals share their considerable talents with their guests with the same enthusiasm and pride as a painter showing his works to friends visiting his studio.
I can't add much more to the superlatives that fellow eGulletiers have used to describe the Spinach Chaat – fried spinach leaves topped with an Indian-style succotash (sprouted mung beans, corn, etc.); the heavenly Parsi Halibut with mint coconut chutney; the Tandoor Grilled Lamb Chops with sweet and sour pear chutney; or any of the other fabulous dishes that we sampled. However, I can offer how Amma fared using our food rating, er, methodology. If Zagat rates restaurants using a numeric scale (1 - 30) and Grimes uses stars, our ratings have a more experiential and even sexual spin. Well, if music is the food of love, then wonderful food is the music of our survival. In any case, our units of measurement for rating food are... FOOD ORGASMS. It happens when we taste something so absolutely unique and delicious that our jaws drop and we moan, "Oh my God". Although there are many fine restaurants in the city that put contented smiles on our faces, reaching a full-blown food orgasm is anything but commonplace.
Amma's rating would then be Simultaneous multiple food orgasms -- too many to count.
Mikeyrad, it was a treat to have your wife, uncle and you grace us with your presence at Amma Wednesday night. Nothing could have been more welcome on a day when my personal life was being challenged with personal issues of dire consequence.
Uncle Sy was charming and everything I hope our world could have in all elders. A man of great knowledge and a man who was wise as only uncles and certain elders can be. Thanks for bringing him to Amma with you.... and I am glad your first experience at Amma was a positive one.
Thanks for your very kind words.... not sure we deserve such praise, but I shall accept greedily and with humility, promising that Anju, Hemant, Bikky, our staff at Amma and I shall do all we can to only make our small restaurant learn from each day that we have it open.... When and if you come next, it will be my hope that we can give you even greater and more memorable an experience.
Thanks for coming to Amma in the first place, and thanks for taking out time to post about your meal.
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Amma is absolutley awesome! I took my out of town friend to Amma tonight, and we simply had the most wonderful dining experience. The spinach chaat tasted as good as it looked in the picture, the halibut was inspiring in every sense of the word, and the shrimp was done to perfection, as with the cauliiflower. Of course, the kulfi with mango sauce provided the most beautiful finish to the meal.
Best of all is the warm friendly staff, and the great service. I couldn't thank Suvir and his staff enough, because for a jaded eater like myself, I left Amma tonight blissfully content and definitely inspired.
You are very kind... thanks for the compliments... I am glad your friend and you had a good time.. It was a long morning, day, evening and night at Amma. Well, the last few weeks have been so.... small in size, Amma is all but small in challenges it poses. We have been aching (the team at Amma) for each service (lunch and dinner), we are unable to seat all that come to our door. It is sad, for we make some unhappy, even as we do make an effort to make others, seating and experiencing our foods, as comfortable as possible. It kills us... and it is the only thing all of us at Amma want to correct, but alas, we have no more room.
As I promised you, I will be glad to share the recipe for the Okra whenever you want to prepare it. Give me some notice, and make a call to me.. and I shall share the recipe over the phone. It is easy and takes minutes to prepare.
You thanked us plenty in sharing your enthusiasm about the foods as they came to your table and you tasted them. We need nothing more.
I am sorry I did not discover your real identity till the very end... well, in some ways, my not knowing who you were, made it even better. Since Hemant and I were not worrying over your meal... We try not to do that... but who knows.. if the subconscious plays a role....
It was not until your last course that I heard you mention eGullet, and then I realized who you were. We had dining with us, another customer, with your name, but only one letter being different. I had assumed the other lady was you... and was being charmed by her and her partner as they enjoyed their meal and asked Hemant and I a million questions about their tasting menu.
I hope the green chiles were hot enough... and that you did not miss too much heat.
Come back... our menu will change seasonally... and it would be fun to share some other vegetable preparations with you. I loved the expression on your face as I told you about the Jackfruit. You have the most wonderfully expressive eyes and a marvellous face that cannot hide what you are feeling. Your expression when I mentioned Durian and Jackfruit being similar was priceless.
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Now that I have seen this image taken by Tana that has charmed many on eGullet and around NYC.... (courtesy the AM review of Amma), and that I have virtually been blessed by Monica Bhide (saw her browsing this thread), I can continue with my recipe testing and writing....
Little things like these, mean a lot when ones day ends late into the wee hours of the next morning. -
I have to quote here so I can perpetuate this wonderful image of the Spinach Chaat taken by our very own, most talented, most generous Tanabutler.
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Pumpkin lover, we had a current Columbia University Undergrad student and also some very well known past students dining at Amma last night. It was as if almost each group of people had someone who had studied at Columbia, or was still involved with it.
I am sure your piece had a great deal to do with that occurence.
Thanks for that great piece you wrote. Hemant and I spoke about it again last night, and Anju, the owner, was sharing our enthusiasm about your writing and your experience. It was impressive that you were able to uncover the most minute nuances of what we had spent a couple of months putting together.
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I've written an article on Amma in my college newspaper, the Daily Spectator.
I had an amazing time at this meal: it was AMAZING, and Suvir and Hemant are AMAZING.
Apologies if the writing isn't so eloquent--I'm still somewhat of a novice food writer, and getting descriptions down can be pretty difficult. I hope I've done justice, however, to this AMAZING restaurant! Jayanthi, you are way too modest. Thanks for sharing your thoughts both in this forum and in the pages of the Columbia Spectator.
Anju, Hemant, Bikky and myself, all owe you many thanks for having shared thoughts that are largely similar to our own. Your mind actually understood what it was we were trying to share, and that you understood it and tasted it without our having to state it as such, is for us, something we feel happy about. Your own background and your love of food certainly has much to do with this.
Hemant and I wanted to create a menu, in which we can use the many regional dishes of India in ways big and small, but create plates where regions, textures, tastes and colors come together to show the diversity and unity of India. If literature, cinema, music and drama in India have succeeded in doing so, it was no challenge to us to try and bring that same diversity into the plate. I am glad you discovered and exposed what we have made an effort to achieve.
Tamil, Parsi, Andhra, Delhi, Rajasthan, Kashmir, Bengal, Sino-Indian, Maharashtra, Mewari, Kayastha, Lucknow, Karanataka, Misrani, and Mogul are some of the many regional or otherwise diverse groups whose foods can be found at Amma. Some of the regions or communities are only represented in a condiment or two (some with pickles, some with chutneys/pachadis), but we are trying to always be creative in pairing dishes with sides that are from other parts of India.
Thanks for taking time to dine at Amma. Thanks for writing a review about your meal. Thanks for sharing it on eGullet.
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duplicate post.
edited 10:01 AM
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Delights From The Garden Of Eden, arrived into my hands this morning.
I have found it hard to resist....
What a great book... and I owe the discovery to skchai. Thanks.
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For what its worth, in my humble opinion, I think egullet should post it on their front page so everyone( not just those of us who visit the India forum) can share these these pictures on Ramzan and Vikram's fothcoming essay.
Ditto!
Thanks Episure! Amazing pics..I feel I have been transported back to Bombay and now have tears.
And today, at Amma, we had a now regular customer come in.. his mother, a charming woman, is visiting from Bombay. They are Moslems and we had spoken about this thread before.. and I was telling them how I cannot wait to read and see the images..and I have come back to this thread....lucky me...
We were talking about me having them over for Id and Sheer Khurma and that we will make a big batch of it to give all that come on Id to Amma.
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Art Smith, private chef to Oprah Winfrey was dining at Amma recently
Very nice Suvir.. congratulations. Amma is certainly getting its fair share of big names dining at it. Much success to you. Cheers! Since the big names at eGullet are hiding from Amma, it has been easy to give seats to the other big names around the country.
Thanks Monica! We have been a little too lucky. For a small restaurant, we have been given way too much attention.
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Art Smith, private chef to Oprah Winfrey was dining at Amma recently and said some of the chaat dishes he ate reminded him of what he ate at the raw restaurant on the West Coast. He did say the spices and the citrus juices saved the dishes in this case...
Raw is very easy to do with Indian food... Chaats, like fruit chaat eaten in India most daily in many a Northern Indian home, are quintessential in doing exactly what you attribue to Charlie Trotter. Guava, mango (green and ripe), papaya, oranges, pineapple, loquat, grapefruit, sweet limes, meyer lemons, pomellos, pomegranate, apples, pears, plums, strawberries, apricots, scallions, red onions, radishes, beets, carrots, sweet peppers, cucumbers, kakri, water melon, other melons, cabbage, cauliflower, mint, cilantro, parsnips, turnips, are only some of the many fruits and vegetables you would find raw and spiced and savored with delight in the Indian kitchen. Then you have the legumes that are sprouted and enjoyed raw in salads. The list would be unending and my body tired... but you get the idea...
What do you enjoy raw from the Indian kitchen? Where do you get it rks?
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suvir,
if you want me to come to the restaurant today, i have some molds at home. i can demo it for you. really, no kidding. i'm unemployed right now so if you need some help just call. pm me if you're interested, i don't live far away from amma. no, i'm not a crazy stalker
, i'm just bored at home .i'll bring the rings molds and you can see what you think.
I just called JB Prince. They do not make tins smaller than 2 3/4" x 1.5" . Which is not much smaller than what we have already.
They also suggested the ring molds... and said they were not sure if a cheesecake could be made using them... the issue of theh water bath as the helpful customer service phone person pointed out...but that can be worked around, as I have discovered from this thread.
A PM is on its way to you... thanks for your offer.
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you said you were using mini muffin tins, how is that working for you? my feeling on that is i wouldn't like the sloping sides. the ring molds give a much cleaner look on the plate. you can make a simple tuile and sauce accompaniment which wouldn't take too much time or effort.
Exactly what bothers me..... the sloping side does not look good at all.
Do you think it is easy to get a 2 inch mold??? We are using 3x2 inch molds now... I would love using the 2 inch ones. Am somewhat nervous, maybe misguided in fearing using the rings. Are they easy to work with?
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Where can I buy some really very small cheesecake molds?
What would the smallest size one could use be?
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Let me know how you like the book, Suvir. Meanwhile, I'll try to convince the wife that it's a worthwhile purchase (I'm on perhaps my 10th imposed moratorium on buying any more cookbooks)!
I have read some reviews of In Memory's Kitchen but have not yet purchased it (see above). It seems like a truly extraordinary document, a testament to the power of everyday culture as a force that can utterly defeat any attempt to conquer the spirit of a people. It seems crude to talk about the recipes themselves, but from what I've heard, they are form an extraordinary documention of a lost cuisine.
Thank you so much for your thought-provoking post, Suvir.
skchai,
I still await the book. Shall keep you posted. I am certain I am in for a treat.
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Elie,
If you did send me a recipe for Basbousa, let me know.. I did not recieve it yet.
Not wanting to rush you at all... just want to make sure I do not lose your wonderful recipe to the internet...
If possible, please email me the recipe at chef@suvir.com.
I find that far more reliable than PM's and I also check it more often.
Looking forward to your recipe.
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Interesting.... hmm....
No wonder my grandparents and parents have a very different understanding of tea and how it ought to be enjoyed. Certainly my granparents, both sets of them, were very old fashiond, and so, masala chai, never really caught on with them, and hence in our household too, masala chai was not in the radar, really. Only prepared for one person.
My grandmas, now both deceased, would have been my source for inquiry about what their own parents drank or if anyone in earlier generations drank masala chai.
Does anyone have grandparents or other elders that could shed light on what if any was the consumption of masala chai in India pre 1950? I would be very curious to know.
My mother remembers only ever having tea served "English Style" as she said her nanny would call it.
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Suvir-
I will let you know as soon as we decide to visit NYC, thanks again for the offer. I will e-mail you my recipe as soon as I get a chance.
Is the book almost out?? I thought it was supposed to be out already??
Elie
Elie,
The book took on more ambitious airs than I had anticipated.
What was going to be only a score or so photographs, became many dozen images.
What was going to be black and white with color inserts, has become full color...
My editor who has believed in my work a great deal, has invested a lot more to it than anyone would have expected when we first began this project of documenting Indian home cooking in the American kitchen.
The book has been listed on Amazon for a while now... in fact for quite a few months.... it should be out next August. Thanks for asking...
Looking forward to using your recipe and tasting its results very soon. Shall keep you posted.
Suvir
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Suvir,
As I explained in my lengthy email, I canned the chutney last night & heard the pop sound. I wouldn't have tried canning if it were not your kind words! Thank you so much
-Sujatha
Sujatha,
You are most flattering and generous. You made the effort and you were brave enough to try what was seemingly difficult. I was not much help, really.
Thanks for your email and your post here. The popping sound is the most important thing. Congratulations. You were successful it seems. I am sure, in time, you shall be sharing recipes and canning stories with us on eGullet and your family and friends.
Keep us posted.
Amma
in New York: Dining
Posted
Sorry Jayanthi!
I made the correction.
Please forgive me.