The other night Brian and I went out on a date night for dinner! That hasn’t happened in quite a while. A dear friend kept our kiddos safe and happy while we enjoyed a rainy cold night together! Brian planned it all out and we tried out a new Indian restaurant called Punjabi Junction.

When we entered, the place was was empty (I suspect it is rather new) except for two other families! Not typically a good sign. Maybe the weather kept some away? However, it should never be empty! The food was absolutely fantastic! This is now our new favorite place for Indian food! I had a lamb rogan josh and Brian had a tandori meat sampler. The samosas were to DIE for! I almost wanted to cancel my order and just eat more samosas… however, I’m 100% sure they aren’t gluten free and one was probably all I could handle! 😉

The meat mixed tandoori had chicken and lamb as well as salmon. The spices on the salmon were delicious and it was cooked to perfection. Cooked, not raw, but not dry either.

I ordered the lamb rogan josh Indian spicy, that is the traditional way, the Indian way! It was warm, but definitely not too hot for my taste, or dear hubby’s… but if you aren’t used to a lot of spice or heat I would recommend asking for mild or medium spice.

Lastly we finished off the evening with a steaming cup of chai tea… not the water version we often drink, but the full bodied, thick creamy and sweet chai tea of India! Just like I remember from my trips there! A perfect finish to a delightful meal with the perfect company!

We did have a little left to come home with, but I didn’t want to share it with the kids. Brian’s lamb had some sort of breading on it. Brian seemed to think it was mostly onions, but I didn’t want to risk it. Also, rogan josh usually has yogurt in it and I didn’t want the kids to have that either.

BUT… the food was SO good I wanted them to get a taste and let them enjoy it as well. While Brian and I ate our left overs for dinner, I made a veggie version they could have. Brian tasted it and asked if I had added in my left overs. When I said no, he replied, “Wow! This is really good! You made this?” I guess sometimes my food isn’t so great?!?!?! Haha! I know he didn’t mean it that way! And I’m glad he liked it so much!

The kids did say it was a bit hot, so I may dial back on the curry or cayenne pepper the next time. However, here is our veggie version. I’m sure it would be even better if simmered with lamb, mmmmmm…. making my mouth water just thinking about it!

Veggie Rogan Josh
Ingredients:

• 3 TBSP coconut oil or lard
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped
• 2 TBSP fresh ginger chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and chopped
• 1 red pepper chopped
• 1 potato peeled and chopped
• 2 cups water
• 1 14oz can of diced tomatoes or 1 ½ cups of spagetti sauce
• 2 TBSP curry
• 2 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp tumeric
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp pepper
• 1 cup old fashioned cottage cheese (or other non-dairy sub, full fat coconut milk works well)
• 2 cups uncooked Basmati rice

Instructions:

1. Start two cups of uncooked basmati rice in rice cooker
2. Heat oil over medium high heat.
3. Once hot add onion, garlic, ginger, carrots, red pepper and potato. Saute until soft.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients except for the cottage cheese and rice. Bring to a boil.
5. Turn down and simmer for 20 minutes or until thick and veggies are soft.
6. Serve over rice.

Serves 4

Just typing out these ingredients makes me want to change my dinner plans and make another dish with curry! Naan would make it SO much better, but alas, not in the diet for now! However, if you are ever in the South Riding, VA area, you’ve GOT to try Punjabi Junction…. you MUST!!!

 Photo Credit