Indian Off (Way Off) the Grid
Posted on April 4, 2011 – 7:23 AM | by Admin
By Becky Grunewald
When I emailed MidMo’s trusty, car-free photographer, Scott Duncan, his assignment for this issue he replied, “I thought this was MIDTOWN MONTHLY not MACK ROAD MONTHLY.”He definitely has a point, and I know I should endeavor to cover Midtown/Downtown (where I do eat, believe it or not) cuisine more often, but the siren song of South Sac is strong and there is always some tantalizing prospect catching my eye.
For instance, the spot that prompted Scott’s comment: AB Indian Sweets and Catering. Usually the farthest south I venture on Stockton is 65th street, but on this day I was lost on my way to 99 Ranch, a new Asian supermarket. I was way lost – 99 Ranch is on Florin, not Stockton – but in my confusion I spotted AB Indian right past Mack Road and made a mental note to check it out.
As the name indicates, AB specializes in sweets, but they also have a full lunch and dinner menu. Friendly owner “Bobby” Singh Gidha walked me through the rainbow of confections in the glass case. The common denominator in all of them was milk. These are some milky, tooth-achingly sweet sweets. Some, such as the commonly encountered gulab jamun, look like donuts but are stiffly spongy and soaked in honey syrup. The powdery texture of the many-flavored (carrot, pistachio, almond) squares of barfi is a decidedly acquired taste. Judging from the steady stream of customers, some of them wearing turbans in lovely shades of lavender or saffron, many have acquired this taste, but after two visits, alas, I have not. My favorite was the petha, which is a candied winter melon.
Luckily, the savory foods on offer were much more to my taste. The menu is comprised of the familiar creamy and saucy Punjabi dishes that make up about 90% of what we think of as “Indian food” in the US – all the usual suspects from saag paneer to chicken tikka masala. At AB, however, the ghee (clarified butter) is used with a light hand, and the dishes have bright, spicy flavors.
For instance: the samosas. Made fresh every day, these plump, flaky delights, filled with rough-mashed potatoes flecked with cumin seeds and dotted with green peas are like my dream of what a samosa could be (but rarely is.) They’re like an Indian chicken pot pie. The bhindi masala (okra curry) proved that when cooked with skill okra can be verdant and firm, rather than slimy and grey. The okra dish was slicked with turmeric-tinted neon yellow oil and packed with sweet slivers of onion. The lamb Punjabi swam in rich, spicy gravy and the chewy meat was very mild-not gamy. The mixed grill, which arrived on a sizzling platter dramatically trailing a plume of smoke, was a mixed bag. The lamb was over-charred and tough, but the vividly pink tandoori chicken was tender and lemony. An order of samosas, a half tandoori chicken, and a plate of okra would make up a perfect meal. Follow it with a sweet if you’ve got the yen.
Equally far-flung but far less pleasant to drive to (for a Natomas-hater like me), is Pannu’s Pizza Palace. Indian pizza was made famous by Zante’s Pizza in San Francisco; once you have a bite, you realize how genius this taste combination is. Now Sacramento has our own version of this brilliant Anglo-Indian pie: Pannu’s Tandoori Special. Pannu’s also offers pizzas topped with pepperoni, sausage, etc.
On first entering, the first word that comes to mind is not “palace,” more like “truck stop,” but Pannu is a very friendly guy and when he consented to turn down the huge flat screen TV, my party settled in, helped along by some 20 ounce Weihenstephaner hefe weissbiers. Pannu’s serviceable delivery-style pizza is transformed into something altogether wonderful with the addition of fresh garlic, cilantro and ginger and curry spices such as cumin and coriander. We requested spicy, so the pizza was topped with a smattering of pickled jalapenos. The sauce at Pannu’s is rather sweet, but it countered the spiciness of the pizza well. The tandoori chicken bits were dry, and didn’t add much, but overall, an interesting pizza and worth the trip out to this sterile floodplain.
Every time I get off at the 47th street exit of highway 99 (which is the most direct exit to get to Quan Nem Ninh Hoa, among other places), I’ve passed East West Junction and wondered what kind of cuisine it offers. The generic name could lend itself to almost any type of food. The long answer is that it bills itself as a “Pakistani, Indian, and Middle Eastern Restaurant.” The short answer is that the owner is Pakistani. I passed up the buffet and ordered some dishes off the menu, although plenty of customers seemed happy with the pre-made spread.
I’m always on the lookout for tangy, vinegary, pickle-y menu items, so my tastebuds tingled when I saw the achari chicken. “Achar” is the Hindi and Urdu word for pickle, which was helpfully explained on the menu. Big chunks of chicken on the bone swim in a mustard oil sauce seasoned with coriander and cardamom. I’m in love.
The dal gosht is a dish of lentils; I ordered it with chewy, slippery goat. The Lahori choley is billed as chickpeas “cooked in a Lahori style spice blend”. This sunny yellow dish packs some heat and is topped with fresh cilantro.
The décor at East West is spartan and the ambience is nil; the food is served on paper plates. They offer a few intriguing weekend-only dishes such as Karachi ki haleem-a combination of lentils and wheat cooked with your choice of meat. Now that it’s a destination and not just one of the many places I wonder about en route to somewhere else, I’ll be back to try them.
AB Indian Sweets and Catering
7837 Stockton Blvd.
East West Junction
4401 47th Avenue
Pannu’s Pizza Palace
4391 Gateway Blvd. Suite 600