Kuni Takahashi for The New York Times

Food in India, and regional specialties in particular, are on our mind currently during kitchen tests for 51, so this article from the Travel section of the New York Times this week (click on the image to the left to go to the story) catches our eye:

Cooking at Surjit Food Plaza in Amritsar, India.

The author heads to northern India for a tasting tour of dhabas, casual restaurants famous for their inexpensive and remarkably tasty cuisine.

India Ink linked to and summarized the article:

“Within five minutes of ordering three deluxe thalis at the large and bustling Bharawan da Dhaba in Amritsar, India, a waiter brought us round steel trays filled with our $3 lunch,” wrote Shivani Vora in the Travel section of The New York Times. “There were a half-dozen bowls on each, which included spicy chickpeas with a hint of pomegranate powder, the black lentils known as daal and the Punjabi comfort food equivalents of macaroni and cheese — the creamy mustard greens called sarso ka saag and kadhi, a yellow chickpea flour and yogurt curry swimming with fried onion fritters,” she wrote. “Lachedar parantha, whole wheat butter-layered bread, fresh from the tandoor clay oven, was our accompaniment.”

Read the whole article here.