Dear Patron:

I hope all is well with you and your loved ones.

As expected, the new appetizer, Tandoori Asparagus, was very popular last month and easily the most ordered item on the menu. Locally grown asparagus continues to be available. We will leave this item on the menu one more month, so that more of you can enjoy this wonderful appetizer. The rest of the new dishes introduced last month were all uniformly popular. My favorite of the month has been the new fish dish, Methi Machi. I like this dish for its sauce with sharp flavors.

Following are the new dishes being introduced for the month of May 2008:

Dakshini Gosht: This lamb curry from south India has a richer sauce than found in most south Indian curries. Boneless lamb is braised in a sauce made with onions, coconut milk, tamarind, almonds, sesame seeds, nigella seeds, sunflower seeds and spices. The spices include coriander, turmeric, paprika, red chiles and fenugreek. As is usually done in south India, the whole spices are freshly roasted first and ground just before use, giving the sauce a rich, haunting aroma that lingers on your palate.

Chicken Pistachio Korma: Every time we have featured this dish, there have been many requests to make it a permanent item on the menu. This is a very special, uncommonly tasty Moghlai dish from Delhi, north India. Moghlai dishes generally have rich sauces, containing ground nuts and dairy products. As the name suggests, the sauce in this dish has ground pistachios. The onion and tomato based sauce also has yogurt, light cream, ground cashews, garlic and spices. The sauce is flavored with cumin, white pepper, cardamom, cinnamon and cloves. Boneless and skinless chicken pieces are simmered in the sauce until tender. Like most Moghlai dishes, this dish is eaten mild in India.

Mixed Vegetable Kofta: We continue our tradition of having at least one kofta dish on our menu. Mixed vegetable kofta is my favorite kofta dish and with the availability of good locally grown fresh vegetables, this seems to be a good time to feature this dish. Balls made with grated vegetables, breadcrumbs and spices are served in a creamy curry sauce. The balls are flavored with chile flakes, dried pomegranate seeds, ajwain seeds and cilantro.

The following dishes will be discontinued to make room for the new dishes:

1. Daalcha Gosht

2. Shan-e-Murg

3. Paneer Kofta

It is always a pleasure to see you at Ajanta.

Sincerely,

Lachu Moorjani