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<\/a>\nSince I was in Jackson Heights the other day and since I love Bangladeshi food, both for the spice level and the mustard oil, a visit to Ittadi Garden and Grill was in order. It\u2019s a steam table affair facilitated that day by an accommodating waitress who was kind enough to identify anything unlabeled.<\/p>\n
[1] There was a wide variety of fish as is to be expected in a Bangladeshi restaurant, but only one was anonymous, a whole fish about six inches long. I was told it was Baila, aka Bele, and that it was less bony than Hilsa (which can be a challenge in that regard if you\u2019re particularly hungry); I later learned that it\u2019s a species of the freshwater goby. The sauce was savory, spicy, and splendid slathered over the rice.<\/p>\n
[2] Another essential in Bangladeshi cuisine is vorta (you may see bharta, bhurtha, or the like), a vegetable or fish that has been boiled then mashed and seasoned with chilies, mustard oil, and spices, existing somewhere along the condiment\/side dish continuum. I requested a mix and received (left to right) fish, potato, broccoli (top), eggplant, and onions & chili, each wonderfully spicy but with its own character.<\/p>\n
[3] I asked about the golden shreds punctuated by slivers of green chilies in the vegetable section and learned it was papaya, but unlike any papaya I had experienced, ripe or unripe, for this was soft as a boiled vegetable and retained only a tiny trace of its papayaness; I enjoyed the preparation. Dal and a small salad came with the meal.<\/p>\n
Ittadi Garden and Grill is located at 73-07 37th Rd, Queens. Always worth a stopover.
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Bangladeshi food in Jackson Heights. Continue reading