RTN: Wine with Indian Food

SFJoe

Joe Dougherty
From an event at Astor in 2008:
Posted - 04/16/2008 : 19:18:29 Show profile Send patient e-mail Visit SFJoe's home page The previous thread was the victim of an industrial accident, but I had finally responded to Dave with the menu and wines, so here they are again:

Astor Center Indian Food Wine Pairing
April 2, 2008
Menu by Maya Kaimal
Wines by Joe Dougherty

First Course: South Indian Steamed Mussels in Coconut Milk

A tropical South Indian mussel dish with a coconut milk broth spiked with ginger and red chili, finished with lime juice and cilantro

Ingredients: Mussels, coconut milk, shallots, ginger, ground coriander, turmeric, red chili, lime juice, cilantro

Francois Pinon Vouvray Petillant NV (but it is the release with 80% 2006 and 20% 2005)
Marc Ollivier Muscadet Clos des Briords 2006
Gulfi Carjacanti 2004

Second Course: North Indian Chicken Korma, Dhal Makhani, Rice Pullao

A classic North Indian plate featuring Korma, a cream curry with coriander, ground cashews and yogurt, Dhal Mahkani, a dense black dhal cooked with tomato and toasted cumin and enriched with cream, and Rice Pullao, fragrant basmati rice steamed with cinnamon, clove and cardamom

Korma Ingredients: Chicken, onion, ginger, garlic, tomato, cream, yogurt, coriander, cumin, turmeric, red chili, black pepper, cinnamon, clove

Dhal Ingredients: Black urad dhal, tomato, onion, cream, butter, toasted cumin, garlic, ginger, red chili, garam masala, cilantro

Rice Pullao Ingredients: basmati rice, shallots, clarified butter, cinnamon stick, whole cloves, cardamom pods

Schloss Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner Gobelsburger 2006
Lopez de Heredia Rioja Rosado Tondonia 1997
Clos Roche Blanche Touraine Gamay 2006

Third Course: Goan Pork Vindaloo and Rice Pullao

Tender chunks of pork are coated in this spicy sour Goan curry that balances red and green chili heat with tangy cider vinegar. The spice blend is dominated by coriander, with added sharpness from ground mustard seeds. Coconut milk, onion and tomato lend body to the sauce. Served with Rice Pullao above.

Ingredients: pork, onion, tomato, coconut milk, garlic, ginger, cider vinegar, fresh green chili, ground mustard seeds, coriander, cumin, red chili, black pepper, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves

Puffeney Arbois Savagnin 2002
Ridge Geyserville 2005
St. Urbans-Hof Ockfener Bockstein Riesling Kabinett 2007

Dessert

Cendrillon homemade jackfruit ice cream with fresh mango

Edited by - SFJoe on 04/16/2008 19:18:56
 
Sula Sauvignon Blanc, a rather decent Indian wine, would have been OK with those mussels.
 
originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
How well did said wines pair? TN? RTN?
The first key point is how excellent Maya's food was. Easy to shine in that context.

But it was a diverse crowd and there was a diversity of opinion, some surprising to me. I thought the muscadet would be too lean for what is a rather rich mussel preparation, but I think it was the consensus fave. The surprise for me there was the degree to which the main ingredient trumped the preparation. The Pinon was good but didn't sing, the Gulfi maybe needed a bit more acid for the shellfish. Or not, if you were in that camp.

The CRB was an '06 in the second set, maybe a little big. The Tondonia was my fave, the funky oxidation going well with the funky spices for my taste. But all 3 went pretty well. The spice were not too hot.

The vindaloo was mild in the idiom, not a chest-pounding machismo exercise. But richly layered spices and delicious. As I mentioned when we first discussed all this, the first two seconds were great, with the big fruit meeting the big dish, but then the alcohol and tannin and wood were pretty painful with the capsaicin. A significant group disagreed completely with me and thought this was fine. The Puffeney was to a degree duplicative of the rosado in an oxidative mode, but I liked it a lot. It was an unfamiliar and disturbing flavor for a chunk of the crowd, though many agreed that it was good with the dish.

I thought the riesling went really well, refreshing acidity and a bit of soothing sugar. And in '07 it was pretty close to real kabinett.

So there you go.
 
originally posted by VS:
Sula Sauvignon Blanc, a rather decent Indian wine, would have been OK with those mussels.
Haven't had it. I was constrained to what I could get at Astor.
 
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