KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 26 - Years ago when I was making semi-regular trips to Penang for work, I developed a craving for cottage cheese and spinach.
The human resources department of the company I worked for would invariably put me up at the same hotel every trip. After a long day of meetings and workshops, I was absolutely grateful for their commitment to this standard operating procedure - for there was a North Indian restaurant at the ground floor of the hotel.
No need to make another trek out to look for dinner nor to order food delivery and starve while I waited. No, all I needed to do was shower, change and saunter down to the restaurant.
Like the human resources manager, I was a creature of habit. I, too, invariably opted for the same things over and over. In this case, it was a mug of hot masala chai to warm my belly, then some crispy and pungent garlic naan, a small portion of mutton varuval (which is South Indian but most Indian restaurants offered dishes from the entire subcontinent) and, without fail, palak paneer.
That was quite a lot of food, but when one considers I probably had no time for lunch, this was simply me catching up.
Sometimes I would have gobi paratha instead of garlic naan, for some cruciferous nutrition courtesy of the cauliflower. Sometimes I would skip the meat and stick to a purely vegetarian meal if I wasn’t too hungry (or perhaps simply too tired).
But I would always have the palak paneer.
That dish was non-negotiable. Thick cubes of the Indian cottage cheese (paneer is actually a fresh sour milk cheese). A sea of puréed spinach (known as palak in Hindi).
Underlying notes of umami from the barely there sautéed tomatoes and onions. Spiced by the restaurant’s own blend of garam masala.
It was sustenance. It was perfection.
Which is why when I passed by Chapathi Recipes, a restaurant focusing mainly on North Indian cuisine, the first thing I did was look for palak paneer on their menu.
After turning a few pages, there it was: Palak Paneer, under the page for paneer dishes, alongside Methi Paneer (mixed with fenugreek leaves) and Paneer Chilli (deep-fried with capsicums and onions).
You might call me out for being unadventurous but my belly knows exactly what it desires. And my parched palate can only be placated by palak paneer so palak paneer it is.
Chapathi Recipes is located along a row of shophouses in Taman Connaught, Cheras; it’s in front of UCSI University and near a large number of banks.
So it’s not a surprise that undergraduates and office workers form a large part of its clientele on weekdays; families command the larger tables on weekends.
Which does mean that, beyond my must-order palak paneer, the restaurant’s menu is impressively all-encompassing.
Fans of Mutton Rogan Josh or Mutton Vindaloo can find those classics here; those who love Amritsari Fish (marinated with herbs and fried in a tangy coat of chickpea flour) or Fish Manchurian (deep-fried in a spicy, sweet batter) won’t be disappointed either.
We are more timid in our choices. To sip (very slowly as the hot beverages are served practically steaming), we had the Masala Chai (a requisite, but you already know this by now) and Ginger Chai (more clove-forward than ginger, to be honest).
For our choice of rotis, we asked for the Aloo Perontha and the ever-reliable Garlic Naan. The former is a hearty flatbread stuffed with mashed, spiced potatoes; the latter I can always count on, for a chewy crunch and an aromatic aftertaste that lasts for hours.
These rotis are served on a platter wrapped with aluminium foil, which is a nice touch, I reckon. Helps to keep the flatbreads warm while we tear into them and dip them into the curries and gravies.
Both go well with our order of Butter Chicken, a mild and sweet poultry dish. The marinated chicken is cooked in a tandoor so there’s a nice char to the chunks of meat; the spiced tomato and butter sauce glides smoothly and is easy on the meekest of taste buds.
We could have ordered something spicier, I guess; we certainly have handled more fiery dishes in the past.
But sometimes it’s nice to go easy on the digestive system and there’s always something nostalgic about Butter Chicken (also known as murgh makhani); it was what a close Kiwi friend ordered when he took us out for an important dinner in Auckland years ago.
Back to the present: our last dish is Chapathi Recipes’ palak paneer. Not as chunky as the one I had in Penang over a decade ago and spiced more heavily. Not the same, alas, but what is, really?
It is enough that it tastes good and we scooped up the last bit of green gravy with the last piece of aloo perontha. Nothing was wasted.
Chapathi Recipes
5, Jalan Menara Gading 1, Taman Connaught, Cheras, KL
Open daily 11am-11pm
Phone: 012-818 0252
* This is an independent review where the writer paid for the meal.
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