Pithari Taverna

Hi Everyone!

It's Meghna!! I went to Pithari Taverna about 2 months ago, and even though time has past, I'm still craving their food almost everyday.  Pithari Taverna is an authentic Greek Restaurant, its a place that you go for a casual meal.  The decor made me feel as if I was drinking wine on the streets of Athens.  For starters we ordered a Greek Salad.  This salad was not a Greek Salad that I'm accustomed too.  It didn't have any lettuce, instead it had olives, capers, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and feta cheese!  All the delicious components of the salad without the lettuce.  It was refreshing and left me wanting more. The waitress gave us bread and olive oil for the table.  The bread was a traditional Greek bread.  Flat, chewy, and soft.  It very much resembled pita bread. The olive oil was to die for, it was sweet, fruity, and it had olives in it which I thought was a nice touch.  For my entree I ordered the Veggie Pita Platter.  It was mouth-watering.  It came with bread, tzatziki sauce, salad, stuffed tomato, grape leaves, and a side of rice.  It was so yummy! The tzatziki was thick and creamy and absolutely addicting.   Normally, I'm not a fan of tomatoes, so when I say this stuffed tomato was delicious, it was delicious.  The grape leaves were different, they were warm.  Normally when I eat grape leaves they are cold and you can tell that they were made the night before.  These tasted fresh and you could really taste the fresh mint inside.  I thought it was a nice palate cleanser in between all the different components of my dish.  What I really liked about this restaurant, was that even though it had a lot of seafood and meat options, it also had a lot of vegetarian options.  I think next time I'm going to try the stuffed mushrooms.  My dinner date also commented that their gyro was one of the best gyros that he has ever eaten. Certainly a place for all to enjoy!  The best part, the portions are so big, you'll end up with leftovers for the next day.

Veggie Pita Platter

My mouth is now watering after writing this post, I think it's time for another visit to Pithari Taverna.

Pithari Taverna
http://www.thepithari.com/
28 Woodbridge Avenue
Highland Park, NJ 08904-3234


Till next time!

Happy Cooking!

Mango Rus

Hi Everyone!!


It's Meghna! It's summertime, which means that many of us tend to lean towards ice cream and other treat that will cool us down.  However, in my mind when I think of my summer, I don't think of ice cream.  I think of a dish my mom makes every single summer.  Mango Rus.  Summer is the perfect time for a mango.  They're sweet, refreshing, and cooling.  Rus is mango puree which many Indians eat with or after dinner.  It's simple too, since you only need 3 ingredients.

Ingredients:
12 ripe mangoes
water
Pinch of saffron

Cookware needed:
Blender
Knife
Strainer
2 big bowls
A ladle
An Apron....Mangoes tend to be messy

Directions:
1) Peel every mango.
2) Cut the mangoes.  Now this is probably the most tricky part of the recipe.  Mangoes have a huge seed directly in the middle of the fruit.  The best way to cut a mango is to cut around the seed.  I tend to just take my knife and go as deep as I can without cutting the seed.  You want every bit of mango.

Cut up mango

3) After you've removed all the meat from the seed, discard the seeds and put the mango pieces into a bowl.
4) Put mangoes into the blender, add a bit of water to get the mangoes going, and blend away.

Mangoes in the blender

5) Place the strainer over the empty bowl and pour the Rus into the strainer.  You have to strain the Rus to get rid of all the strings in the mango.  Use the ladle to help speed up the process.

Straining the Rus

6) After you've strained all the Rus, put just a pinch of saffron.  Saffrons really complements the mango, but don't use a lot.  You don't want the saffron overpowering the natural mango flavor.
7) Enjoy! The best part of this is the fact that you can freeze the Rus and take it out whenever you want a little treat!

Happy Cooking!!