Dhaasu = Buenazo. Awesome Indian Food in Lima

IR33OySPr3S-PxSsCn7pWpnEQ8f1LMq7ad1geUORh3VqGcc83leQSvag50Lpkoqy4GMnM-pzWiNvHxg7PHKZwJp4SWVxogs1bYGexDSGjNRLHjUbnwYLRNsZeg46bTOTaqRBD6awzJ6yp92laigcu0mkKaJezNijFgBSytGaW2KnD8BuwEdziZd5jNDhaasu=buenazo=awesome! Really, that is the definition of the name (“DAW-ah-sooo” is my best guess). Dhaasu, Av. República de Panamá 245, Barranco (between Avenida el Sol and Salazar). Step down into the eatery located on the side of the BRT Metropolitano line. Open 1-4 and 7-10 on Wednesday-Sunday, closed Monday, and open 7-10 on Tuesdays.

L9yxOsHdAnNKOhLG_TmPW3XhzF9J4hb00_pQzGf_Mr5knVtpMyrQv0ZwgDbp7aN1jLneYFpYrIxt4h2DMrI6yciKZWjIgnR25lLstArYXf-2F2FIiyif_esSibmJ2efl1pxOFtJI-MJaEvootxIlH2QFFPTJ7R7KjbLFRinqux5Wf-CYs8Sw2Pgg3nApparently, in Arequipa, there is an Indian guy named Roy who has a restaurant named “India Indian” — just to make clear that the food is Indian. In Peru, the term for Indian food is “comida hindu.” In Lima, there are four restaurants claiming to be this kind of food: Dhaasu opened in just recently (instagram) and will conquer South America with its yumminess; Guru out in La Molina and is run by a Pakistani; Mantra is acceptable if desperation takes you there; and Masala is not worth the desperation. But, now back to talking about awesome!

OBFvLu4EjrV8HUvuSdML8nEb35I8pMXpF9KLSDtuQIFk_WY2bXmyxhisc_VlpmDn43llwLbhCYwhzHg3KEZa0AF6R0QPe2eD-kiemUPRfHb6WQYQBYZMooTeWUQ5SBWUN3ig-yNzTvN-SMEPlM1XWZ8Or3pC6tAQIBODCyJhJO3Fq8xvLueFg-R_NxDhaasu is a hole-in-the-wall or huarique (Peruvian term for a hole-in-the-wall) with eight stools. No tables, no tablecloths, no reservations. Dhaasu translates to “effing awesome” or “buenazo” in Peruvian Spanish. It describes how delicious the food is at this newly opened eatery run by Rish and Camilla. They both speak English and Spanish, the chef has over ten years of experience from cooking in Delhi, and yes, there are vegetarian versions of everything. Currently, the menu is a few types of wrap sandwiches and curries. Those words are pitiful descriptions of the yummy spicy (but not spicy) meat in masala sauce (or curry by another name), the warm and fresh baked flatbread (naan) sandwiches wrapped around tender, marinated, caramelized juicy meat…

… where was I? Oh, yes. Possibly my highest accolade is to compare something to ice cream. The butter chicken is like a meaty ice cream. To be eaten by spoon (or dessert shovel?). In terms of spiciness, Rish has not developed the top level of spiciness. To many people, the food here will seem spicy. It didn’t make me sweat but I did enjoy the deliciousness of the food, even if it wasn’t vindaloo spicy.

SxgZjr6tsSGkvi5Jwsqpzcb1ufRW2FsVXLHiyPLbP6jcAkO7r4T8IF0XPzGFfTuC924G7u0l8bl6QkL5yvf3VB4yjHHY774Ovnnmw-VVP1BCtrzbjlhEiw3Sbw1i0BBHcktE6KApa82Yt_BLfGGRfW5_wvve2EaWvvY4R2jPcWcXPFFRCWh_x63XffRish comes from a family of restaurant owners and Dhaasu is just the beginning of his empire. Dhaasu uses biodegradable containers and utensils for those who feel better knowing this.  I plan to take my own lunchboxes next time and load up.

D-9kNZIvhqFVcABA7hDH_dheve5gLbU6hnhtcmMEGIpuUYe0vWNznkljPSkXzIZX9Zg_0Gd9d6CLtl1IdNAriwr4aoXBiBKl3OW_nCGnDBTRYk5q-dIvfzLa0YA3YbgmpuHKYZ--MwHB6MA4YDyX6x_KcSzGHp4tMCNhJ4jyyR4w54f4d9Q7X5jn7CRish plans to expand, take his tandoor on the road, cater, and can he hurry up already? Speaking of India food, I asked about dosa which is from south India. Rish said that he had a friend who was thinking about this too… Here’s to the rise of the Indian Indian food in Lima!

One Year of Madventures.me – Still Mad for Food and Adventure

Madventures.me is one year old. One year ago, I started this blog in preparation for new adventures in food and travel. One year of great food and travel in Amman, Copenhagen, Dhaka, Doha, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Krabi, Luang Prabang, Mumbai, New Delhi, New England, Singapore, and many more.

I started this blog to share some of my adventures with family and friends. As I’ve blogged, my blog has evolved into a source for providing information on restaurants in Dhaka, shopping, and how much one can do in Bangladesh. As a blogger, I’ve been enormously happy when readers from all over the world visit my blog. Thank you for stopping by… from almost the entire world:

Map of visitors to madventures.me in the first 11 months.

As my readership expands beyond people I know, I’m curious about what leads readers to my blog. So here are the top search terms people have searched for in the past year:

Top search terms on madventures.me.

On the Road to Agra

Like millions before, we rented a car with driver for a ride to see the Taj Mahal. 10,000 rupees for the joy of six hours down, pit stop at McDonalds, a guide, eight hours back with pit stop at Moghul style restaurant…. going down was an adventure with a dickey wheel and a taste of the angry side of panhandling. On the border to Utter Pradesh, where our driver had to get out to pay some border tax, I snapped a photo of the monkey. Then the handler banged on the window and yelled at me for five minutes and rattled the door of the car.

Monkey and handler eye next prey.

Later on, within 40 kilometers of Agra, our tire blew. So we stopped for a pleasant cup of tea with some locals while our tire got fixed. One man manually changed the tire while eight watched him.

Do the monks deliver fresh tires?

McDonalds in India

McDonalds is not in Bangladesh yet but they are in India. McDonalds in India serves a fried paneer (pressed cottage cheese product much like tofu) sandwich with peri peri sauce; masala fries; and chicken nuggets fried not in beef fat (much crispier and lighter tasting). But, they don’t sell “Paneer Nuggets” or “Frozen Mango Lassi.” Both of these omissions in their menu seem a huge loss of cultural product offerings. I hope they will add these.

Mouthful flavored fries.

Eating at the Greatest Indian Restaurant in the World

Yes, it was that good. Greatest Indian restaurant in the world good. Located in the fancy LTC Maurya hotel, Bukhara restaurant serves food cooked in the tandoor oven. A small menu of tandoori wonders. The paneer (cottage cheese product) cubes were as icebergs of pillowy softness skewered and charred to umami delight. Yes, yes.

The World Famous Bukhara Restaurant.
Lamb chops and lamb shanks fresh from the tandoor.

Enjoy fish, lamb, vegetarian paneer, daal (lentils), raita (yogurt dip), naan, rumali (handkerchief thin flat bread), and fresh watermelon juice…

Marinated Pomfret fresh from the Tandoor oven.

The Rickshaws Are Not the Only Thing That Is Different in Delhi

Visiting New Delhi for the first time, I was looking forward to what would be different from Dhaka. Fancier roads, oxen in the roads, monkeys on the toe… yes. But, I didn’t expect the rickshaws to be so different. In Delhi, an “auto-rickshaw” is what is called a “CNG” in Dhaka but in Dhaka the CNGs are caged. In Delhi, they are open like the tuktuks of Thailand. The “cycle rickshaw” of Delhi is called a “rickshaw” in Dhaka. The cycle rickshaws of Delhi less colorful and more solid looking than the ones in Dhaka.

The rickshaws are different in Delhi.

I mostly enjoyed the oven temperature breezes from my ride in Azad’s Taxi Service…

Ambassador cab and storytelling cum guide driver.