Sudhir Seth

The Jerry's spot on Gibbs Street still remains vacant, albeit the Federal Realty brass has decided to keep the ugly yellow lights on since a couple of weeks. thank God for small mercies

Hi folks,

I am glad that you all had a great time and enjoyed the food. I am sorry that I could not stay beyond the appetizer service.

Also apologize that Eric did not enjoy the Crab as much as last time. Will have to change to more North Indian tasting food next time.

Is it possible for those who took pictures to email them to us at "passagetoindia@comcast.net", of course wherever used I can give credits if you so desire.

Until next time, hope it is soon

Sudhir Seth

It's been awhile since we had the crab masala but I still think about it. Sudhir, can we do it again? What else can you introduce us to that's just as delectable? Is there an Indian sea urchin dish? What about a clam dish? What is your favorite dish from India that's far from mundane?

Hi, sorry for the late reply, just got back from China in time to be rocked by an earthquake and to cope with a flooded basement, courtesy Ms. Irene.

Have never had Sea Urchin in India. Clams are eaten in something like Bouillabaisse and even cooked with rice like Paella. Are you interested in Seafood primarily or anything goes so long as it is "far from Mundane".

Bobby and Saree (sp) stopped by for dinner at SpiceXing and had a nice long chat with them. For some reason this part of Rockville Town Center has been really hit hard with this economic downturn; as per Bobby this area never really took off - a long promised Food store has not materialized till date. There is no anchor store. Spice Xing has received great reviews but still has its empty days. Hoping some kind of direction will emerge after today's elections and the sputtering government will JUMP start itself.

God bless us all.

A shameless plug.......Spice Xing is very favorably reviewed in WaPo's weekly Going out Guide coming out this weekend. A link to their online page is here.

A big thanks to the DR gang and all our patrons who have stood by us and encouraged us by their continued patronage.

Thanks Gennaro, the DR members and my staff for putting up with the Fire alarm disruption last evening during the dinner. I am sorry that I could not stay to say bye and thanks to all who attended since I had to rush to my Bethesda store where I had a crew working overnight and had to coordinate with them.

I would really appreciate if some of you folks were kind enough to take pictures and will be posting them soon. Also it would be helpful for me to get any feedback on how we can further enhance the taste / spicing / presentation of the dishes.

Once again THANKS to all.

A bit of info about Ulta Tawa. Most people (here) know that a Tawa is a griddle (click here for an example), but "Ulta" (and this is my own, non-Googled, unverified theory) may have the same etymology as "Ultra," meaning "beyond" or "extreme." Something (in this case a Parantha) that is Ulta Tawa'd has the griddle placed on top, and is flattened in the process. I may be wrong about the etymology, but that's how I remember it, anyway. X-treme Tawa-ing, The Movie.

Hi Don,

"ULTA", literally translates as "opposite", and in this case means "UPSIDE DOWN". The normal tawa (an iron griddle, round with a handle) has a depression in the center. If you flip it and if it is large enough one can make a Roomali Roti (bread as thin as a handkerchief) on it, which is made by flipping it hand over hand & then tossed in the air just like Pizza. Well, as usual I digress from the main topic at hand. Basically the Paratha must have been cooked on an Upside down Tawa. It is used in the city of Lucknow the place where Avadhi cuisine flourished. From a practical point I do not see much advantage to using a convex surface as any oil applied to the bread would eventually drip from the sides. So long as the Tawa is thick enough it should do the job of cooking the breads. For Roomali Roti you do need something akin to a thick wok which can be turned upside down. Googling got me the following recipe for Ulta Tawa Paratha and for the Roomali Tawa picture.

Happy Cooking

ULTA TAWA KA PARATHA

Ingredients

1 kg refined flour, 100 gm ghee, 150 gm semolina, 2 gm saffron, 250 ml milk, 25 gm sugar, 10 gm salt.

Method

Soak semolina and saffron in milk for half hour.

Sieve flour and salt together. Make a well in the centre and add sugar, semolina and saffron infused milk. Knead into dough. Slowly add ghee and knead into hard dough.

Make small, even balls of approximately 40 g each and roll on a greased surface. Now crimp the rolled sheet and curl it into a roll and set aside for 20 minutes. Now roll the curled dough against crimping.

On an Lucknowi ulta tawa or a regular tawa apply ghee or oil and heat it on a medium flame and cook the parathas on it.

Thanks Gennaro for coordinating tonite's dinner, I am glad that I could get out of my two stores to enjoy the hospitality of Atul and the great cooking of Chef Surinder. You have done a pretty good synopsis of the dinner spread here. Guess one would need to make another trip to Masala Art to sample the Kadhi and the Baghare Baingan which did not get to us. For now I am still euphoric after a GREAT dinner in lively company.

Cheers

Hi Atul,

What are you feeding us? I intend fasting the whole day tomorrow; haven't eaten Surinder's cooking in 7 years. Is Rashmi going to be in attendance too? See you tomorrow.

Best

Hello DR comrades

It has been a while since I actively participated on this Forum. I thank you all for the support, encouragement and unabashed critique that we receive thru this Board. I will be able to take care of most, if not all that has been posted here in the past couple of weeks. However, I would just like to emphasize that the name Spice Xing (Crossing) in no way implies that the food is CHILI HOT SPICY as a lot of our patrons think. It is more a matter of marrying the right spices in harmony, an art which I profess I merely copy from our traditional recipes that I have gathered over the last 32+ years mostly from Grandmas and Moms (mine and of my friends).

Cheers

Hopefully we can pin down a date for a dinner at Masala Art a few weeks from now, as I'm going to be back home in NJ from the 14th until January 3rd. Perhaps the Thursday of the week I come back (January 7th) would work? Anyone whose interested, post away, and I'll be happy to keep track and organize the dinner itself if a sizable group signs up.

Count me in, and maybe add my S.O. Would love to know when it is getting confirmed for. All the support for the people who worked with me and have their own enterprise going now.

An evening full of fun starting with dinner from 5:30pm - 7:30pm, followed by live performance by Ayesha and Shafiq Rahman. They will be accompanied by Tabla, Dholak and Keyboard players.

Their collection includes old and new Bollywood songs, ghazals (Urdu poetry) & qawalis (devotional songs).

Seats are limited, please Call the restaurant at 301 610 0303 to make your reservation.

For details check the following links.

on the website http://spicexing.com/special_event.php?record=NA==

or on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=147665942912&ref=nf

Great opportunity at the newly opened SpiceXing for EVENING Bartending position.

One year of work experience a plus. Will train for exotic drinks.

PM me or email us at SPICEXING@COMCAST.NET; you may call and ask for HARRY at 301 610 0303.

Chef Sudhir Seth

A big thank you to all the DonRockwellians who braved their way thru cracking shells and all.

An even bigger thank you to DanielK who was of immense help in coordinating the entire affair.

Good luck to Monica with her future writing endeavors.

Last but not the least, I think we owe a lot to Eric whose first mention of a Crab dinner in early June sparked this entire thing and though we missed him on Sunday evening he is scheduled for a Crab dinner one of these days at Passage to India.

Cheers

Chef Seth will have to answer the allergy questions, but Spice Xing is just 2-3 blocks from the Rockville Metro.

And, everyone else, keep those RSVPs coming. I have most of them in PM, which is why it seems quiet here, but Chef says that we can go as high as 60! (we're already into the 20s...)

For the last seven years I changed to Soy oil for all my cooking since peanut and other allergies mushroomed. Now I have seen increasingly a lot of SOY allergies.

Ashley- You have attended the DR.com dinners previously at Passage and could you kindly jog my memory as to, what did we serve you. We can definitely do something for your dinner though it might not be all the same dishes.

Synaesthesia- We are using the fresh Blue crabs, Dungeness comes frozen and the fresh ones are very expensive. Crab Tikki (cakes) app. is with pasteurized Jumbo lump.

TheMatt-Your allergies can be more easily solved, in the samesauces would you like us to cook some kind of fish, chicken or lamb.

I would very much prefer them cooked in the shell so that you have to get your fingers dirty eating. Crabs taste better with effort, I think. I also like bitter gourd (the green warty-looking stuff also used in Chinse cooking?). I'll see about rounding some folks up for this feast - worst case scenario I drag my unsuspecting wife and mother-in-law (guaranteed to never have thought about eating crab curry in shell). I guess I'll just e-mail you with respect to a time and date with plenty of advance notice?

Guess I will have to wait to eat crabs till such time.

Cheers and have a great weekend.

Sudhir

Chef Seth, can I persuade you to prepare a crab masala with a whole dungeness crab (or perhaps you can suggest another crab if dungeness isn't the best tasting iin your opinion)? I can go to either Spice Xing or Passage to India. While I'm at it, I might as well ask if you'll prepare a chili crab. Anyone else interested? Maybe we can organize a crab tasting outing if chef Seth agrees to prepare the crab(s).

You would not have to persuade hard though, crabs are my weakness too. In spite of being slightly allergic (a tingling sensation around the lips) I just love to eat them.

What and how do you want them done? Do most people in your circle prefer only the meat or would you like the whole crabs in a curry. Right now I am buying Jumbo Lump unpasteurized in cans which comes closest to the fresh thing. Let me know and we can work towards it. We have done Crab Masala with the same Jumbo lump but I do not personally like it. I prefer the whole crabs shells and claws cracked and then dropped in a Kokum sour, spiced coconut and curry leaf flavored gravy. This can be had with steamed Basmati. My favorite vegetable with this is Bitter Gourd cooked with onions and Fenugreek seeds(it is BITTER).

Sudhir

All of our patrons will be happy to note that we got another mention in the Press, this time it is the On Tap magazine. We do have an extended Happy Hour and am sure you will like the libations and the small plates.

"Spice Xing, the newest addition to the Rockville Town Center, has a reserved elegance about it. From the outside, it looks like a quaint and inviting restaurant. When you walk through the doors, your eyes experience an explosion of color. From a ceiling draped in a rainbow of gentle hues of yellow, green, blue and pink fabrics to an outstanding turquoise wall embellished with a plastic Hindu Wishing Tree and amber colored beads, the vibrant atmosphere at Spice Xing appeals to your senses. The two men responsible for Spice Xing are Harry Sanotra and Chef Sudhir Seth. Both have extensive experience in the food and hospitality business. Hailing from two very different regions of India (Sanotra from Kolkata, while Seth is from New Delhi), the menu is a melting pot of food and spice combinations that can only be found within India’s diverse cultures. Including a creative drink list with selections ranging from a Lychee Mojito to a Tamarind Margarita, the Spice Xing menu urges customers to step outside of their comfort zone of Chicken Tikka Masala and Samosas (which are on the menu.) Menu items typed in red signify dishes influenced by other cultures, like the Persian-inspired Salli Boti Jardaloo and Portuguese-style Balchao shrimp. This automatically makes the curious palate want to take a leap into an Indian history lesson that just so happens to be a plate of beautifully choreographed food and flavors. This reasonably priced restaurant , with main dishes ranging from $10.95 to $14.95, deserves a visit. Go ahead…allow yourself to be enamored by the sensory experience. You can thank me later." -- A. Lexington

Spice Xing: 100 Unit B Gibbs St., Rockville, MD; 301-610-0303; www.spicexing.com

http://www.ontaponline.com/article/11489

More props for the shrimp. Love that sauce. The tandoori chicken was also excellent-- moist and flavorful.

I agree with the comments above about making the menu more informative. I had the chickpea pao (was it called pao?) and was surprised to see it come with what tasted like a plain 'ol storebought hamburger bun. Then I remembered that the menu said something about "street food" when describing the dish. I put two and two together and figured that this might be the way it's supposed to be served, but I think some people might be taken aback.

Service was friendly but not particularly knowledgeable-- when asked what a "cutless" was for example. Also, they were over-anxious about clearing plates.

I'll definitely be back soon. A lot of other things on the menu caught my eye, in some cases because they sounded delicious, in others because I was just curious about what a particular dish would turn out to be.

I am glad you liked the food and your comments on our waitstaff are spot on. We are trying very hard to train the staff but since this cuisine is QUITE foreign to them, it is taking longer than it should. I apologize if this in any way marred your overall dining experience. Please do ask for Harry or myself, (the two of us have literally started living on the job) and we would be honored to assist you.

Unfortunately I cannot make the Pao bread in the kitchen but would welcome any suggestions on where I could get some Sourdough Rolls. That would be the closest thing to the authentic Pao which is made with a fermentation starter which is quite often months old and has the aroma of a zillion different kinds of yeast, compared to the local bread which does not quite come upto it.

CUTLESS is just a mispronounced version of Cutlets using the local vegetables. The dish is from the East Indian state of Bengal where the Brits first set foot ashore. It is unique in its usage of Beets and cardamom flavor.

It is pouring even harder, thanks to this board spreading the word. Click below:

http://www.thesentinel.com/mont/SpiceXing

There's also a very nice write-up/review in today's Gazette

Thanks.

It is true - when it rains it POURS. Wish they had spaced them over a couple of weeks apart, but I will take it anyday.

Cheers

A nod from Tom Sietsema:

It was very encouraging to get this write up in my restaurant's infancy from a renowned food critic like Tom Sietsema of the Washington Post. Read below for the transcript of the article

It's a good thing Sudhir Seth says he needs fewer than five hours of sleep a night. Last month, the owner of the popular Passage to India in Bethesda took on a fresh responsibility: SpiceXing (100-B Gibbs St., Rockville; 301-610-0303,, a curry-fragrant addition to Rockville Town Square.

Created by Seth, who starts each day by preparing food for the $7.95 lunch buffet, the menu focuses on small plates and occasionally ventures beyond the borders of India for inspiration. Persia, for example, is alluded to in a stew of lamb and apricots.

One snack we keep returning to, tandoori wings, sounds ordinary but delivers a fiery punch. Seth practically gives the recipe away when he details how the (plump) wings are rubbed with salt and chili powder, then marinated for a day in garlic, ginger, lemon juice and vinegar before hitting the clay oven. Oh, yeah: Yogurt goes on the chicken, too, to help seal in the flavors.

Tamarind-glazed prawns, anise-spiced scallops, "baby" dosas (a shrunken version of the usual log-size rice-pancake rolls): Diners navigate two dozen appetizers before they read about the main-course choices, which include a glossy toss of bell peppers and cauliflower seasoned with wild onion seeds, and a gingery lamb curry with bites of meat that are a tad tough.

An electric fireplace in a corner of the dining room, a leftover from the old Stonefish Grill, looks out of place. Otherwise, Spice Xing's design is in keeping with the theme.

Silk sails dress up the ceiling. Blown-up photographs of spices (cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg) hint at some of the flavors to come. A wall in the back is devoted to a shimmering "wishing" tree fashioned from plastic gold beads. The life-size detail springs from Hindu mythology, Seth says.

The cocktails, dreamed up by Seth's business partner Harvinder Sanotra, are up-to-the-minute. ("I like my Stoli neat, no ice," jokes the chef.) A margarita jazzed up with fresh mint and coriander is particularly refreshing, a little too easy to continue drinking through a meal. Guilty!

Entrees, $10.95-$14.95.

Keep the criticism coming unabated, it is especially welcome from folks whose taste buds have been cultured thru regularly eating different cuisines.

Somewhere I missed pointing out that all of the service compliments and the martini praises should be directed towards Harry, my partner who has been gracious enough to accede to my request and we even have a "BLOODY HARRY" drink on our menu.

Once most of the comments are in we will do the necessary tweaking to our dishes.

Thanking everybody who joined in the dinner and took time to post their thoughts.

from the SpiceXing family

Escoffier had the better deal though in India, since 50 Rupees roughly translates to just ONE dollar.

TONIGHT!!!

DanielK +2

porcupine +1

Ericandblueboy

Scott Johnston

MC Horoscope +1

cucas87

MMM +1

sphere777

aaronsinger

crackers

rkduggins

rcoreyw +1

bbhasin +1

TheMatt

silentbob

A Big Thank You to all the folks who attended the $20 Dinner at SpiceXing.

I am grateful for the honest feedback which spurs me to keep improving our dishes and stay contemporary with what the guests want.

Let us do it again in the near future.

Sudhir

Could someone please locate Spice Xing using Rockvile landmarks? I've lived there forever but I moved to Gaithersburg recently and I can't figure out where it is by looking at Google (Town Center maybe?).

You can use almost any building in downtown and I can get it (Maxim Supermarket, Pho 75, and so on)

rob t.

CLICK below for directions

http://spicexing.com/contact.html