Restaurant Review: Kamasutra

Kamasutra 1522 Bayview Ave. 416.489.4899
Thursday evenings I like to dine with my grandson, Brad. When he suggested Indian food I was delighted. It is a favorite of mine and I haven’t had it for a long time. Kamasutra is ideally located on Bayview Avenue at Millwood. It has been an instant success since it took over from a pub several years ago. It is an upscale restaurant offering outstanding authentic Indian food. The place is always packed. It was lovely to see families from the neighborhood enjoying this exotic food.
We ordered a Thali Special for 2. I could not believe all the food. We were in heaven and devoured more than our share and there was still food left. For $48.95 two people can dine on the wonderful garlic naan and pakora. An appetizer plate had some chicken, vegetable samosas and lamb. We had the option of ordering three dishes from the regular menu. My favorite vegetable dish is Palak Paneer. Creamy spinach and cubes of cottage cheese make the most wonderful taste. We ordered Shrimp Masala. The sauce was an exotic blend of ginger, garlic, cumin, pepper and onions in a creamy home made yogurt. The shrimp were plump and tasty. The sauce was divine. Our third choice was Fish Filets in a Vindaloo Sauce. Bring out the fire extinguishers. Goan spices combine to make a rich flavorful but very hot sauce. The pieces of fish were meaty and delicious. We felt the dinner was very reasonable and the food outstanding. If you are new to this wonderful food you might want to start with Vegetable Pakora. Mixed seasonal vegetables are fried in a batter like a fritter and served with tamarind sauce.($4.95) the Vegetable Samosas are a favorite of mine. They are traditional fried pastries with potatoes, green peas, and cumin seeds served with a chutney.($2 pieces for $4.95) Pepper Shrimps are tiger prawns seared with spring onions, garlic cloves, and crushed black pepper. ($13.95) Fish Pakora offers velvety morsels of salmon deep fried in a batter of Indian herbs and spices and served with chutney.($9.95) It is always fun to eat this food with a group. That way you can sample many dishes. The Chefs Platter is perfect for a group. It contains chicken pakora, shikampuri kaba, vegetable pakoras and popadoms served with mint and tamarind chutney.($9.95) The mint and tamarind chutney are so delicious. I love to dip the naan and popadoms in the chutney. Butter Chicken is a signature dish for all Indian restaurants. Tender cubes of chicken are cooked in light cream, tomato and fenugreek.($11.95) Bombay Bakra is delectable sliced lamb simmered Karachi style in a fricassee of sliced onion and ginger, green pepper, tomatoes, green chillies and cumin.($12.95) Tandoori is a special Indain flavor. The ingredients are marinated in a variety of spices and cooked in a clay oven. It is wonderful. You might like to try the Tandoori Sampler. It featues chicken tika, Seekh kabab, sufiyani salmon and paneer tika served with mint chutney.(16.95)
There are a variety of exotic sauces. You can order chicken, lamb, veal, king prawns or fish in any of the many sauces. The Shakuti Sauce is a rich and creamy sauce with cool coconut flavor. The Rogan Josh is a base of bhoona tarka with a flavor of cream and fesh ground tomatoes. The Mewa Masala is a mild creamy sauce with tomatoes, cashews, whole nuts and raisins. Indian food is a mélange of exotic spices. The flavors combine and enhance whatever the main ingredient is.
The menu is extensive. Take out is very popular.. At lunch the restaurant offers special combinations from $7.95. I have dined here on many occasions.It is always excellent but
this time it was fantastic!