Food matters: A world of spices at Kinara, takeout from The Fish Dock, Greek Yogurt

A mixture of fragrant spices went into the sauce of Lobster and Seafood Masala (lobster, shrimp, crab and fish), one of the Chef's Specials on Saturday evening at Kinara, an Asian Indian restaurant in Tenafly.

I also loved this Coconut Lassi, a yogurt drink free of added sugar, according to our server.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We had a delicious dinner at Kinara in Tenafly, where an Asian Indian kitchen turns out dish after aromatic dish prepared with an array of wonderful spices.

In the past couple of years, we've been loyal to Art of Spice on Main Street in Hackensack, but parking is a hassle.

A Groupon led us to Kinara, sister restaurant of the original in Edgewater.

In Tenafly, the Indian food is just as good or better than at Art of Spice, and street parking is free and plentiful.

We shared an appetizer ($6); an entree listed as a Chef's Special, with a large lobster stuffed with seafood in a masala sauce ($35), and a vegetable ($12.95).

A Mango Lassi and a Coconut Lassi were $5 each.

A basket of Papadum, a thin, crispy cracker served with chutneys, and a small pot of basmati rice came with the meal. We took home leftovers.

Me and my wife loved the Lobster and Seafood Masala, stuffed with shrimp, crab and fish. The claws embraced a raw green pepper stuffed with seafood.

The tail was split, but the claws and knuckles of the large crustacean weren't cracked, making for a really messy extraction of the tender meat.

I'd rate it 1 large Cloth Napkin and 2 Moist Towelettes.

We bought a $30 Groupon for $17, and tipped on the pre-discounted total of $63.95, not including tax of $4.48. 

So, our total was $48.43, including tax and a $10 tip.

Bhel Poori, an appetizer made with crisp rice puffs and tangy chutney, was served cold ($6)

Kourkuri Bhindi is crispy okra sauteed with onions and spices, served at room temperature ($12.95). The okra are just as addictive as french fries.

Papadum with chutneys.

Basmati rice. 

The dining room is filled with the aroma of spices. Tumeric, cumin, mustard seed, cardamom, coriander, fenugreek, saffron, tamarind and black pepper are some of the spices used in Indian food, and they are often found in mixtures like garam masala.

Street parking is free in downtown Tenafly, as well as in lots near the old train station, the hub of a nightmarish network of streets, traffic lights and stop signs.

 Details

 Kinara Cuisine of India, 10 Jay St., Tenafly; 201-399-7788. Open 7 days, lunch buffet, closes between lunch and dinner, free street parking, BYO. 

Website: A world of spices

The Fish Dock

The owners, the fresh fish and just about everything else at The Fish Dock in Closter are from Iceland.

You can buy a ready to cook fish dinner or prepared seafood meals to go, as well as such fillets as the familiar cod, haddock and halibut, and the less familiar ling, tusk, wolffish and golden redfish. 

Last Tuesday, I bought two prepared lunches of Wasabi Mayo Salmon with Asparagus and Rice Pilaf for me and my wife ($12.99 each), and the portions were large enough for dinner.

Details

The Fish Dock, 219A Closter Dock Road, Closter; 201-564-7939. Free street parking, closed Sundays and Mondays.

Website: Pure-Fresh-Fish. 

Also see The Fish Dock's Facebook page.

The Fish Dock's fillet is from antibiotic-free farmed Atlantic salmon raised on the Faroe Islands, which are halfway between Iceland and Norway.

I spread the Wasabi Mayo with Walnuts on my fish before I reheated it for dinner, but ate it with my own baked sweet potato stuffed with Mexican-style salsa.

The family owned fish market and some of the fillets that were available last week, above and below.

The Fish Dock also sells salt, chocolate and other products from Iceland.

I like the Wasabi Mayo dressing on the salmon from The Fish Dock, so I mixed thick, non-fat Greek Yogurt and wasabi, and used the mixture in a baked sweet potato before reheating it -- for creaminess without fat or cholesterol, above. I plan to try this dressing on cooked fish. Greek Yogurt also is delicious with za'atar (a Middle Eastern thyme mixture that includes salt and sesame seeds) and extra-virgin olive oil -- in a pocket bread, wrapped in lavash or on a plate, below.

Food shopping: Fish, fruit and everything else taste so much better when on sale

Pacific Dover Sole Fillet was on sale for only $6.99 a pound at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, allowing me to prepare a one-dish dinner for four for about $5 a person, below, after I added organic spinach, organic diced tomatoes, capers, grated cheese, mushrooms, extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lemon juice and pesto, all of which I had on hand.

Dinner was ready in about 10 minutes, once I layered the spinach, thin fillets and all of the other ingredients in a pan lined with parchment paper and placed the pan in a preheated 400-degree oven.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The Whole Foods Market app on my smartphone alerts me to sales and coupons at the Paramus store only a couple miles from my home.

So, it's easy for me to run out and take advantage of a discount coupon on Wild Gulf Shrimp or a sale on Pacific Dover Sole and organic pears.

On the same day I picked up the fresh, wild-caught sole, the Paramus Whole Foods at Bergen Town Center had a sale on Organic Bartlett Pears from Argentina ($1.99 a pound).

They ripened on my kitchen counter in a couple of days, and were sweet and juicy, perfect as a dessert with cheese.

ShopRite has unveiled Wholesome Pantry, a label for antibiotic-free chicken, previously sold under the Readington Farms brand; organic food, and other items free of artificial colors, flavors and preservatives.

I found Wholesome Pantry Organic Garbanzo Beans on sale for 88 cents a can at the Paramus ShopRite (normally $1.31 each), and added them to organic brown rice, organic diced tomatoes, organic chicken stock and chopped fresh garlic in an electric cooker.

This is a great side dish, but can also serve as a light dinner when topped with organic spring mix, cucumbers and tomatoes dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

A light dinner of salad over organic brown rice.

Costco coupons

Costco Wholesale doesn't have sales, but does mail booklets of instant coupons to members of the discount warehouse in Teterboro and Business Center in Hackensack (you don't have to clip the coupons, but they're not interchangeable).

For example, three 46-ounce cans of Dole 100% percent Pineapple Juice are only $4.09 with an instant coupon at the Business Center through Saturday.

The Teterboro warehouse sells a limited selection of skinless-and-boneless Icelandic fish fillets -- cod, haddock and flounder -- for a rock bottom $7.99 or $8.99 a pound.

Korean markets

The H Marts in Little Ferry and Ridgefield have lower sale prices for produce, rice and other items than other stores in the same Korean chain.

And the H Mart at 25 Lafayette Avenue in Englewood offers a 50% discount on any sliced dessert rice cakes left after 4 p.m.

I got $7 off a 2-pound package of Jinga-brand Assorted Rice Cakes that was marked $13.99.

But stores in the H&Y Marketplace chain can beat H Mart on some items.

This month, I found a box of 16 Ataulfo or Champagne Mangoes for $9.99 (regularly $15.99) at the Little Ferry H Mart.

These intensely sweet mangoes were available at the Teterboro Costco for about $1 each.

H Marts also are known for low prices and sales on fresh wild-caught whole fish.

Organic Bartlett Pears on sale for $1.99 a pound this month at Whole Foods Market, Route 4 east and Forest Avenue in Paramus.

Champagne Mangoes from Mexico on sale at the H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry. Buyer beware: Parking lot is filled with potholes and often flooded.

When I found Organic Garbanzo Beans on sale at the ShopRite in Paramus, I added them to organic brown rice, tomatoes, chicken stock and chopped fresh garlic in an electric cooker for dinner.

Organic brown rice with garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes and garlic.

A 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, above, or Wholesome Garden Organic Spring Mix was selling for $3.69 this week at the Costco Wholesale Business Center, 80 S. River St. in Hackensack.

Costco's Kirkland Signature Organic Brown Eggs were introduced at $6.99 for two dozen, but the  price went down to $5.99 and has stayed there.

Dole 100% Pineapple Juice is free of genetically modified ingredients, and comes in BPA-free cans.

On Tuesday, I bought about 1.75 pounds of boneless-and-skinless Icelandic Flounder Fillets at Costco Wholesale in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center off of Route 46 ($7.99 a pound), and prepared them with Asian Indian spices, organic spinach and other ingredients for dinner, above and below.

This one-dish flounder dinner for four with leftovers was ready after 15 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven.

At Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood, complete restaurant-quality dinners to go are cut to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left.