Has India Jones Switched Up Their Bread?
It was almost exactly 1 year ago this week that I first hit up the India Jones Truck. I was fresh off the boat from NYC, and hungry for a West coast equivalent to my beloved kati roll- a Calcutta street food that is very popular in Midtown Manhattan. I really loved their butter chicken (you might say the secret ingredient is butter) but their frankies and stuffed “paratha” left me a bit disappointed. Admittedly the frankie and kati roll are two completely different treats (the frankie comes from Bombay, and features an egg washed bread) but I was still hoping for something a bit more traditional than the Mexican flour tortilla they were using for both items.
Well, recently I heard an unconfirmed rumor that they may have changed their bread to something a bit more roti-like. Excuse to try the India Jones Truck again? Don’t mind if I do!
A marked improvement! Or at least I think it is. I couldn’t say for sure if it was the bread or the preparation but the frankies are definitely better than I remember them. They’ve got a nice char on the outside, but still retain a nice bit of chewiness
The egg wash is way more pronounced now, and they come with way more filling (although at $4.50, they’re also $1 more.)
They use the same bread for the stuffed parathas, where comparing the photos doesn’t give you a striking difference… but the taste sure does. The cauliflower mixture doesn’t hold back on the spice, and has no trouble powering through the bread. Dipped in the cumin (?) flecked yogurt mixture, it’s still reminiscent of a cheese-less Indian quesadilla- but in this version the Indian portion really shines through.
Did they really get better or have my Kati roll loving standards just been lowered by being in L.A. for a year? I still remember the first burrito I had after moving from L.A. to New York 6 years ago. It was so bad it made me angry. Of course after a few years of mediocre East coast Mexican food I returned to the same place and thought “this isn’t nearly as bad as I remember it!” Did the place get better or I get worse? (I’d wager on the latter.)
So, where does India Jones fit into that equation? I confirmed with the Chef that they have indeed switched to a bread that is made specifically for them. He admitted it’s not a huge difference, and is still made like a Mexican flour tortilla, but with a few changes that make it more like the roti you’ll find in Bombay.
In the end, who cares about the why. I liked the frankies and the paratha way better on my latest visit. Will they replace the butter chicken as my favorite thing from the India Jones truck? I don’t think so. But they’ll at least make me take a bit longer to make my decision.
Posted by Zach Brooks at 11:15 am, February 28th, 2011 under Food Truck, India Jones Truck, Indian.
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2 Comments
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Have you tried the chicken tikka rolls at Chutney’s? on Pico at Barringon? They use naan, and there’s no egg, but it’s the closest thing to Roomali I’ve found in LA thus far. One of those and a couple of meat samosas makes for a fine lunch or dinner.
Yeah – the India Jones truck was parked at the 7th and Fig complex last week and I thought their frankies were great. The bread was good. It was my first time trying it though.