Gilles and I were running errands together yesterday and decided to head out to the west end near the airport to check out a restaurant that a recent article suggested had the best samosas in the city.
We like to occasionally buy a few dozen and freeze them for easy, last minute lunches. We have a local place with an *ok* samosa, but not great.
The restaurant we found was a small, non-descript kind of place with both a hot food and take-out counter. Getting carried away by the variety in the display counter, Gilles’ attention was captured by a tray of pepper pakoras.
Although Gilles likes spicy food, he doesn’t necessarily like over-the-top hot food and these appeared to be full-sized banana peppers. I attempted to caution him that maybe they weren’t a great choice.
Now, Gilles can occasionally be …. how do I put this kindly? … pigheadedly self-righteous. Right now, any of you who actually know Gilles are vigorously nodding your heads at this understatement.
This was one of those times.
His response: “Bah. How hot can they be?”
Me: “What do you mean ‘How hot can they be?’ … we’re in an INDIAN restaurant.”
Gilles: “I’ll take six.”
By this point, the woman behind the counter was unsuccessfully stifling a broad smile, but I didn’t bother trying. I was laughing out loud. Six!!!!
So how were they?
The samosas were in fact the best we’ve ever had and definitely worth the trip to the west end.
… and you guessed it, the pepper pakoras were Holy Hell, Burn-My-Mouth-Off-Hot.
It was funny only because I was right.
Mmmmmmm samosas
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Oh yes! 🙂
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This was hilarious but true in relationships. Someone usually is right while the other is making a Big mistake! 😉
I like General Tso’s chicken with red peppers in the sauce. Now when I eat “plain” sweet and sour chicken it seems “bland.” That being said, I could not eat an entire pakora but those samosas sound delicious, Joanne. I admire your “spunk” more and more that I get to know you! 😀
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“Spunk” is one of the nicer words used to describe me 😉
… and I like it. I think I’ll keep it!
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Did he eat all six? I hope he has some antacids!
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Nope. Four went into the freezer, I ate one and there is still 1/2 of one in the fridge. In other words, he hasn’t eaten much 😉
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That made me laugh.
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Those look and sound good. I like spicy food, but not “holy hell hot” – Sorry for Gilles, first because they were too hot and second because you were right (sorry, it’s a guy thing).
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I agree. I think it’s a guy thing. He still maintains they’re ‘not that hot’. Riiiiight – eat more than a small wedge 😉
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I’m not familiar with pakoras so looked them up. Sound delicious but hubby’s sound a little too hot for this woman. 🙂
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Yeah, personally I’m going to stick with regular pakoras 🙂
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Oh no! I hope the yogurt was handy for a bit of a cool down.
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Oh yes 🙂
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Fun tale with an I Told You So ending…doesn’t get any better than that. 🙂
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… but we would NEVER say I-told-you-so, right? 😉
{snicker}
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Definitely.
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I love the hot stuff I would have been in heaven.
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Then this would have been the treat for you 🙂
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Hahaha best post! Too funny!
Love that …..”pigheadedly self-righteous”… and that being “an understatement”. 🙂
Peta
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hehehe!! It’s a good thing Gilles doesn’t write a blog … or read mine. I think there could be a risk of payback 😉
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Hahaha… sometimes it is so good to be right… 😀
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Oh yes – sometimes it’s just so much sweeter 😉
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Ha, too funny Joanne! If only they would listen eh?
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The flip side of it is, you just know they would never admit they were wrong 😉
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6 is the right number!
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LOL – I don’t know about that part, but they are being treated with respect 😉
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I’ve never had a samosa. I know what they are but Indian food isn’t the done thing around here. As for a husband not listening to a wise wife, it’s a tale as old, and funny, as the hills. 😉
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Toronto is very multi-cultural so you can find just about any kind of restaurant and specialty stores here.
Indian isn’t my favourite food, but I do occasionally love to have a few samosas.
… and as for husbands … aren’t they cute when they’re being stubborn? 😉
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“Sweet India: fresh.bold.authentic” The bold part: He had fair warning!
I saw the samosa article just yesterday on FB – and here you are, confirming the reports. I love a good samosa.
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These were by far the plumpest, most generous samosas I’ve ever had and the pastry was very tender. Yum.
I won’t admit to how many I’ve had 😉
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How fun to go out and try new places. Your story cracked me up. How many of the pakoras did Gilles eat? That will be a real indicator of his “righteousness?” Ha ha.
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He had only a tiny piece – on the other hand, I had a whole one. I know, I know. I paid dearly for my sin.
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I think it’s good for you. Get’s the circulation going!
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Yeaaaaah – some circulation is better than others 😉
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We go to a place in the West end for what I think are the best samosas around – Mississauga Sweets? What is the name of the place you found?
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We were at a place called Sweet India on Airport Road just past Derry.
I’ve made a note of Mississauga Sweets. We’ll have to check it out and see who wins the samosa competition 🙂
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Are women ever wrong? 😙
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None that I know 😉
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Haha I love that you were right. Was a fire extinguisher required? 🙂
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Let’s just say I needed to calm the flames in my mouth …. and I really like spicy!!
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He-Man would gobble those up! He loves HOT peppers. I don’t know how he eats it.
I have to make sure there’s plenty of Tahini or yogurt sauce around to cut the heat.
Maybe after you freeze and thaw them out they’ll mellow. 🙂
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Gilles maintains they aren’t that hot … although I’ve noticed he has eaten only very small amounts 😉
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🙂
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I bet Mr. Pigheaded won’t be eating hot peppers for a few days…
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He hasn’t had any except for a very small bite last night. He claimed it wasn’t “that hot”. Riiiiiight.
On the other hand, I had one today for lunch and it was yummy. Hot as Hades … but yummy.
I should mention however that right now it feels like my bowels are on fire. I’m sure it’s just a coincidence 😉
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Yup, a coincidence, she says as she rolls her eyes…
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Of course you were right! I have two daughters like that. I’m not sure I could partner with the pig-headed. LOL I’m not as tolerant as some seem to be. May they find tolerant mates.
Yay for samosas! 🙂
I like it hot, but it doesn’t like me, so hot things are often avoided and then when I can’t resist, they’re followed by ice water with apple cider vinegar! Phew!
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Ice water with apple cider vinegar? What’s the vinegar for?
Gilles did however point out that I’m just like him 😉
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Oh, see, then you tolerate one another ❤
Water with apple cider vinegar is my body's cure for heartburn/reflux. Without it I'd be (have been) miserable. I do not know why, but it works for me!
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Really?! I must try that next time … although I don’t often get heartburn anymore since I gave up chocolate.
You know it’s bad when giving up chocolate is actually a reasonable solution.
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YES. I understand. Sometimes you just want to eat the things that don’t agree with you.
If you’re going to do it, it’s very important to use the unpasteurized sort, with the ‘mother’ in it. You may want to read about it. It seems it’s different for everyone.
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Oh, Joanne–I love how incredibly kind you are! What a riot! Hey, Gilles–hot enough for you?!
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Mr Asbestos-Mouth claims it’s not that hot. I’m thinking he wouldn’t say otherwise even if he spontaneously combusted 😉
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Hilarious!! The hubby and I just went to Chinese tonight and he had them add extra spice. We usually go at lunch and it’s still mild at a 4 spice level. The dinnertime cooks must have a different meaning for 4 spice. This time he couldn’t even finish eating it. lol
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LOL!!
In Quebec, they have an expression in French that when the food is very spicy the cook was in a good mood 😉
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Never underestimate the wisdom of a woman!
Note to self…of I am ever in your neck of the woods…stop by for some samosas…and of course a visit with you! ! 😉
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You’re on!! 🙂
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Ha! “How hot could they be?” You didn’t by chance get a video of him biting into the pakoras to post on YouTube, did you? Something like that just might go viral (at least among those of us who sometimes find ourselves dealing with a… um… pigheaded, self righteous spouse now and then).
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haha! No, it wasn’t one of those. He took a tiny bite and declared it ‘not that hot’. I’ve noticed he hasn’t had any more though.
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Heehee… thanks for the smiles Jo. I love hot spicy food, but I think I’d rather have the samosas than those funny looking things! I hope Giles is, ahem, not feeling any after affects. 🙂
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I love spicy food too and have a much higher tolerance level for hot and spicy than Gilles does.
He actually had only a tiny piece before declaring it wasn’t that hot. However, I’ve had a whole one … and I’m suffering a little right now.
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Oh, dear… 😦
I can get heartburn now with spicy foods and I never had that other than at the end of a pregnancy. The joys of growing older!
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So far I’m doing ok, although I do have to use some moderation. It’s bad enough that I’ve had to virtually eliminate chocolate from my life 😦
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That IS bad enough…
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You said it first – aging sucks.
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Is the name of the restaurant Sweet India? How far west is it? North Etobicoke, Little India, ??????
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It’s on Airport Road just past Derry. I also bought some regular pakoras and, like the samosas, they were excellent.
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That’s really far west. I mean we’re no longer in Toronto but a good samosas is worth travelling for.
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I agree. Airport Road is pretty far for us since we are way out on the east end, but on a quiet Sunday morning, it was worth the drive 🙂
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Can be “pigheadedly self-righteous.” That’s a birth defect. It is widespread from Europe to Africa. I would say around 75% of man have the symptoms (mine included).
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BWAHAHAHAHA!!!
Being of European descent, Gilles would argue I have the same affliction and he probably learned it from me 😀
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Too funny
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What was Gilles’ response to the hot pakoras?
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He had one tiny piece and claimed ‘it’s not that hot’. He would NEVER admit otherwise 🙂
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That’s exactly what I thought!
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Haha, you really shouldn’t have put it so kindly, Joanne 🙂
I don’t know Gilles and I was nodding. Maybe it’s a husband thing. Is there ever a time when a wife isn’t right 🙂
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“Some like it hot.” That would NOT be me. In the seventies in Madrid on my first trip to Europe and first ever encounter with Indian food, I asked myself the question, “How hot can it be?” The answer was something I never forgot!
janet
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LOL!! You’re forgiven because you had never experienced Indian food before. Gilles had no excuse 🙂
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And I wasn’t even twenty and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, where any Indians in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s were unlikely to be Asian!! 🙂
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Yup, I know what you’re saying 🙂
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Maybe he can eat them . . . in small bites mixed with ample piles of plain white rice!
Glad you liked the Samosas. Great idea to freeze them.
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So far I’m the one eating them. My tolerance for hot and spicy exceeds his.
I knew that was going to be the eventual outcome 😉
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Bahahaha if I had one of them I would be farting sparks for days Joanne 😫 Sorry for that visual 😳
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hehehehe!! Sparks! That would hurt 😀
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And set fire to the rug 🤣
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… and the cat 😉
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Lol I’ve never seen these words string together before. “pigheadedly self-righteous” I’ll have to remember that for future use.
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As he pointed out however, I’m equally, if not more, pigheaded 🙂
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I think the phrase you’re looking for is “strong willed”
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Yes! That’s it! 🙂
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Was that really the only reason it was funny??? Ha, ha!
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hehehe! No 😉
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