Today, I’m taking you to Cinnamon, a restaurant bringing high quality Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine, in the village of Rhinebeck, NY. My daughters have a home upstate, and this is one of our favorite dinner spots. Rhinebeck Village, established in 1683, is worth a visit, in itself, for its historic homes and architecture, hiking and biking trails, and its surrounding natural beauty. And at night, all over the village, white mini lights wrapped around the trunks and limbs of trees create a most magical effect.

We started our meal, this evening, with vegetable samosas, Indian pastry stuffed with vegetables and served with a dipping sauce. However, on a previous occasion, we enjoyed Palak Chaat, crisp fried spinach leaves topped with crisp noodles, chopped onions and fresh tomatoes drizzled with cilantro and mint chutney, tamarind sauce, and yogurt.

For four of us, we ordered Chicken Tikka Masala, tandoori grilled boneless chicken in a tomato cream sauce with mild spices, Lamb Shank Rogan, lamb shank slow-cooked in a sauce of saffron, garam masala and a blend of chilies, Saag Paneer, chopped spinach and chickpeas simmered in a creamy sauce of ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin with cubed homemade cheese, all accompanied by bowls of basmati rice, and several orders of hot Garlic Naan, the classic Punjab bread topped with melted butter, minced garlic and fresh cilantro. Desert all around was Rice Kheer, rice pudding with rose water, cardamom, and saffron.

For vegetarians, there is a plethora of choices, and you can also ask for the degree of spiciness that you can tolerate. Mine is always mild. So, if you decide to visit Rhinebeck Village, definitely enjoy a wonderful meal at Cinnamon.

Naan

03/2022: Adam and I returned for a lunch recently, and the food was as we remembered it – excellent! This time, we enjoyed the LAMB MASALAWALA (tandoori grilled, grass-fed rack of lamb in a 24-hour marinade of ground cashews and yogurt with fresh mint, ginger, garlic served with grilled vegetables). Along with vegetables samosas and hot Garlic Naan, the SAAG PANEER  (chopped spinach simmered in a creamy sauce of ginger, turmeric, coriander, cumin with cubed homemade cheese)was so good we took an order home!