I should start out by saying, I have never been a fan of Indian food, and not as much because the I don’t like the food as I was not open to try it. Two years ago a colleague took me to India Rasoi. I tried salad with special India Rasoi dressing and I did not like it, and made up my mind that I didn’t like Indian food.
I am so thankful, though, that I changed my mindset and have been trying new cuisines. I not only thoroughly enjoyed the food at Rasoi, but I have since made curry dishes at home!
India Rasoi is a charming restaurant with some traditional Indian dishes as well as Americanized Indian dishes.
The restaurant has a wonderfully sophisticated and calming atmosphere, with a gorgeous shade of red and yellow walls with drapery, a beautiful mural in the backroom and majestic giant leaf fans.
I had the pleasure of sitting down with the owner, Harinder, Ron from ONSTL and Joy from The Fountain on Locust who joined us for dinner later.
Everyone knew this was my first real experience with Indian food and didn’t leave ordering our food up to me. 🙂
Kashem, our server, was very attentive and it was not just because we were sitting with the owner. Ron and Joy have been to Indian Rasoi multiple times and said Kashem always provides top notch service. I had a bottle of beer and he brought a nice frosty glass with it. He noticed my beer wasn’t all the way full and came by and poured the rest of my beer in my cold glass for me.
We started out with quite a few appetizers: Naan, mint cilantro chicken and samosa, which was served with three different sauces. I really enjoyed the Naan and the Samosa. I dipped the Samosa in each of the sauces, onion, mint, and tamarind chutney. Each sauce was vastly different. I enjoyed the flavor of all three sauces, but the onion chutney was my favorite. I could dip all my food in it :). I was not a fan of the mint cilantro chicken. While I love mint and cilantro, it was a little different mixed with chicken. Everyone else at the table really seemed to enjoy though, so it could have been just me.
For dinner we had Lamb Shank, Tikka Massala and a vegetarian platter. I learned a lot about Indian food during our meal. For example, I did not know that curry is not a specific spice. I always thought it was one spice. It is actually a combination of loads of spices such as coriander, tumeric, fenugreek, cumin and chili peppers. True curry is a leaf that is used in Indian and Sri Lankan cooking, the way we use basil or bay leaves. Also the Tikka Masala at India Rasoi, while it has an Indian twist to it, actually originated in the United Kingdom. The Tikka Masala is a charcoal roasted chicken in a creamy tomato sauce with Indian spices. If you prefer lamb, shrimp or paneer you can get that in place of chicken. I thought this was a great and slow introduction to Indian food for me.
The Lamb Shank was falling apart with every bite! The saffron pulao sauce was so flavorful and I loved the basmati rice served with it. I have since bought this rice to cook with at home. The best dish for me, though, was the vegetable platter. It came with three different soups: Palak Paneer, Vegetable Chettinad and Makhani Dal. It was a spinach and cheese soup, mixed vegetable soup with coconut oil and Indian spices, and a lentil soup. The Palak Paneer was so tasty, similar to a spinach and artichoke dip but in a creamy soup! For dessert we had rice pudding. There was no chance, even with all four us that we could finish everything! We had leftovers and it made my husband so happy.
India Rasoi is a happening spot in the Central West End to grab a bite to eat. They have a buffet weekdays, brunch on the weekends, and dinner every night. Whether you are a fan of Indian food or not, like I was, I encourage you to break out of your comfort zone and try some new food! You never know when you might fall in love with a new cuisine!
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Until my next new cuisine!
Lisa Annie
XOXO
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