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Street in Waltham seems an unlikely Restaurant Row but that is what it
has become a rather incongruous mix of upscale, medium and down scale
eateries sandwiched among faded storefronts. New Mother India, one of
several Indian restaurants on the street, reflects the evolution of
the area's restaurant culture, having moved upscale from a modest
storefront to its spacious location in December 1991. Walking
into this restaurant is a treat: It is elegantly appointed and well
designed for comfort as well as beauty. Dark walnut booths and tables
with sturdy, comfortable chairs, white walls, elaborate and soft
recessed lighting, a sense of space and beauty all combine to make it
welcoming.
But the sense of well- being is not all
looks- New Mother India's cuisine, by chef Ashok Sharma,
is also set to a high standard. The meats are tender, the
breads delicious and greaseless, the vegetables fine and
the spices fragrant and true. Owner Sham Sahni goes into
great detail when asked about dishes, describing the
length of time an eggplant dish takes to make, the base
for the sauces and the reason for replacing the tandoori
oven every two years.
Vegetable pakoras, fritters of
spinach, potato, green pepper and onion, were great little starters with
lots of diverse tastes and a very light texture despite the frying.
Another appetizer of Kashmiri mushrooms also piqued the appetite
with its sharp accents of ginger and cumin. The condiments on
each table were noteworthy; the green mango chutney, tangy to the point
of bitterness with hot little chilies, and a cool mint relish to counter
it were my favorites.
The waiter explained that
Indians eat bread with the meal instead of before, which was a good
thing because New Mother India's breads are addictive
and it would be easy to fill up on the bread basket. Tandoori
roti was crisp from grilling yet
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soft; the
tava chapati, baked on a griddle instead of in the
tandoori clay oven, had a similar taste but a softer
texture. Both the paratha, a layered bread, and an onion
nan were particularly fine examples of Indian baking. The
paratha was flaky and moist but not oily. The nan had a
savory taste with its bits of onion, but was unusually
delicate. Indian
restaurants are always a good bet for vegetarians, and this one has
plenty of choices. Baingan
bharta, an eggplant dish with onions and peas, takes
almost 10 hours to make, Sahni explained, and the taste
is well worth the time. In a phone interview, Sahni and the
chef rattled bough a pantry of the exotic spices in the dish, but
suffice to say that the mixture is fragrant with cumin, coriander and
ginger and has amazing subtlety for a dish that looks like simple
mashed eggplant.
Tandoori meats, barbecued in a
clay oven, were obviously popular here: their delivery on madly sizzling
plates makes a recurring staccato sound in the dining room. A
mixed grill provided a good sampling, the lamb cubes, beef and chicken
moist and tender, melding nicely with grilled onions and contrasting
with a bed of crisp lettuce. Other entrees, such as a curried
chicken in spinach (murgi saag), shrimp korma and curried chicken with
egg (annda curry) all had good ingredients and a pleasant play of spices
but were rendered similar by the creamed curry sauces.
Like most area Indian restaurants, the
cuisine is almost exclusively northern Indian. Creamed
sauces predominate and while there are differences in
tomato or spinach bases, the resulting tastes and
textures get monotonous. I'd love to see what this
kitchen could do with some sharper- flavored dishes from
the southern part of India. I'm saying this while
admitting that this may be unfair; India's a large
country with very different cuisines in the north and
south, and this may be like saying an Italian restaurant
should have more French dishes on the menu. Sahni did say
that he is looking for a southern Indian cook.
Vindaloo dishes are the exception from
the south, but despite the three chili markings for super
hob the lamb vindaloo was pretty tame. With its fragrance
of mustard seeds and tamarind the dish was nevertheless
flavorful and a change from the other
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creamier
sauces. Another contrast were the biryani, or rice, selections. Lamb
biryani could easily become another sort of addiction, the
layers of flavors of saffron and .spices mixing with excellent basmati
rice and crunchy cashews. New
Mother India does a good job with several desserts: kulfi, the Indian
ice milk concoction mixed with almonds, pistachios and cashews, was
intensely spiced. Kheer, a creamy rice pudding topped with green
cardamom was also a pleasant light ending to the meal. Ginger ice cream gave the palate little
explosions of ginger chunks in a sweet creamy base.
Service followed the Indian model, a
communal effort. Although the waiters were congenial and
quick about attending our table at the beginning of the
meal, attention seemed to lag about the middle when the
restaurant got busier, and waiters were sometimes a
little hard to flag down.
Sahni shows a
lot of savvy in the beverage department choosing to
concentrate on a beer list with 22 varieties including
three Indian beers and some from Israel, New Zealand and
Thailand as well as boutique beers from the United States
and England. Beer seems to complement the diverse spices
in Indian food and it's not often you see such an unusual
selection. The wine list is short but also carefully selected
to match the food.
These choices reflect
the overall feeling that emanates here. Care and pride taken with the
cuisine and in the decor give this restaurant distinction.
Alison Arnett is the Globe's
restaurant critic.
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