| Moody Street could almost be dubbed New Delhi
West considering it provides a home for five, count them
five Indian restaurants. One of
the best on the street and one of the best anywhere, for
that matter, is New Mother India. This is a special
restaurant with a handsome interior, expansive and
inventive menu, excellent prices and, most importantly,
superior cuisine.
In addition to all these factors, owner
Sham Sahni not only serves traditional Indian cuisine, he creates new dishes
that meld Indian food with ingredients typically not
associated with Indian cooking. For example, the chunks
of boneless white chicken in his Chicken Goa are soaked
in coconut milk. In India,
no restaurants cook with coconut, said Sahni.
For atmosphere,
New Mother India’s spacious interior includes plenty
of artistic decorations on the walls such as feathers,
plates and paintings. Fresh flowers grace the table as do
beautifully designed plates with Indian motifs. Jars
loaded with various sauces, perfect for dabbing on bread,
rest on the table too.
Customers can sit in either booths or
tables and both chairs and booths are upholstered and the
floor carpeted. A separate room exists for the luncheon
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buffet while recessed
lighting completes the picture. "It’s very
elegant ," said my wife Beverly. New Mother India serves both beer and wine, and
the international beers are definitely worth sampling,
especially the Indian beer. For taste, don’t order
Golden Eagle, select either Kingfisher or Flying Horse. I
ordered the latter because it came in a large, 24ounce
bottle. "It almost had a bouquet to it," said Bev. "There’s a touch of sweetness without it
being sweet. It’s wonderful." Other beers come
in smaller sizes. According to Sahni, no Indian
restaurant in New England serves a larger selection of
imported beers than New Mother India.
For an appetizer, we ordered the
Tandoori platter - an assortment of a Tandoori items and
chicken pakoras including boti kebab, seekh kabob and
chicken tikka kebab. This dish could make a meal in
itself. The pakoras were flavorful and not at all greasy.
The meats meanwhile melted in our mouths and all flavors
were enhanced by the Tandoori oven. New Mother India,
which opened in 1982, was the first Indian restaurant in
New England to install a tandoor, or clay oven, said
Sahni. The platter was also served with lettuce,
tomatoes, lemon and cucumber.
Another appetizer we shared was the
Kashmiri mushrooms -
fresh marinated mushrooms cooked with ginger, onion and
bell peppers in a pan with spices and wine. It was
another triumph. The mushrooms were plump and the flavors
full. "Very originals," said Bev. You can request to have this dish served with or
without wine.
For breads, we ordered the onion Nan -
it comes stuffed with onions and herbs - and Poori - a
Very light puffed bread, slightly crisp and flaky. While
I liked the Nan, the Poori was the real treat. You
don’t even need a topping
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to enjoy it. Nan is
cooked in a tandoor while Poori is whole-wheat flat bread
lightly cooked on the grill. The restaurant bakes all its
breads on the premises. In the
entree realm, Bev selected the shrimp bhuna - shrimp
pan-fried in onions, fresh ginger, garlic, peppers and
tomatoes. She once again raved about the flavor as well
as the marvelous ingredient combinations and preparation.
I ordered the Madras chicken -
boneless chunks of chicken breast cooked on a slow flame
and prepared in a special tamarind sauce with a touch of
ginger, peanuts and garlic.
This is marked as a hot dish on the menu and the waiter
asked if I’d like it hot. I said, "Well, some
like it hot." No, I didn’t say that. I said
yes, and the dish still wasn’t that hot so people
with sensitive palates need worry. The restaurant will cook
a meal to your specification anyway. Once again, the chicken was tender and tasty.
The highlight
of the evening, however, was the garlic-lemon chicken -
extra low-fat chicken breast marinated in a garlic-lemon
sauce with spices and cooked in a tandoor. It comes to the table sizzling and it’s an
absolute treat. If you’re looking for a healthy dish
that doesn’t scrimp of flavor, this is it. By the
way, all the plates came to our table warm. A nice touch.
For desert, Bev choose the pistachio gourmet ice
cream. Wise choice. The
ice cream was rich but not to sweet and it came loaded
with whole pistachio nuts. I picked the kulfi-Indian ice
cream that’s slow-cooked and flavored with finally
ground almonds, pistachios and cashews. This was an
interesting concoction, though it could have used a sugar
infusion.
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