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By Dan Boylan
CorrespondentThere has always been a mighty thirst in Waltham and recently Sham Sahni has been trying to quench it with his new specially brewed Mother India Blonde Ale. Introduced a month ago and receiving rave reviews ever since, Sahni’s brew is a first of its kind in the country for an Indian restaurant. Batches of the fast-selling beer are cooked in Charlestown and slurped up exclusively at Sahni’s Moody street restaurant, New Mother India. The guru of Waltham’s Indian cuisine scene, Sahni is proud to follow in the footsteps of many American immigrants who’ve struggled to innovate and succeed. In 1973 at the age of 22, Sahni traveled alone from the hot sun of his native India to
Burlington, VT, in pursuit of business education. On January 5, in the dead of New England winter, he arrived.
"I had never seen snow before, and let me tell you, the snow was not
up to here (he motioned to his legs) but up to your hips. My gosh, I had never seen like it," said
Sahni.
He moved to Lexington in 1978 and started dabbling in assorted ventures, finally finding the travel industry to his liking. Travel Arrangements, his company, flourished and will soon move to the old Boston Edison building on Moody Street, consolidating Sahni’s empire.
"I’m getting to old and I don’t want to move around as much," he laughed.
Sahni’s involvement with New Mother India began in 1982. The restaurant was enduring hard times which he
tough could be straightened out. He bought it out-right two years later and turned it around.
In the process, New Mother India became a magnet for customers and growing Indian
community along Moody Street.
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Recently, the eatery relocated to its newly designed
facility at 336 Moody Street and has began to pull the top shelf clientele Sahni is after. Just last year the restaurant hosted the Boston branch of the international food and wine society.
"When we moved here, we wanted to distinguished ourselves in two ways. First, we wanted to create a very classy atmosphere with lots of space, and second we wanted to have exclusive beers that could fit our distinguished clientele,"
said Sahni.
Sahni, a computer consultant on the side, admits to possessing a scientific mind. He hasn’t ever drunk beer in his life and despite the need to taste test was not about to change his ways when it came time to select the brews for his menu.
"When we began searching for a truly distinct beer, I wondered if it might be a problem that I didn’t drink. Then I thought, ‘It’s not going to be me who drinks all this beer anyways; it is my customers, so why not ask them,’ "
said Sahni.
Following scientific method, Sahni complied data by gathering the beer opinions of many regular customers and consulting his head cook,
Ashok. They decided to seek a small brewery to make them a beer epically to accompany Indian food.
"Ashok and I have slaved over the food here for years, so of the course we slaved over selecting the right brewery to make our beer," said
Sahni.
After visiting 22 micro-breweries all the way from Hartford to Deerfield, he decided on the
Atlantic Coast Micro Brewery in Charlestown.
"They created a very special recipe and make our batches up just for us," said
Sahni.
Served in a frosty mug with a head that holds, the brew is fast becoming a best seller. Diners who used to order bottled Indian beers, King Fisher and Golden Eagle, now go for the house libation.
At lunch, many come in for the $5.95 all-you-can-eat buffet. Sahni encourages people to taste a 10-cent sample of a ale. |
"This golden toned ale is serious enough to cut through the menu’s spicy offerings yet subtle enough so that it won’t overwhelm your meal," fliers on each table boast.
Specialty beers have been an important element in Sahni’s marketing strategy. The drink menu includes 25 beers from around the world, wines, espresso and
cappuccino, and the traditional Indian dairy beverage, Lassi.
"It became an almost religious matter to change our beers every 60 days. We also give out evaluation cards to let us know what people think of the beer. This way we know what they like. The new beer has done very well," said
Sahni.
Yesterday the crowds were in support of the new brew.
Down from Lexington a group of eaters from Loral Corp., a high tech company, were enjoying a power lunch.
"It reminds me of Red Hook, a West Coast micro-brew that I
enjoy. This is a little bitter on the after side, light but very full flavored," said Richard Manning, part of the Loral group and self-described "moderate drinker."
His favorite beer is Mexican, Dos Equis.
Ashok Sood, a native of India, said the beer reminded him of a micro-brewery in his home land, the Solan Brewery. Solan is 300 miles south of the Himlayan Mountains and he thinks this accounts for the good clean taste if beer there.
"It has a very good taste," said Sood.
"I usually drink Sam Adams. I like a darker beer. But this is fantastic. It compliments the food well and has enough flavor to wash everything down," said a diner who did not want to reveal his name for fear of exposing his luncheon libations.
"American beers are like water, but this gusty, very authoritative brew," he added.
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