Warm welcome for Indian flavors
There's no snow in New York City this year. Maybe it's a result of global warming. Maybe it's simply an aberration. But if the warm East Coast winter had come a year earlier, Ashwani Ahuja may never have moved from his 20-year home in Washington, D.C., and we wouldn't have a new Indian restaurant to enjoy.
Bombay
Discovery Bay Center, 1778 Ala Moana Blvd. 942-3990
FoodHHH1/2
ServiceHH1/2
AmbienceHHH1/2
ValueHHH
Hours: 5 to 10 p.m. daily
Cost: $45 to $60 for two without drinks
|
"I came here on vacation two years ago and loved it. I wanted a warm place to move to, and the people are also nice, although now I hear it's warm on the East Coast!"
Too late! After making his move to Hawaii five months ago, Ahuja has also opened Bombay restaurant. It's in Discovery Bay, where Capricciosa once stood, the "Italian" sign now partially obscured to read "Indian."
I've always believed Indian cuisine to be underrepresented in the islands, and Bombay makes up for the lack with an extensive menu including curries and tandoor specialties gleaned from memories of growing up in New Delhi and spending 28 years in the restaurant business. Ahuja worked in Washington, D.C.'s, Bombay Club, which he says was a favorite haunt of former President Clinton, before breaking out on his own.
For now, Bombay is open for dinner only, but with additional hands arriving from D.C., Ahuja expects to start Sunday brunch service on Jan. 14, or the 21st at latest.
The name Bombay plays on romantic Western notions of India. Today, the city of islands called Mumbai is recognized as an international hi-tech and financial star, and home to cuisine from all parts of India.
Bombay's focus is the cuisine of Northern India, which is most familiar to Western diners. This would include use of yogurt marinades, garam masala (spice blends of cumin, coriander, cinnamon and more), breads and meats baked in clay tandoor ovens, and biryanis (rice pilafs).
Ahuja's aim was to deliver a fine-dining experience and prices are higher than the handful of Indian restaurants we do have, though of course curries can be shared and that's one way to sample one's way through the menu.
I love Indian food and there was so much I wanted to try, but there's only so much a person can tackle in a few visits, especially at peak diet-resolution season.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Bombay Indian Restaurant in the Discovery Bay Center serves tandoori chicken, surrounded by naan bread, chicken curry and palak paneer, a spinach dish featuring handmade cottage cheese.
|
|
When ordering, go for variety. Although there are minor differences from curry to curry, there's sameness in texture and in many, a smooth, creamy combination of tomato, onion and coconut that could become monotonous if sampled side-by-side.
Kadai chicken ($14.95) is likely to be one of the most popular curries. Boneless chunks of chicken are cooked over high heat in a wok with onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. Those sensitive to strong flavors might want to fish out the black cardamom pods that give flavor to this dish, before accidentally biting into one.
Bombay may be the only Indian restaurant here to serve a salmon curry ($18.95), though the chef's specialty is lamb rogan josh ($15.95), tender pieces of lamb cooked in a savory yogurt-based curry sauce spiked with whole cloves.
Don't expect the same cubed lamb skewered on lamb seekh kebab ($7.95), made in traditional style with a mixture of minced lamb, cilantro, garlic and touch of ginger so that it's more like a flavorful, lean sausage, charbroiled in the tandoor. If you prefer cubed lamb, or boti kebab, it's part of the mixed grill ($17.95) also featuring jumbo shrimp and charbroiled chicken tikka.
FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COM
Server Ambika Subramony holds a tray of dishes including chicken tikka masala, dal makhni and shahi paneer.
|
|
If you order correctly, your senses will be jolted by a riot of flavors and scents, starting with simple appetizers of vegetable samosas ($6.95), vegetable turnovers in hard wonton-like shells, stuffed with a mixture of peas and potatoes, served with invigorating cilantro-mint and sweet tamarind sauces.
Meals may be accompanied by biryanis or naan flatbread ($2.50). For a twist on standard naan, try the onion kulcha ($3.50), a sort of Indian foccaccia topped with onions and cilantro.
You also want to be sure to select one dish off the tandoor menu, in which chicken ($15.95), salmon ($19.95) and shrimp ($21.95) are marinated in yogurt and lemon juice, which do double duty as flavor agents and tenderizers. Along with mild spices, they represent a healthier alternative to the favorite Hawaii choices of salty and sugary marinade ingredients. Presentation is plain, and something like tandoor salmon is relatively bland when compared to the flavorful curries, but depending on your preferences, it may be worth the extra wait to receive entrées that emerge moist and tender from the tandoor, with no fat added anywhere in the cooking process.
And perhaps there are no people more grateful for Indian restaurants than vegetarians, who will find an abundance of dishes, from a lentil stew called dal makhni ($9.95) to baingan bhartha ($11.95), baked and mashed eggplant sautéed with onions, tomatoes and herbs.