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GaramChai.com >> Indian Restaurant
In
this and other pages of the Restaurant
section of GaramChai.com you will find extensive listings
of restaurants and cuisine serving the Indian community. This
comprehensive collection is unique on the web
since most other listings on the Internet are either classifieds
or restricted to a few cities. You may also be interested
in our section on Desi
Recepies and cuisine
You
may select from the states below to view the complete listings
of Indian restaurants serving authentic South-Asian, Indian
cuisine.
The
Moral Quandry (Lavina
Melwani Little India.Com)
How do
you give up age-old values and still remain the same person?
Have
you ever been in Moral Quandary, USA? No, it's not a town
or city. It's more a state of mind, a searing mental space
that immigrants often discover themselves in as they acclimatize
to the landscape of a new, bold and dramatically different
culture, a place where many of their traditional morals and
cultural traditions simply don't exist and rules are made
only to be broken. For immigrants, America has many names
-- land of opportunity, gold mountain, the promised land,
the land of milk and honey. To them add another, land of moral
quandaries, of hard choices.
Many Indians,
who are vegetarian since birth, encounter their gravest moral
quandary when they are called upon to touch or slice animal
flesh, cook it -- or worse still, ingest it. Unlike Western
vegetarians, the deeply ingrained vegetarian culture in India
is not a health choice, but rooted in deeply held religious
and moral beliefs, passed down over generations. Read more
Featured
Article: An Indian treasure (by Jeff Broder From
Metro Times)
Over the
years, I have spoken to several restaurateurs who have opted
for the sky-high suburban rents over a location in Detroit,
citing crime problems, lack of patrons due to population flight,
and the general risks of succeeding in the city proper.
Maliha
Naveed went to Wayne State University, and views the area
as a hub of cultural activity, inhabited by a diverse population.
When she decided to open a new Indian restaurant, American
Masala, along with her partner Naveed Syed, the two didn’t
see it as a risk. Rather, they saw it as an opportunity to
attract the many people who live and work in the area. Their
confidence in the decision, partly fueled by the success of
their first six months of operation, has prompted them to
extend the restaurant’s hours to 24/7, beginning on Sept.
10. In addition to its proximity to the Detroit Medical Center,
home to hundreds of round-the-clock workers, the restaurant is directly behind the 13th Precinct of the Detroit Police
Department, adding a sense of security to apprehensive patrons.
Location, location, location.
I love
Indian food, and I like to try new Indian restaurants as soon
as they open. When I recently heard about American Masala,
I called a friend who shares my enthusiasm for this fine cuisine,
and we headed out for what sounded like a hard-to-find location.
The restaurant’s address is 51 W. Hancock, between Woodward
and Cass, but its entrance is on the side of the building
facing a parking lot on Forest. You’ll know that you
have arrived when you see the brightly painted exterior with
its framed Indian art. What a surprise! It looks like an Indian
postcards. Once inside, the joy of discovery continues. The restaurant is beautifully decorated,
with antique looking reception chairs, and the tables and chairs match the beautiful wall decor as well. The
aromas are at least as striking as the visuals. As much as
I attempt to resist buffets, I never bothered to look at a
menu. There are more than a dozen irresistible selections
on the buffet, including tandoori chicken, which is marinated
in a mixture of yogurt and spices, then typically cooked in
a tandoor, a charcoal- or wood-fired clay oven. The restaurant
is having a tandoor shipped from India within the next few
weeks; for the time being, the meats are being broiled. It
was difficult for me to tell the difference, due to the excellent
marinade. Rest assured, it can only improve once the proper
oven arrives. There was a delicious fish curry, butter chicken
braised in a rich gravy, and lamb masala, spicy braised lamb
on the bone.
Indian restaurants are always vegetarian-friendly; a recent
buffet included vegetarian salads, soups and biryani, a layered
rice dish. At $6.99, this is a bargain. The food is primarily
southern Indian, but there are a few selections from other
regions, as well as items from China, the Middle East and
the American South.
Indian
food uses the same spices in many of its dishes: coriander,
cumin, turmeric, hot red pepper, garam masala, and cardamom.
As the proportions are changed, the flavors of each recipe
change. Indian food is well-seasoned, complex, but not necessarily
hot. All of the foods served at American Masala are halal,
that is, in accordance with Muslim dietary laws which dictate
how animals are fed and how they are slaughtered. No pork
products are permitted, and all halal animals must be fed
a chemical-free diet. All in all, this food is good for you.
Enjoy it.
When I
started cooking Indian food a few years ago, one of my first
dishes was Aloo Bhaji: potatoes and tomatoes in delicious
gravy, which begs for some basmati rice to absorb the resulting
flavors. Here’s a recipe that is fairly easy to prepare
— the spices are available at most markets, but I recommend
visiting an Indian store like Patel Brothers. It’s the
Indian equivalent of a chain grocery; one is located on Orchard
Lake Road, south of Thirteen Mile.
Note: Page last updated: July 2013
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