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Cooking in 'dooris
At Tandoori, start with the Samosas ($3.99). These potato- and pea-stuffed pastry shells are heavy with filling, wrapped with crispy fried dough, and highly seasoned. Usually samosas are not highly spiced, but these were loaded with flavor. There are several breads on offer; the Naan ($1.99) and Garlic Naan ($2.49) are especially nice. Each order comes with several pieces and is cooked with a slightly crispy outside and a chewy inside. The garlic one was topped with a heady amount of chopped garlic. When it comes to entrees, there are so many choices that it is hard to narrow it down to just one. They offer a full selection of meats and kabobs from the tandoori oven, and there is a short and interesting history of the tandoori oven on the menu for those interested. (Did you know it might have come from Syria or Iraq originally?) For tandoori cooking, the meat is first marinated-often in yogurt and a combination of spices-and then cooked in a super-hot, mesquite-burning oven. The flavors and texture that this cooking method induces are unduplicated anywhere else. Tandoori Chicken ($11.99) is a standard at Indian restaurants-the distinctive red chicken is delicious. But they also offer Seekh Kabob ($12.99), which is grilled lamb formed into kabobs. All the dishes from the Traditional Curries section of the menu come with your choice of meat (chicken, lamb or shrimp). All dishes also come in a choice of mild, medium or spicy. We tried the Saag Chicken ($10.99) served spicy. It is a combination of spinach, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger and chunks of chicken. The spinach is creamy and pungently flavored; the chicken was cooked to fork tender. There is also an extensive vegetarian section of the menu and we sampled several of those dishes. Aloo Gobhi ($7.99) is a hearty combination of cauliflower, potatoes and spices. This dish is listed as heart healthy and certainly is flavorful and attractive. They offer two kinds of lentils, we chose the dark lentils cooked with onion, ginger and spices (Takra Dall-$7.99). This dish was also listed as heart healthy but was a little bland for my taste. The most spectacular dish we had was the Bindi Masala ($9.49). It was a combination of fresh okra, fresh tomatoes and garlic. The okra was cut into small chunks and was not at all slimy. The tomato and garlic were cooked to a thick and pungent paste. The aroma of this dish flavored the whole meal. I would say it was possibly one of the best dishes I've ever had in an Indian restaurant, and that's coming from someone who loves Indian food. At one point in my life, I was even okra-phobic-coming from a childhood experience with some boiled okra, don't try that at home-and I found this okra just about perfect. In fact, my only complaint with the food was the strange garnish on each dish. A slice of raw onion and raw tomato does not go well with cooked meats and vegetables. There are several desserts on the menu, with none of those milk balls that trick you into thinking they are doughnut holes. Instead you can have Kheer ($3.49), rice pudding with saffron and pistachios. They also offer pistachio ice cream and mango ice cream ($3.99). Oh, and Mango Custard ($2.99), too. Instead of any of those, I had a Mango Lassi, which is a combination of mango puree and yogurt. It was very tasty and just sweet enough. You can also try a Salt Lassi, which is a savory yogurt drink. It is very refreshing in the summer. Tandoori Grill also has a lunch buffet every day and a "FULL SERVICE LOUNGE," which makes me think of slightly obscene things. I am sure they don't mean it that way, but given the music and the young servers, you never know. Just so long as they keep dishing that okra, all else is fine with me. Respond: letters@boulderweekly.com
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It has been my experience that most Indian restaurants are staffed by middle-age-looking men in soft-soled shoes and quiet women who seem to glide through the room to twangy sitar music. Throw out that notion when you enter the Tandoori Grill. The employees I saw were young, hip looking folk who made conversation, had interesting facial hair, and seemed to be enjoying the Indian techno-pop. All that is very refreshing-the icing on the cake of a good meal.
