India Mahal Restaurant is located at 5970 Brainerd Rd. Click to enlarge.
photo by Ramona Bea
The Ayurveda, a five thousand year old system of preventive medicine and health from India, lists six rasas or tastes that are required for a healthy balanced life style. The six rasas are sweet, sour, salty, bitter, pungent (spicy) and astringent. Astringent is a dry mouth puckering taste associated with turmeric and pomegranate. All of these tastes are enjoyed at the India Mahal.
The India Mahal is managed by siblings Jukhbir Singh (Sukhi) and Shalinder Kaur from Punjab India. Their father opened the restaurant ten years ago. Sukhi and Shalinder wear all the hats in the business; they host, serve and bus the tables. With total owner involvement, customers all receive excellent service and individual attention.
My family recently dined at the India Mahal. Sukhi seated us and brought papdam to the table accompanied with three bowls of sauce. Papdam and sauce is the Indian equivalent to American bread and butter or Mexican chips and salsa. Papdam is like a large wafer and the three sauces are, a thin dark onion chutney sauce, a chunky yellow/orange colored sweet tamrind sauce, and a bright green mint spicy sauce. All the sauces are very challenging to the taste buds, yet non-wounding.
Next soups are served. Your choices are lentil, coconut, and chicken. All are mouth watering. For an appetizer we ordered a vegetable samasas which is an Indian turnover stuffed with spiced peas and potatoes. The taste is unique and stimulates the taste buds.
My favorite item was next, Indian Nams (breads.) You have a choice of twelve different rams. We chose the onion nam and the garlic nam. My best description of the bread would be a very soft pita or unleavened bread topped with garlic and onion and baked to perfection. I could make a meal off this delicious bread.
We shared two entrees, chicken curry and Tandoori mixed grill. The curry dish consisted of large chucks of chicken with a pungent curry sauce served with authentic Indian rice. I can not fathom why their rice tastes so much better then any rice I make at home. Tandoori is the traditional style of cooking Indian food. A Tandoor is a charcoal fired clay oven. Foods cooked in the tandoor are very light, healthy, and juicy. This method of cooking allows the foods to retain their own natural flavor. There are plenty of meats on the menu and also a good variety of vegetarian dishes.
Our meal was topped off by a mysteriously interesting tasty Kulfi. This is an exotic ice cream from India made with almonds, pistachios, and cashews.
Dining at the India Mahal is a sensational treat to your digestive system. The tastes, aroma, and sounds (I forgot to mention the Indian music) arouse rarely used senses. Follow the advise of the Ayurvedic sages and experience all six rasas at the India Mahal.
Location: 5970 Brainerd Road
Phone: 423-510-9651
Hours: 11:30 – 3pm for lunch
5pm – 10pm for dinner
Catering and takeout available
Meetings: A separate dining room is available for meetings of groups of 25 or less
Alcohol: Tai Mahal and Kingfisher Indian Beer and several bottled American beers
Price: $8-15
email questions/comments to ramonabea@aol.com
The India Mahal is managed by siblings Jukhbir Singh (Sukhi) and Shalinder Kaur from Punjab India.
photo by Ramona Bea