Mint Leaf elevates Indian fare to highest level
http://www.miamiherald.com/tropical_life/story/549 [2008-7-11]
Tag : mung dal
Some karmic recipe conspires to make Indian restaurants a trickybusiness in Miami. While the best have struggled, the worst of thegreasy, budget buffets have managed to hang around like a gang ofunruly teenagers, giving Indian food a seedy reputation.
A sad state of affairs for me, since, if forced to choose, I wouldhave to say the wildly varied regional foods of beloved Hindustanthrill me more than any other of the world's cuisines.
So it is with gluttonous glee that I welcome Mint Leaf to myhometown and bow to the self-proclaimed ambassador of Indian food,Mr. Ranjit Sood, for following his daughter and son-in-law to ourculinarily quirky city. The dashing and talkative swell with aquick smile beneath his cropped salt and pepper mustache hasmanaged to turn a pappadam-sized eatery into a thriving business inless than three months. He was aided, no doubt, by decades ofexperience in the U.K., where he launched Woodlands, a South Indianvegetarian chain.
Has he finally managed to break the curse at this address whereflops include the short-lived and much-mourned Brana (a lovelycreperie), an authentic Italian and, yes, an Indian called Darbarthat opened (and closed) in the early '90s?
The space has not changed dramatically. Now red glass pendantlights illuminate the dozen or so white-clothed tables andchocolate-colored concrete floors. Bejeweled tapestries in silverand gold frame one wall along with an ancient stone carving. A pairof flat screens loop campy Bollywood music videos.
The lengthy menu is also enticing, with specialties from all overthe Indian map, featuring plenty of hearty chicken, fish andexquisite lamb dishes.
Essential dishes to sample include steamy mounds of basmati ricelayered into intricate biryanis or steamed with coconut milk andpeppered with fried lentils and sweet, caramelized onions.
Coupled with a mysteriously perfect bowl of creamy, smoky rich andcomforting black lentils, dal makhani, these pulses could be reasonenough to love this place.
But there is more. Sooki sabsi is made with velvety chunks ofskin-on eggplant gently spiced with zingy mustard seeds and tender,baby curry leaves, while an unusually complex sag paneer withhouse-made cheese is as tangy as it is silken.
Nirvana-like breads, including naan, onion kulcha and roti arebaked in the clay oven until divinely scorched, puffy, chewy andhot. Glistening coats of melted ghee make them rich, but dunk theminto any of the rich sauces like that of the complex and butterycurry chicken and it is divine.
More delightful dipping goes on with medu vada, or dry lentildonuts in a thick sambar, lentil puree. Also worth a try are theirfancier twins soaked in sweet and sour cold yogurt sauce andflecked with raisins, ginger and tamarind.
Remember to order chutney tray, which includes, of course, vibrantgreen mint, as well as musky tamarind, mango and a chunky coconut.
Chaat, Indian street snacks that are meant to be shared, come invarious combinations of fried potatoes, puffed rice, tamarindsauce, garlic, yogurt, mung beans, apples, bananas and peanuts.
Golden dosas are made of a slightly fermented rice and lentilbatter that turns into springy, buttery envelopes filled with yourchoice of stuffings. My favorite is the simple potato and onionclassic.
Although tempting to try the combo platters, I suggest narrowingdown what you really like and going for it. Lamb lovers cannot gowrong with lamb rogan josh, a tomato-ey stew with tender chunks offlavorful meat that might even tempt a vegetarian. But even betteris the lamb dhansak cooked with lentils in a creamy stew.
Other standouts include a lemony shrimp lasooni, divine tandoorchicken, and, for that matter, anything from the scorching tandooroven.
Though Indian sweets have never been my speed, I appreciate a fewspoonfuls of the warm almond halwa, a hot porridge-like mash ofpulverized almonds spiked with saffron or the subtlebutterscotch-like jaggery dosa with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
It's easy to run up a big tab here when sampling so many lovelydishes. And servers, though pleasant and handsome, are sometimesbumbling. I recommend instead coming back often and trying them oneby one even if it takes a lifetime. It would be nice to think MintLeaf will stick around long enough for us to try.
Some karmic recipe conspires to make Indian restaurants a trickybusiness in Miami. While the best have struggled, the worst of thegreasy, budget buffets have managed to hang around like a gang ofunruly teenagers, giving Indian food a seedy reputation.
A sad state of affairs for me, since, if forced to choose, I wouldhave to say the wildly varied regional foods of beloved Hindustanthrill me more than any other of the world's cuisines.
So it is with gluttonous glee that I welcome Mint Leaf to myhometown and bow to the self-proclaimed ambassador of Indian food,Mr. Ranjit Sood, for following his daughter and son-in-law to ourculinarily quirky city. The dashing and talkative swell with aquick smile beneath his cropped salt and pepper mustache hasmanaged to turn a pappadam-sized eatery into a thriving business inless than three months. He was aided, no doubt, by decades ofexperience in the U.K., where he launched Woodlands, a South Indianvegetarian chain.
Has he finally managed to break the curse at this address whereflops include the short-lived and much-mourned Brana (a lovelycreperie), an authentic Italian and, yes, an Indian called Darbarthat opened (and closed) in the early '90s?
The space has not changed dramatically. Now red glass pendantlights illuminate the dozen or so white-clothed tables andchocolate-colored concrete floors. Bejeweled tapestries in silverand gold frame one wall along with an ancient stone carving. A pairof flat screens loop campy Bollywood music videos.
The lengthy menu is also enticing, with specialties from all overthe Indian map, featuring plenty of hearty chicken, fish andexquisite lamb dishes.
Essential dishes to sample include steamy mounds of basmati ricelayered into intricate biryanis or steamed with coconut milk andpeppered with fried lentils and sweet, caramelized onions.
Coupled with a mysteriously perfect bowl of creamy, smoky rich andcomforting black lentils, dal makhani, these pulses could be reasonenough to love this place.
But there is more. Sooki sabsi is made with velvety chunks ofskin-on eggplant gently spiced with zingy mustard seeds and tender,baby curry leaves, while an unusually complex sag paneer withhouse-made cheese is as tangy as it is silken.
Nirvana-like breads, including naan, onion kulcha and roti arebaked in the clay oven until divinely scorched, puffy, chewy andhot. Glistening coats of melted ghee make them rich, but dunk theminto any of the rich sauces like that of the complex and butterycurry chicken and it is divine.
More delightful dipping goes on with medu vada, or dry lentildonuts in a thick sambar, lentil puree. Also worth a try are theirfancier twins soaked in sweet and sour cold yogurt sauce andflecked with raisins, ginger and tamarind.
Remember to order chutney tray, which includes, of course, vibrantgreen mint, as well as musky tamarind, mango and a chunky coconut.
Chaat, Indian street snacks that are meant to be shared, come invarious combinations of fried potatoes, puffed rice, tamarindsauce, garlic, yogurt, mung beans, apples, bananas and peanuts.
Golden dosas are made of a slightly fermented rice and lentilbatter that turns into springy, buttery envelopes filled with yourchoice of stuffings. My favorite is the simple potato and onionclassic.
Although tempting to try the combo platters, I suggest narrowingdown what you really like and going for it. Lamb lovers cannot gowrong with lamb rogan josh, a tomato-ey stew with tender chunks offlavorful meat that might even tempt a vegetarian. But even betteris the lamb dhansak cooked with lentils in a creamy stew.
Other standouts include a lemony shrimp lasooni, divine tandoorchicken, and, for that matter, anything from the scorching tandooroven.
Though Indian sweets have never been my speed, I appreciate a fewspoonfuls of the warm almond halwa, a hot porridge-like mash ofpulverized almonds spiked with saffron or the subtlebutterscotch-like jaggery dosa with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.
It's easy to run up a big tab here when sampling so many lovelydishes. And servers, though pleasant and handsome, are sometimesbumbling. I recommend instead coming back often and trying them oneby one even if it takes a lifetime. It would be nice to think MintLeaf will stick around long enough for us to try.
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