India House / Plantation
Important: This article was last updated on June 5, 2009. Please call ahead to confirm hours, prices, dates and other information.
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1711 N. University Drive, Plantation
954-565-5701
indiahouserestaurant.com
Cuisine: Indian
Cost: inexpensive-moderate
Hours: lunch buffet, dinner daily
Reservations: not necessary
Credit cards: all major
Bar: beer, wine
Sound level: quiet
Outside smoking: no
For kids: boosters, highchairs
Wheelchair accessible: yes
First impression: Our hopes were high even before ordering because the menu reads like a stroll down the aisles of an Indian market. Selections run from Indian street food (pooris and chats) to specialties cooked on traditional iron plates (tawas) and iron woks (kadhais).
Ambience: Elaborately framed Indian pictorials, rust-colored walls and an elegantly embroidered silk curtain separating two dining areas convert what was once a pancake restaurant inside a Quality Inn into simple exotica.
Starters: Skip the too earthy-tasting red lentil soup ($3.95) and order deep-fried almond/cashew-coated rolls ($4.95). The delightful finger-sized fritters are crunchy on the outside with soft, potatoey insides. Dahi Bhalla ($4.95) are deep-fried dumplings made of matpe bean flour, soaked overnight in yogurt, flavored with mint and tamarind sauces, and served chilled with slivers of fragrant fresh ginger, potato chunks and a sprinkle of fried Indian noodles. Have eggs bhurji ($9.95), a combo of eggs scrambled with green peppers, tomatoes, onions and hot spices; or eggs curry ($9.95), hard-boiled eggs in curry sauce.
Entree excellence: Paneer tikka ($15.95) arrives with the same sizzling platter drama as tandoori chicken. But instead of chicken, the protein is cubes of yogurt-marinated homemade cottage cheese (it looks and tastes more like tofu), skewered with assorted veggies and barbecued in the tandoor oven. The Goa region of India is represented by a $14.95 dish of plump mahi mahi chunks cooked with grated coconut in a spicy, flavor-rich, tomato-based sauce that screams for a swish with naan to sponge up every last drop. The roasted shrimp on a kathi kabob is framed with onions, green peppers, garlic, ajwain seeds and wicked spicing. It's a hot marriage that takes on added dimension when rolled inside "handkerchief" bread. The paper-thin bread, called roomali roti, is as big as a handkerchief and makes a delicious wrap-style entree (for $18.95).
Sides: It's hard to decide on bread when faced with 16 different kinds of naan, kulcha, roti and paratha. All are delectable, but the naan filled with minced lamb ($4.95) and the garlic naan ($3.50) are particularly good. So is kadhai ka saag ($10.95), fresh mustard leaves and spinach cooked in butter over slow heat until almost pureed.
Sweet!: Kheer (rice pudding) with raisins and sliced almonds is soupy but soul soothing; neon-orange mango custard is cooling with a cap of fruit cocktail; and moong dal halwa, a lentil-based dessert with a rustic texture, is an acquired taste. Each is $3.50. Of course there's also the usual gulab jamun ($3) and Indian ice cream ($3.50).
Service: Erratic. And how I wish they would replace silverware with the arrival of each course. A few more thoughtful touches and India House could be tops.
Insider tip: Timid palates take note: Spicing is bold but not over the top.
— Judith Stocks