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Chef Paddy Rawal has brought his Indian cooking famed in Santa Fe to Albuquerque’s North Fourth Street. (Dean Hanson/Journal)
Raise your hand if you love the gentle hammer of properly spiced Indian cuisine. Keep your hand up if you feel that options for great Indian food could be better in the Duke City. If your hand is still up, get ready to let it float down: Paddy Rawal has brought his impeccable reputation from Santa Fe to our North Valley. Get past the tongue twister of a name and plan your next aromatic meal at Paddy Rawal’s OM Fine Indian Dining on North Fourth Street.
Chef Rawal grew up in Mumbai, starting with a culinary education followed by hospitality and business training – key skills for this future restaurant owner. He cooked all over the world before landing here in the States in 2001. His first restaurant opened in Michigan, but it was 2011′s Raaga in Santa Fe that brought him to us. Rawal still splits his time between the two locations but now they are merely an hour apart rather than 1,500 miles (Mumbai in Michigan has closed).
Many buffets fail on execution, leaving food to either dry out or become soggy. Indian cuisine, which predominantly relies on long-cooked stews, seems to subvert these problems that occur with warming tables. The meat remains tender while sauces stay fragrant; anything else such as samosas or naan are replenished quickly or served directly to the table.
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Paddy Rawal’s OM Fine Indian Dining LOCATION: 7520 Fourth NW (south of Paseo del Norte), 899-4423, www.omindiandining.com HOURS: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays. Closed Sundays NO ALCOHOL |
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All this will set you back $8.95 during lunch hours, and is a great way to preview the entrees before ordering a full plate of each. Dinnertime is a table-service affair and decidedly less hectic.
Typical of Indian cuisine, the menu is vegetarian- and vegan-friendly from appetizers to entrees. We started with some of the legendary Naan ($1.95 plain, $2.95 flavors), one studded with rosemary and nearly dripping with olive oil, the other repelling vampires at 20 paces with a deliciously medicinal dose of garlic. Dishes of lightly battered cauliflower (Lasooni Gobhi, $4.95) and Mesa Chicken ($5.95) swim in tomato-based spicy sauces, one tangy, one spicy. For warmth without heaviness try the cumin-laced Chicken Spinach Soup ($3.95) topped with fresh green onions for just a little crunch.
One favorite entree is vegetarian yet hearty enough to woo carnivores: a silky eggplant curry called Bagare Baingan ($11.95). Miniature globe eggplants float in a coconut milk sauce so good you’ll be tempted to ask for a straw to get every drop. Mopping up curry is where your naan skills will come in handy, especially for the decadent Lamb Roganjosh ($13.95).
Chef Rawal excels at keeping all the tasty and tender qualities of lamb while leaving behind undesirable gaminess. Once you’ve had the Roganjosh, try the Tikka Masala and compare the subtle spicing differences.
While eating Indian food, a benchmark too legendary to overlook is Chicken Vindaloo ($12.95). Chef Rawal’s is a firebomb of garlic, cinnamon and tamarind with only a few chunks of potato thrown in for some filling oomph. They’re barely needed with the steaming bowl of delicate basmati rice and, of course, that naan.
Finishing up the meal with a sweet is difficult under the belly-laden circumstances – often it is satisfying enough to sip a Mango Lassi ($2.95) while contemplating the next visit.
