Masala Art

Wow. Same trip to Massachusetts different town. Masala Art, the art of blending spices. And how.

Masala Art
990 Great Plain Avenue
Needham, MA 02492
Phone: 781 449 4050

This is the most elegant and upscale Indian restaurant that I have ever eaten in. They have a great spice bar where a chef will mix, for a party of three or more, his own beautiful blends of spices for mouth watering dishes. It's like being a Ballywood celeb and having your own personal chef. Well, since I'm a chef, I already have my own personal chef, pastry chef and chocolatier, still, I'm going to have to find a third person so Kim and I can do the Spice Bar.

I ate their Medu Vada, lentil dumplings, which were a meal unto themselves and a trip to southern India. Dumplings? These were most like donuts. I also had the Tandoori Shrimp Shaslik, which was very good. I had the garlic naan to go with it and some side cars and a mango lassi.

I loved the wait staff. Very attentive. I loved the food. I must say, it rivals Garam Masala. This is interesting because it also has southern Indian food, a completely different take on food. They don't, sob, have goat but they make up for it in their use of flavors. Very nice. I can't wait to go back and take Kim with me. She'll love it.

Well, my educated readers, I hope you enjoyed the reviews and I hope you get to eat at these restaurants.

Garam Masala Redux

I went back to Garam Masala, which is at 77 New Road in Parsipanny, NJ, next door or two from Donnagio's, and had another good dinner. I didn't have the (goat) korma this time but rather had the Methi Mutton, which I asked them to make spicy. The Methi Mutton is made with fenugreek.It was very good and went perfectly with the Lachacha Paratha, which is more bland, a good compliment. Lachacha Paratha is a layered whole wheat bread made in the tandoor. I had 2 Mango Lassis, which I'm a sucker for, and of course there fine Ras Malai.

Finally, I had their Indian Coffee. That was a trip. This was a perfect end to a mildly spicy meal. Most of you would have thought the meal overly spicy, but not me. It was well done. Back in the day, I would have thought it very mild. As a matter of fact, when I got the leftovers home and made a quick scramble with the rice and caraway with the leftover goat and sauce, I added hot sauce to it. Yum.

The coffee may have had chicory, I forgot to ask, but it was lightly sugared, Kim would have preferred more sugar, and it had milk in it. The whole thing is boiled. Very different from other boiled coffees I've had, i.e., Greek, Turkish, but very tasty. Dessert is always the best part of the meal and of course the saddest. However, a nothing beats a nice cup of coffee with a splendid dessert. Try this.

Garam Masala's: Wowwie, Wow, Wowwy, Wow

What can I say? Goat rules at Garam Masala, 77 New Road in Parsipanny, NJ, next door or two from Donnagio's. I love goat and I enjoy goat. Garam Masala specializes in goat.

First of all, I had Ajwan Paratha. What a great bread. I also had the suka mutton. I actually ordered this by accident but I am glad they brought it out.

First, let me explain, they have a top notch chef, who cooked for me their Shahi Mutton Korma, which was just great, and they have the owner's wufe, also an owner, who made for me the suka mutton, the masala tea, the rasmalai and I assume the mango lassi. Order whatever that woman cooks. You wont be disappointed with any of the food but she has a vision of Indian food you just cannot miss.

I started with the Samosa. Not bad. And interesting dish with dal, lentils. Not the best samosa I have ever had but not bad. Then the Suka Mutton came out with the Ajwan Paratha and my Mango Lassi.

The service was very good, attentive and warm hearted. The decor was interesting and the seating comfortable. (One of the things I forgot to mention about Park Avenue Winter was that the seats were very comfortable.) But the food is where this place shines.

The Mango Lassi was more mango water with just a touch of yogurt to give it a sweet and sour taste but with only a hint of added sugar if any. It was refreshing and complemented the meal perfectly.

The Suka Mutton was unlike anything I have ever had. It was a perfectly prepared goat dish with a beautiful chili oil infused with the goat and spices. The ingredients were few but they were a perfect few. The Ajwan Paratha was very spicy with carom seed. It smells like thyme and tastes like caraway and maybe a little anise thrown in there for fun. That's carom or ajwain. The goat tasted like it was barbecued. Definitely charbroiled.

The Shahi Mutton Korma was very good and tasty and tasted just like a korma should. No edge, however. But still one of the best kormas I have ever had. I just love goat and this did not disappoint. I'd order it again.

Then I had the ras malai. I swear there was rose water in it. They said no. Just cardamom and a saffron. I didn't believe them. The curds were larger than I am used to and the dish was not that sweat but it was heavenly and subtle. I just loved it. The Masala tea was a gourmet delight as well. Using just the outer husks of the cardamom and some blended tea, with only and hint of milk and sugar, I ordered it with milk and sugar, it was a perfect ending to this brilliant meal.

Look, this is an Indian place in a strip mall. I had food there, lots of it, that was just beautiful. I took some home and had it just a few minutes ago. Perfectly seasoned and not overly spiced. I enjoyed it again warmed up.

The only downside was the rice. Regualr yellow rice, nicely made but no peas or anything special at all about it. However, it went well with everything. Oh, their sauces are pretty good too. Didn't use much of them because the rest of the food was perfect.

I didn't have any of the Indo-Chinese Specials. I'll have to try them next time. I'm not sure I'll get past the goat, though. Yum.

Go there and enjoy.