Bhindi Bazaar Indian Café

My spring break plans to go visit a friend in Dublin and travel to Amsterdam and Prague fell apart so I remained in Boston for the first week of march. Because of this vacation blunder, I was around for my mothers birthday party held at Bhindi Bazaar on March 5. Conveniently enough for me, I was in Boston anyways and making the trip for a free dinner, a blog entry, and most importantly to celebrate my moms 51st birthday with my siblings, was a no brainer.

I was late. Mom, my sister and brother had been sitting for almost half an hour. Still, I was happy I made it there, and that 95 Massachusetts Ave wasn’t 97 Massachusetts Ave (Island Hopper Restaurant). That is not to say Island Hopper isn’t great because it is. But I had been there twice recently, and that is for a different blog entry. Anyways, the appetizers were served as I walked in at about 6:00 p.m. The place was fairly small, dimly lit and felt warm and more contemporary than a typical Indian restaurant. The walls were a rustic, orangy color, but more importantly, the appetizers.

My family had decided on the “Shrimp Balchow,” “Bhindi Bazaar Tiffin” and “Garlic Naan” for appetizers. All three orders were excellent. The Garlic Naan, which is a “popular bread baked on the walls of a clay oven and enriched with butter,” was delicious and served hot at $3.50. The naan was also available plain or onion. The picture of the Shrimp Balchow came out poorly, but the shrimp were rather spicy and very good at $7. Having not eaten all that much Indian food in my time, the Tiffin, a “combination plate of Samosa, pakora & batata wada,” provided me a chance to explore a few different items from the menu in one $8 order.

As good as the appetizers were, the meals were probably even better. We chose from the following categories: Soup & Salad, Appetizers, Southern Indian, Coastal, Tandoor, Northern India, Balti, Eastern & Central, Basmati Rice, Breads, Side Orders, Beverages and Sweets.

The category of choice proved to be Northern India, which primarily included foods from Punjab and Kashmir. We split the Chicken Korma ($11), the Rogan Josh ($13) and the Gobhi Char Chari ($11). The Chicken Korma, “a simple yogurt curry with ginger, garlic, onions, cumin, coriander and cashew nuts” was tender and accompanied by a thin yogurt sauce that complemented the chicken. The Rogan Josh, “a popular lamb curry with tomatoes and onions flavored with garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and cumin,” was one of the better dishes we had all night.

For all those cauliflower haters out there, and there are more than plenty, the Gobhi Char Chari is a fine example of a dish with cauliflower that deserves a chance from everyone. Combined with potatoes, fennel and onion seed, this dish was a big step above the mom and pop attempt to add cheese to your overly dry broccoli and cauliflower.

As far as Indian Restaurants go, this place has to be one of the best in Boston. It is open every day from 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. to 11 p.m. Check out a Bhindi Bazaar website.