Catering from North India Restaurant

I really like Indian food.  However, I enjoy it in a strange way.  I know my preferences aren't standard.

First, I don't like rice (unless in dessert, as rice pudding).  So I never use rice as a base.  Second, I don't like beans or legumes, or potatoes really, so all lentil or chickpea based dishes, all the dal, all the aloo dishes, they are out.  I don't really care for yogurt, so, goodbye, raita.  I hate lamb, and don't like chicken.  And, although I love dessert, I tend to not care for Indian desserts, they are too sweet, and I don't care for rosewater and cardamom that much.

And yet I say I like Indian food?  I really do!  I enjoy the spicing, I adore paneer, and I truly love the sauces.  And I like naan as my base, dunking it into sauces brings me great joy.  Oh, and I like my Indian food best when I can combine all sorts of things.

Which basically means, um, I either need to dine with large sharing groups, or, go to Indian buffets (side note, if you are ever in Woburn, MA, go to Zaika Indian for the lunch buffet!)

I'll get to the review now, I promise.  I just wanted to set the context.

Diwali.

Thus, I was thrilled when my apartment building hosted a Diwali event with catering from local favorite, North India, and set up a giant buffet.  I've had food from North India before, and although the food was good, the delivery experience was so poor I never considered them again.

This was a chance for me to try it again.  And even in a catered setting, it was great.  It is time to give them another chance, clearly.

Catered Buffet.

Our hosts arranged a great lineup: appetizers (complete with sauces!), rice and naan, veggie curries, meat curries, and even dessert.  They used nearby ovens to keep food warm.  Kudos to our organizer.

Appetizer: Vegetable Pakora & Chutney.

"Mixed vegetable fritters delicately spiced."

Our hosts selected just one appetizer ... and not samosa!  I quasi-like samosa, but, as I said, potatoes, eh.  I was thrilled to instead see mixed vegetable pakora, always a favorite of mine.

However, these did not work well for catering.  Sooooo soggy.  Soft, mushy, not crispy fritters as they should be.

Rather than throw them out though, I saved them and toasted them up the next day in my toasted oven.  MUCH better.  The batter was nicely spiced, and inside was a mix of chunks of potato, onions, spinach, and cauliflower.  I really liked the onion, decent sized pieces, slightly sweet.

The green chutney was a surprise ... that was not standard cilantro mint chutney! It was crazy spicy. Great heat, but unexpected.  The tamarind sauce was very thin, hard to utilize well because it was so runny.

(And sorry for the horrible photo, I was taking photos as moving through the buffet, and clearly, uh, missed on this one).

I can't fairly evaluate the pakora, and would need to have it at the restaurant itself.  Certainly not recommended for catering or delivery though.

Side: Raita.

"Refreshing yogurt with herbs, cucumber, carrots, & roasted cumin."

We also had a comical amount of raita, a huge serving pan.  People took a little as a condiment, but we barely made a dent.

I tried a little just to try it.  It was ... fairly standard raita.  Creamy, tangy, spiced yogurt, a bit too heavy on the cumin for me.  Good as a cooling element alongside the spicer curries.

Side: Garlic Naan.

"Naan studded with garlic and cilantro."

The naan also definitely suffered from catering/delivery serving style, just like when I ordered it for delivery.

Lukewarm at best, soggy, limp.  Hard to say how good this is normally, you could see char marks on it so I think decently made, but soggy limp naan isn't great. I didn't taste any garlic either.

Side: Pulao.

"Steamed basmati rice with peas." 

I skipped the rice, per above, but it looked decently fluffy.

Vegetarian: Dal.

"Assorted lentils delicately spiced & sautéed with ginger & garlic."

I don't like lentils so I skipped the dal, but it looked creamy and nicely spiced.

Vegetarian: Aloo Mattar.

"Potatoes and green peas cooked in a curry sauce." 

This was by far the least appealing looking dish.  Sooooo much oil on top.  It took me a minute to figure out which dish it was.  The allo mattar?  Huh.

A vegetarian curry, potatoes and peas, so where was all the oil coming from?  Given how bad it looked, and the fact that I don't care for potatoes, not sure why, but I tried a bite to taste the curry.  It was nicely spiced, but, eh, not for me.

Vegetarian: Saag Paneer.

"Cubes of homemade cheese sautéed with spinach & spices "

Next, another vegetarian main dish, perhaps cliche, but one of my favorites.  It is what I had from North India when I ordered delivery before.  This did not disappoint.

A creamy rich style, with good spicing, well cooked down greens, but not mushy.  Generous amount of paneer, soft fresh tasting cubes, good salt level.

A very good dish, but certainly a richer style.  My favorite dish, I'll gladly get it again.  I loved it combined with the sauce from the next dish ...

Main: Chicken Tikka Masala.

"Barbecued boneless white meat sauteed with herbs, spices and tomatoes." 

And last ... another winner.  Butter chicken, butter chicken, butter chicken.  When I ordered from North India before I lamented the lack of butter chicken on the menu, but, it turns out, their tikka masala is basically butter chicken.

The sauce was incredible.  Very very rich, very creamy, spiced tomato sauce.  Excellent flavor, but not as spiced as most masala sauces, and a sweeter style, more tomato forward.  I'm sure our hosts ordered mild, and I did wish for more heat, but I really liked the sauce.  I went back and got a cup full, a cup just of sauce, because honestly I could drink it (or, you know, use to dip the naan).

I am not a chicken eater, but I did try a chunk, and it was quite good.  Very moist, great tandoori flavor, and yes, all white meat, nice sized chunks.  If all chicken was like this, perhaps I could start liking chicken again.

Overall, my second favorite dish of the night, just due to the sauce, and I'd get it again in a heartbeat.

Dessert: Galub Jamun.

"Milk dumplings in rose flavored sugar syrup."


And dessert!  While I love desserts, I don't normally really like Indian desserts that much, as I'm not a fan of rosewater, and the style of desserts just aren't really what I go for, with rice pudding as the exception (except, I didn't like the version from North India).  And galub jamun in particular I generally find quite lackluster - too sweet syrup, too fried balls, strange texture.  I always want them to just be donuts or something.

But I couldn't resist trying one.

Um, it was delicious too. I don't understand. Just like the chicken, I had the though "gee, if all galub jamun was this good, maybe I'd like it more regularly ...."

The balls were really moist, soft, not too fried, great texture.  They absorbed tons of syrup.  The syrup, obviously sweet, but not cloying like it often is.  Just, really enjoyable.  Put the galub jamun I had a few days prior to shame.

I went back for seconds, which I assure you, I've never done for galub jamun before.