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Y! MyWebRestaurant Review
India Chaat Café
India Chaat elevates Indian street food to a high level
Friday, January 18, 2008
WASHINGTON TWP., Montgomery County — India Chaat's casual nature is apparent before diners set foot in the restaurant: The neon sign above the door reads "India Chaat Café & Curry Out."
Nice.
Extras
India Chaat 's specialties include Murgh Tikka Masala, Choley Bhature, Lamb Ginger, in center top is Sambar and Coconut Chutney (small container), and lower front is Garlic Nan, left side is Choley Bhature.India Chaat Café
- WHERE: 984 Miamisburg-Centerville Road (Ohio 725) [Map]
- HOURS: Tuesday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Closed Monday.
- COST: Chaat (appetizers) $1.99 to $5.99, entrees $6.99 to $10.99.
- DISHES TO TRY: Choley Bhature ($4.99), Masala Dosa ($5.99), Murgh Tikka Masala ($8.99), Lamb Ginger ($8.99), Ganne Karas ($1.99). No alcohol.
- MORE INFO: (937) 435-3557
- MORE: Reader ratings, complete profile
More information
Don't let the bad puns fool you: India Chaat is very serious about its food, and that shows through from the first bite to the last.
The "Chaat" portion of the restaurant's name refers to Indian street food — small bites roughly the equivalent of Spanish tapas. The restaurant offers several such dishes, ranging from Bhel Puri ($2.99) — a mixture of rice puffs, shredded crackers, tomatoes, onions, green mango, chutney and spices, garnished with cilantro and served cold — to an excellent, substantial Choley Bhature ($4.99) — deep-fried puffed bread served with a curry-laced mopping sauce thickened with chickpeas and redolent of spices. Just tear the bread into pieces and sop up the sauce.
The Masala Dosa ($5.99) rolls a thin sheet of rice-and-lentil mixture around a filling of potatoes, fried onions and spices, which is then fried, resulting in a long, crispy, stuffed and satisfying appetizer that could pass for a main course.
But save room, because the entrees are well worth exploring, with sauces and curries that taste fresh, intense and more complex than those found at many other Indian restaurants.
Lamb Ginger ($8.99) was a standout meat dish, combining tender chunks of lamb with fresh ginger, onions and spices. Murgh Tikka Masala ($8.99) blends chunks of tandoori chicken with a concentrated, flavor-packed curry sauce thickened with just a hint of cream. Among the meatless dishes, Malai Kofta ($7.99) bathes vegetable balls (which look just like meatballs) in a curry flavored with onion, tomato sauce and cashews.
The only mild disappointment was the most expensive item on the menu: Goat Curry ($10.99) was long on flavor but short on meat, which was difficult to liberate from the bones that fill the dish.
To drink, be sure to order the Ganne Karas ($1.99), fresh-squeezed sugar cane juice with lemon and ginger that manages to be sweet, sour and slightly spicy all at once. Or try the Mango Lassi or Sweet Lassi, sweet drinks that soothe the curry heat. No alcoholic beverages are served.
The heat level extends from zero to six — but Raj Shetty, who helps to manage the restaurant with Mahvir Singh for owner Mayank Patel, suggests newcomers should start at level two.
Singh and Shetty previously collaborated at Krishna restaurant near the University of Cincinnati, and they opened India Chaat in late 2007, right next to an Indian and Pakistani grocery, also owned by Patel.
"If we run out of anything, we can just go next door," Shetty said.
The restaurant is shaped in a fairly narrow hallway, with only three small tables and chairs along with some individual stools facing a counter along a wall. During peak times, curryout — um, carryout — may be the way to go. But the layout allows customers to see all of the food being prepared.
Each dish is made to order. Shetty said he and Singh want no part of a buffet.
"If it's in the pan too long, it loses its flavors," he said. "We want to offer fresh food, but to make things casual, too."
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2258 or
mfisher@DaytonDailyNews.com.
