Indian Taj Restaurant in the heart of Greenwich Village has been around for over thirty years. That’s not a minor accomplishment in as competitive a restaurant area as can be found anywhere in the City. A couple of years ago, new owners took the reins at this venerable Village mainstay. They know what they’re doing, and the Manhattan outpost is in good hands.
Indian Taj is a modest, serene, seven-day-a-week place with maroon napery, Tiffany lamps, ornate brass and silver serving dishes, candles, booths, carpeting and appropriately soothing music. Its menu is huge, incorporating most of the dishes Americans expect and appreciate at an Indian restaurant. In addition to soups, salads, appetizers and side dishes Indian Taj offers eleven Indian breads (one better than the other), nine meat dishes, ten seafood specialties, fourteen vegetarian choices, ten chicken possibilities, nine tandoori picks as well as a couple of set diners for two. All entrées come with pea speckled basmati rice. There’s a short, well-priced, varied wine list with bottles starting at under $20.
Although runners don’t always know who ordered what, service is swift and plates and silverware are promptly replaced after each course. Wine isn’t a major factor at many Indian spots and therefore waiters are sometimes unsure about how to properly present and serve it. That’s not the case here, where bottles are presented before being opened and the correct glasses for reds and whites automatically appear.
Every appetizer and main course more than satisfied the diners who ordered them. A greaseless, minced meat-stuffed samosa starter was everything it should be and, surprisingly, a vegetable samosa filled with vibrantly seasoned potatoes and fresh peas yielded even more flavor. A chicken kebab-e-bahar on wooden skewers was tender, juicy and garlicky with just a hint of sweetness from a few drops of honey.
Although it’s often neglected, savvy diners know that the highlight of every Indian meal is the bread and Indian Taj has an extensive array of nans, parathas, kulchas, rotis and poori. The last is a warm, hollow balloon-shaped treat that can be punctured, torn apart and used to sop up sauces. But the garlic nan, cheese and tomato nan and onion kulcha are its equal.
There are mild, spicy and sweet picks aplenty among the entrées. The shahi korma, cubes of lamb in a luxuriant almond cream sauce, is perfect for the spice challenged, while the chicken breast, with its garlic juice and Asian spices that’s barbequed in a tandoor, then cooked with mango, is also fine for those who prefer fruit to fire. For sizzle and heat, there’s the shrimp vindaloo with incendiary gravy. Somewhere in between is the tasty fish begum bahar or baked fish in a tangy tomato, egg, coriander gravy.
Typical Indian desserts like kheer, a soupy rice pudding, gulab jamun or warm, deep-fried cheese balls in honey and rasmalai, cottage cheese with rose water flavored condensed milk and Kulfi round out the meal. The last is a rich, sturdy and thoroughly delicious Indian ice cream.
181 Bleecker St. btw. MacDougal & Sullivan, 212-982-0810.
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