Shalimar Serves it Hot and Spicy

www.shalimarindianapolis.com 

1043 Broad Ripple Ave
Indianapolis, IN 46220
(317) 465-1100

Lunch 11am – 2:30pm 7 days/week
Dinner 5pm – 10:30pm Friday
2:30pm – 10pm Sat
2:30pm – 9:30pm Sun

Shalimar Indian Restaurant in Broadripple provides service at its finest.  When you walk into the intimate setting, you are greeted with hospitality by a happy, eager waiter.  When you look around, you feel comforted by the rich colors—greens, reds, yellows, and browns.  The atmosphere has low-lighting, and when you sit down, your waiter lights a candle at your table.  And if all this is not enough, there’s traditional Indian music playing softly in the background.  

Such service sounds pricey, huh?  But don’t worry.  This is just a perk to Shalimar.  The entrees actually range from about $7-$12, putting only a slight tear on your purse.  But where to start when you go to an Indian Restaurant?  I’m not incredibly familiar with Indian food, so I decided to be adventurous and try something new.  First, I tried an appetizer called Naan.  This is soft, chewy bread that tastes similar to pancakes.  You can eat it before your meal, but I would suggest keeping some of it during your meal.  Since Indian food leans towards the hot and spicy, bread, such as Naan, tames your tongue.  The great thing about these appetizer breads is that they come in so many varieties for all types of people.  For the risk-takers out there, you can try Keema Naan: Naan stuffed with ground lamb and cilantro.  For those who like a little bit of salt-and-spice, there is Onion Kulcha: spicy and hot bread stuffed with onions or try Paneer Kulcha: Naan stuffed with homemade cheese and spices.  I opted for the plain, traditional Naan and sweet and fruity Peshwari Naan: Naan stuffed with raisins, nuts, and coconut.  I regretted playing on the safe side with the plain Naan, because the more adventurous choice, Peshwari Naan, proved to have much more spunk and flavor.  The sweet, yellow raisins inside were the perfect compliment to my hot entrée.

One thing I admire in Indian food is its logic.  Since the food tends to be incredibly hot, there are always other foods to off-set the heat.  First, there are the breads, which I mentioned, and there are also a variety of fruit and yogurt dips and drinks.  I tried the Mango shake, and let me tell you, it was just what my mouth needed.  The Mango shake isn’t like a normal shake—cold, icy, and heavy—but warm, smooth, and light.  This drink is sweet, mild, and has just the right combination of milk and mangoes.  The mango flavor isn’t too overwhelming, but simultaneously, the milk doesn’t drown the mango flavor. 

 

But what are these hot and spicy dishes that I have been alluding too?  All talk and no action, right?  Well, here they are: Shrimp Tandoori Masala and the vegetarian Mattar Paneer.  I have had Tandoori Chicken Masala before, which is good as well, so the Tandoori Shrimp wasn’t too much of a surprise.  It comes in a creamy, bright red tomato sauce with spices.  The entrée also came with a side of Mango Chutney.  This little dip is bright red and orange and looks fruity and delicious.  However, what I didn’t know is that it’s a sweet and sour mango relish.  So imagine pickle relish with mangoes and there you go.  Not my favorite.  The dish was creamy and tasty, but also a whopping $12.95.  And in my mind, it was no better than a six buck plate from Yats.  Like Yats, all entrees come with rice.  However, Indian rice tastes different from traditional white rice, like Uncle Ben’s or the kind you get from Chinese restaurants.  Instead of heavy and starchy, this rice is thin and slightly oily.  Because of its slippery consistency, Indian rice mixes with the sauce dishes very easily, and it slips right down your throat.

The second entrée, Mattar Paneer, was an unexpected hit.  I’m not a vegetarian, but thought it would be fun to try one from the menu.  Mattar Paneer comes with a variety of unusual ingredients that combine to form one hot, hopping taste.  It consists of fresh, homemade cottage cheese cooked gently with tender green peas and fresh spices.  I didn’t even realize there was cottage cheese in the dish, because it’s covered in a spicy, hot brown sauce.  However, the creamy consistency from the cottage cheese, definitely add to the over all taste of the dish.  The dish also comes with Tofu!  I’ve never really liked Tofu before, but the way it was marinated in the entrée, scored big with me.  It tastes like a softer version of chicken, and I found it full of flavor.  For a while, I could imagine what it would be like as a vegetarian, and that life wasn’t too bad.  

Circling back to Shalimar’s service, as I previously mentioned is there forte, the waiters are always looking out for you.  Since I ordered a very hot vegetarian dish, I was constantly needing water refills out of the little glass.  But I never had to wait long because the waiters always scan the water glasses to see who needs re-fills.  I probably had about seven re-fills or so in the hour that I was there.  But the waiters never made fun of me, as they do in other restaurants when I get lots of re-fills, but understood that my hot tongue needed nourishment.  And even on a busy, Saturday night, I waiters still found time to smile and offer fascinating tid-bits.  As I was getting a water re-fill, my waiter told me that in the Hindu word for water is Pannai.  He said that, “I like to teach each of my customers something about my heritage, like a new word, whenever they come to my restaurant.”  And if there’s one thing I learned from Shalimar Indian Restaurant, it’s that they never run out of amazing service and refreshing Pannai. 

Five Star Ratings:

Service: 5

Bathrooms: 4

First Impression: 4

Food quality: 4

Bang for your buck: 3

Atmosphere: 4