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TajMahal, a closer look
Aloha!
3/12/09 - Though there are several decent Indian restaurants on the island, I thought there was only a couple of Big Dogs on the block, of which Maharani on S. King St. was the biggest of them all. It's not only had the biggest bark for quite some time, but also the biggest bite, providing us with perhaps the most accurate of glimpses into the exotic world of Indian cuisine available here in the islands. However, little did I know that from a humble little corner near the bottom of Waialae Ave. in Kaimuki, an intriguing young upstart would actually arise to challenge the long-established Alpha-Male...
Well, maybe not quite in a face-to-face, dark alley duel, at least not just yet. TajMahal restaurant definitely has a mean set of teeth and a powerful set of jaws with its outstanding Indian cuisine, but does it have enough actual fight experience, enough wile and canniness, enough over-all strategy and savvy to actually give the Big Dog on the block a worthy challenge?
I mean, walk into Maharani on S. King St., and the earthy smell of fresh, roasted spices, tandoori-cooked breads, meaty kabobs, and more fill the entire room. Bollywood starlets on a large, flat-screen television, with their piercing voices and seductive dances, snake-charm you into an entranced, other-worldly docility. And the brightly-colored, elaborately-designed furniture and decor, right down to the bronze water glasses, stirs up Eastern philosophies and emotions inside that almost leave you seeking the Ganges for a ritual bath.
The look and feel of TajMahal, on the other hand, is much more low-key, much more simple, and much less busy, a fact which, actually, can possibly serve to make this Waialae Ave. location even more attractive, depending on exactly what you're looking for.
After all, hit Maharani on any given night during prime-time, and you're probably looking at at least a small wait, along with a hip, stylish crowd that may leave you checking if you've earlier applied enough deodorant and had some decent attire on. Here at TajMahal, you don't have to worry quite as much about seeing and being seen, and all you need to be focused on is the cuisine itself, which is, as wifey and I found out one quiet evening, every bit as competitive, every bit as exotic, and every bit as authentic.
Mandatory in any great Indian restaurant is a tandoori-style oven, used for roasting lamb, chicken, beef, and so many other different menu items, but in particular, the fresh-baked flatbreads like chapatti, puri, paratha, and the ever-popular naan. Now, whether they go strictly traditional and use the actual funnel-shaped clay pots and live coals or an improvised, more modern oven, I'm not so sure, but either way, as long as their breads are baked fresh and not an out-sourced, supermarket-like bread such as can be found at inferior Indian restaurants, it's aaalll good! To me, it's like the difference between oven-baked kalua pig and a real, imu-baked kalua pig - either side can be great when done right, and either side can be terrible when done wrong!
Easily the most well-known of Indian flatbreads, this one above came with fresh bits of garlic and a healthy slathering of real butter. And this one wasn't all fluff, either. There was not only a light, crispy, buttery crust, but also a good deal of white flour body, as well, making it perfect for soaking up all the delicious curries and other gravies.
But the first thing to hit our table was actually an appetizer order, which on this particularly lovely evening, happened to be an eggplant pakora. Another popular street dish, pakora could mean any of a number of different meats and vegetables, all deep-fried in a gram, or chickpea, batter. I gotta admit, the eggplant inside did melt down to the point where I could hardly tell what it was, but the sweet, red chickpea batter was super-crunchy, super-tasty, and not at all as oily as you think it may have been. I'd definitely order this again.
Another really great component of this dish was a pair of in-house, made-from-scratch sauces, the first being a slightly-sweet, slightly-zesty tamarind sauce, mixed with various herbs and spices, and a refreshing yogurt sauce infused with fresh mint. Both were simply outstanding, and both actually come with any and all appetizer choices found here.
While there are only three basic types of appetizer, there are several variations on all three, except for the spicy, crispy lentil wafer called papadum. The other two consist of various types of the pakora mentioned above, such as eggplant, mixed vegetables, or chicken, and the even more popular samosa's, which are deep-fried, savory pastry triangles filled with potato, vegetables, chicken, beef, lamb, and other such ingredients. As with pakora, samosa's are a street food common throughout India and all of South and Central Asia, the Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa.
After being well-satisfied with our appetizer, the first of our main dishes arrived. Check out this squid luau:
Hey, just joking, brah! As one of several recommended, Chef's Specialty dishes, this forlorn-looking mound could probably use some help on its photogenic side, but as with squid luau, looks can be deceiving. The dull shade of green comes from spinach, mixed-in with cream, garlic, onion, herbs, spices, and a generous portion of whole shrimp. I tried wiping off some of the green from a few pieces to show you the actual shimp, but believe me, they still didn't look very much presentable at all!
However, the surprisingly smooth, mellowed taste of the creamed spinach was perfect with the sweet, whole shrimp, and a great way to get down your fair share of daily greens!
I spooned the mix right over our side-order of long-grained yellow rice, which came prettily-stained from turmeric, ghee (a type of clarified butter usually coming from water buffalo milk), spices, and herbs.
And finally, a combination of two items that are almost a necessity at any great Indian meal - lamb and curry. This lamb curry masala came in tender, generous chunks, infused with all the wonderful herbs and spices that really make a good curry sing. The curry itself was flavorful and thin, almost like a soup, which is exactly how I like it!
This is one little restaurant that I really wanna come back to, maybe next time for a meaty kabob or two, maybe a fish choice, or maybe a sizzling platter of karahi or dopiazza chicken. Some of the breads also look interesting, like a multi-layered, buttered white bread called paratha, which can also come stuffed with spiced scrambled egg w/chicken, beef, or lamb. It all looks fabulous to me.
And so, though TajMahal may not quite have the complete array of arms necessary to out-muscle the Big Dog on the street, and may not quite provide the complete, all-around experience needed to pull down the long-established leader of the pack, if you single it down to just fine Indian cuisine, and nothing else, I'd say Mr. Alpha-Male could very well be in for a real fight!
We left that evening full and happily satisfied, even as a light drizzle prevented me from taking a shot of the entrance from anywhere except the rolled-down windows of my own car!
So may your next foodie adventure be even more enjoyable and stimulating than the last, and may your sense of reward and fulfillment always outweigh the fear of taking a risk or a chance.
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
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