“Life is like Indian food, both are tasteless without spices.”
—Kumar Naresh
Cecile and I were invited to join our friends, Sarah and Bill Rothenberg for appetizers and drinks in their backyard patio that was followed by dinner at Mandala Indian Cuisine, a recent addition to historic downtown Saratoga. We managed to get outside seating with a heating lamp. I have had the good fortune of visiting India three times back in the day. Whether I stayed at an ashram (a meditation and yoga retreat center) or a hotel the food never disappointed. The same can be said even more so for the Mandala Indian Cuisine Restaurant. The food experience including the presentation was a true feast of the senses.
Bill had a bottle of Taj Mahal beer and I ordered a bottle of Kingfisher beer. Sarah happily sipped through a Mango Lassi, a sweet yogurt drink traditionally made with yogurt, cream and Mango. We ordered Naan, a tandoori baked unleavened bread, one of the most popular Indian flatbreads for the table, as well as Papadum, a thin crisp made from black gram flour that is accompanied by three basic Indian chutney dipping sauces
Indian food is full of complimentary flavors. It provides balance, color, and cleanses the palate. Mandala offers an extensive list of exotic dishes that can be intimidating to some people of western cultures unfamiliar with the food choices. It might have something to do with fear of the unknown. People assume that it’s all curry and therefore all spicy. In reality, all palate preferences are fully represented from spicy, sweet, hot, and sour. You can tell the helpful waiters to ask the chef to tone down the spice.
We decided to share the following: Chicken Momo: a famous Nepalese style steamed chicken dumpling served with tomato and sesame chutney; Lamb Rogan Vindaloo: Lamb cooked with potato with blend of spices; Mix Tandoori Kebabs Platter that included Seekh kebab, salmon, Chilean sea-bas, tandoori chicken and rack of lamb skewered in a clay oven served with vegetable puldo; Vegetarian Biryani: Saffron basmati rice, mixed vegetables, mint, fried onions cooked dum-style,and white Basmati rice. This was accompanied by Raita, a basic condiment, made from yogurt with cucumber, mint and toased cumin seed used to cool and temper heat and spice. Instead of a traditional midday buffet, the three owners of Mandala elected to offer a “bento box” for lunch, with more than 30 entree choices which has been reported to have won over customers.
The inside of the restaurant is nicely appointed, including a bronze statue of Ganesh, the elephant deity that sits high up on a wall shelf that symbolizes wisdom, understanding and is considered the remover of obstacles that paves the way for people to move forward in life.
Postscript: Meaning of Mandala: It is the interplay of vivid colors and ancient symbols. Tibetan monks spend hours creating mandalas with grains of colored sand. The purpose is to call the community to meditation and awareness of something larger than their own small world. Once made, they destroy it. Why? The underlying message is that nothing is permanent. All things are in a state of flux. It may be beautiful, ephemeral, and moving, but it is temporary, just like the beautiful and artful presentation of food we ate for dinner. That said it was good while it lasted:-)
