Saturday, July 3. India 4U Heats Me Up. After the usual Saturday morning errands, I had nowhere to go all day. No book signings on this holiday weekend. I spent most of the day on the financial aid forms required by Tulane for Mary Leigh. I thought they could be cloned from Jude's, but there's no way to even cut-and-paste the data from one to the other. I have to pull out the tax returns and type in all the information again. Thirty-one pages' worth. I am convinced that they make these things so time-consuming to discourage people who don't really the assistance from just going for it. But we do need it.
Dinner at India 4U. Something about the place made me think that it has been taken over by new management, but I don't know. The menu is different. The last two pages listed Mexican food. Before I could look it over the waiter said it was null and void. Just as well. I wonder who came up with that idea. Even though Mexican and Indian sauces have flavors in common, they're very different. And if there's one thing Mandeville doesn't need, it's another Mexican restaurant.
First course: paneer with red peppers. This was a very hot dish--just what I wanted. Indian restaurants routinely make paneer cheese in house from milk, resulting in something a little firmer than fresh-milk mozzarella. This batch, however, had been cooked to the point that it was beyond chewy and almost leathery. It was not pleasant. Everything else about the dish was fine, including the portion size--certainly enough for two people, and I couldn't finish it.
Indian food serves entrees oddly, by Western standards. The main part of the dish is often served in the smallest dish on the table. That effect is pronounced at India 4U. Malabar chicken curry came out in a small metal dish, its creamy sauce hiding nearly all of the chicken and other solid parts of the dish. The size is an illusion--the dish is deep, and holds more than you'd think. It still takes one aback, though.
When India 4U first opened, they placed these metal dishes over a little tabletop burner, with a votive candle as the heat source, to keep the food hot to the point of bubbling. That gadget wasn't here today, but it was never really necessary.
These guys do not hold back from adding the seasoning to the sauces. Indeed, the aroma that hits you when you walk in is of roasting whole spices, in the time-honored Indian way. The Malabar sauce was rich, peppery and good. But there wasn't much chicken in it. They had the naan wrong--I asked for plain naan and they brought the garlic version, but I can live with that. The waiter was trying hard, that's for sure.
Other dinner at India 4U (other than our Eat Club dinner here a year or so ago) have been marked by an empty dining room. But they were quite busy tonight--at least thirty other people. I'm glad we have any kind of Indian food on the North Shore, but there's lots of room for improvement here.
India 4 U. Mandeville: 1703 N Causeway Blvd . 985-626-5657. Indian.
