Terrific Takeout: Andaz Authentic Indian Cuisine Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
Andaz earns accolades for both deliciousness and beautiful presentation! Cachumber Salad above and Lemon Rice below.
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Our friends Ashok and Avtar have taught us you can love Indian food if you are going to the right place! We've expanded our horizons to find some neighborhood spots, and to that end we introduce to you Andaz on the Upper East Side. We were graciously greeted by owner Kunwar Bist on our inaugural visit to Andaz, where they are committed to both authenticity in Indian cuisine and a healthy menu: they use cream sparingly. We were told it is mostly Northern Indian food, and specials are changed monthly. It's been open since 2009, and Andaz means style in Indian. Kunwar worked in the Taj hotels in India from 1986-1990, and then worked at a restaurant in St. Petersburg in Russia. In 1999, Kunwar came to New York. We were greeted with onion relish, tamarind chutney and mint chutney.
We began with one of the most gorgeous salads we've seen recently. There is real artistry in the vegetable cutting! Please meet the Cachumber salad. They listened, and put dressing on the side for the picky person here.
Chopped tomato, cucumber, onion, carrot and green chili mixed with salt, pepper and freshly squeezed lime juice. We liked the green olives that also came to this nutritious party on a plate.
It tasted exactly as a green salad should, and was off the charts beautiful.
We are huge advocates of terrific seafood, and to that end we explored their specials menu: for an appetizer, we chose the Pan-seared scallops served with sweet and sour sauce.
They were golden and delicious, and enjoyable. Their crispiness confirmed that they were seared just enough on the outside without toughness on the inside. They were nice to ask if we wanted it mild, medium or hot. We chose medium as we do not have an Indian palate genetically! (Fire-breathing Peachy is a scary sight.)
We always want to try Chicken Tikka Masala at neighborhood Indian restaurants, and so we did! Just delicious! Tandoori cooked chicken cubes danced in a tomato based gravy, and it just hit the spot so to speak.
Not to be outdone by the green salad, the lemon rice also waltzed down the culinary runway and it looks like it is wearing an Ellen Christine fascinator. The lemon flavored rice with curry leaves and mustard seeds paired nicely with both chicken dishes.
Kunwar suggested we try a second entree which we were equally delighted with: Murgh Malai Tikka. Don't speak Indian either? It's boneless breast of chicken marinated in mild sauce and cooked in tandoor. Fresh and succulent, this chicken was excellent. Not to mention healthy!
The resident Garlic Naan monster approves of this smashing side as well.
Two desserts are better than one! Above is the Rasmalai which are soft home made cheese patties dipped in cardamom-flavored milk, and below is the Gulab Jamun which are fried Khoya dumplings dipped in hot sugar syrup. A lovely change to mix up the usual dessert (chocolate something or apple pie.)
Andaz is Terrific Takeout!
