Chote Nawab Indian Cuisine by Hemant Mathur Inaugural Review Our Coverage Sponsored by Fresh Origins
From the Sunhari Jhinga Kebab to the Murgh Hariyali Tikka, Hemant has impressed us again!
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Ta da....and the Hemant Mathur hit parade continues with Chote Nawab!
Hemant was most recently lauded on Whom You Know for his latest and greatest, Sahib:
We told you he's got many tricks up his sleeve these days, and please meet Hit #2, Chote Nawab, which opened in 2011. Now you know that Choate (has an a and is Peachy's programmed Choate in her head since she knew it first) is not only a famous boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut (JFK was a student there) that Peachy played field hockey against; its name means Little Prince (we certainly remember that book from French class)-and we think it is an Indian movie-see the end photo. Hemant came to this team as Executive Chef and one of the owners in 2014. This venue focuses on kebabs and biryani and to our rather American tastes, it seemed like more of a wonderful summery BBQ to differentiate it from other Indian traditional venues. It is slightly more casual, but still sit-down. We love sit-down.
If we are writing on a place at all, it is understood that the service is fantastic. We don't comment on hospitality often, but you should know that they are extremely attentive at Chote Nawab, which is most appreciated by our audience. We had citrus water and Merlot immediately and the grill was fired up to ignite our appetite! Note not all Indian restaurants have great wine but we liked this one.
You also should assume that if we are writing on a place at all, the food is served at the appropriate temperature. Chote Nawab is even a step above here as it was so super hot it fogged up Peachy's camera lens. We love to see this effort and attention to detail.
Do you know these are mushrooms!
Meet Achari Guchi and trust us, this is a fantastic way to get in your vegetables. Skewered pickled mushrooms are superbly flavorful and fun to eat. We have never had pickled mushrooms before we believe, and you're going to like them too.
That's what they look like cut in half; their life was short!
Everything we've seen Hemant create is beautiful.
The cast iron is a nice touch and they are served with green sauce that is mint and nicely tones everything down a bit. Onions and lime come to the edible party.
If you really know Peachy, you know she steers towards anything green because she is competitively Irish. That is why we ever tried Green Masala in the first place, but we keep ordering it because the flavor is amazing. Again, this was super sizzling upon arrival and the chicken was tender and the formal name is Murgh Hariyali Tikka. If you love onions as much as we do you are going to love this too.
We absolutely adore both shrimp and saffron, so when they are teamed up it is even better. If you quite concur, remember the name Sunhari Jhinga Kebab, because that is what this is called. Succulent shrimp seared to perfection arrive on one of the best kebab presentations we have ever seen. Sunhai means golden, and Jhinga means shrimp.
We liked everything we tried, but we loved this dish the most at Chote Nawab.
We are advocates of getting your greens in, and Sag Paneer is a delicious, hearty way to do this with great success. Of course, all vegetables are better with cheese and so is this: Spinach, cheese and garden herbs combine for a vegetable not to be ignored.
A big mistake restaurants can make is putting their phone in a spot where the person answering it cannot hear properly; please do not mistake Deegan for vegan ever. But if you are a vegan or not, you will be won over by the Baigan Bharta, found on the Vegan section of the Chote Nawab menu. Smoked eggplant, roasted spices and garden herbs remind you of how ecstatic you can be about vegetables! We'd even order it again. It boasts a beautiful consistency and a balanced flavor. It is mild if you are on fire.
A total winner is the classic: Chicken Tikka Masala. Every bite will leave you in pure amazement at how much better this is than your typical neighborhood Indian restaurant. Skewered spring chicken in creamy tomato sauce absolutely hits the spot. The presentation in the silver bowl is lovely. It is flavorful yet not overwhelming which to us is key in successful Indian food. And Hemant Mathur totally knows what he is doing; did you know he opened the first Indian restaurant in East Berlin in 1992?
Bagari Jhinga (remember, Shrimp!) Nawabi is the seafood entree we selected, and the tanginess of the tomato sauce was just right for Goldilocks Peachy, not too spicy and not too mild. Curry leaves added wow factor and again, the shrimp are super impressive and frequent once you dig in.
Drumroll please! Peachy's favorite is Chicken Biryani, and Hemant's is terrifically flavorful with the chicken on the bone.
We dream of this dish and it is just as great as the Sahib edition. Sauces of Raita and Mirchi Ka Salan join the party, but American Peachy likes it straight. Just like scotch, and Hemant likes that too!
Does your dinner smile at you like this?
Of course, you have rice on the side for the entrees:
...and Garlic Naan, for the Garlic Naan monster!
Fresh, hot and short-lived! We love garlic.
We were so impressed with Chote Nawab on our first visit; we look forward to seeing what Hemant Mathur does next.
