Indian cuisine is very regionalized with dishes varying greatly from province to province. In spite of this variety or maybe more importantly because of it, it is still one of the most flavorful, diverse and complex cuisines in the world.
Indian cooks are rightfully known for their skillful use of spices and herbs. When it comes to preparing Indian dishes it is not as simple as adding all the required spices at one time, quite the contrary, each spice has its own particular effect on a dish and as such each spice or combination of spices is added at a particular stage in the cooking process in order to achieve the perfect result. This great mix of bold flavors in Indian cuisine ticks off all the boxes for me and ranks as one of my favorite dining indulgences.
So, on the advice of a friend, we decided to visit one the reported more adventurous Indian restaurants in the city: Rasoi (RUY-SOY) (KITCHEN) situated on the trendy strip of Notre Dame St in Griffintown near the Atwater Market. Rasoi opened in 2013 with Panne Patel and her son Rex Patel as owners and executive chefs.
The menu at Rasoi can hardly be called traditional ‘Indian’, it is definitely a mish mash of many cultural influences with dishes such as tuna tartare, Thai inspired spring rolls, a Quebecoise lamb poutine, pizza with figs (yes figs!) and an American BBQ version of the classic tandoori chicken.
All the dishes here, like many restaurants now in Montreal, are served ‘tapas style’ and are meant to be shared.
The restaurant itself is very warm, friendly and emboldened by brightly hand painted colored ceilings with many traditional Indian artifacts and lighting fixtures displayed and installed throughout the restaurant that also features a small sit up bar. The staff at Rasoi fit right into its surroundings. Working as a team they offer very professional and friendly service, a real bonus to anyone’s dining experience.
As mentioned above the food at Rasoi is most assuredly not your usual run of the mill ‘Indian’, some names may be familiar, but many of the ingredients and cooking methods are definitely not traditional or what one might expect.
All the food we tasted were composed of very fresh ingredients and were all attractively plated. There was however one overriding thing missing in some of the food we ordered, a lack of flavor and seasoning, which sadly rendered some of the dishes very bland.
We started our meal with Tuna Tartare ($15) and Fish Pakoras ($9). The tuna tartare was served as a tian on top of layers of a very fresh mango relish and guacamole style avocado with dollops of mango puree alongside. The tuna, while being very fresh, lacked any flavor or seasoning and in spite of its tasty mango relish and creamy avocado came across as very bland. The fish pakoras consisted of four small nuggets of fish deep fried in a crisp batter and served with a few somewhat over fried homemade chips and a delightfully tangy mint infused tartar sauce. The fish, although nicely crisp and moist inside and devoid of oil, also lacked seasoning and if it wasn’t for the side order of the tartar sauce it too would have been bland.
Following up on these appetizers I had my hopes stoked for what might come next. We ordered a dish that intrigued me, especially given my past experience with all things BBQ, the Rasoi Tandoori Barbecue Chicken ($19) and the Korma Lamb Chops ($21).
The chicken, advertised as a half chicken, ended up being three thigh and drumstick portions with no sign of any white breast meat. It was served on a sizzling platter atop some julienned fajita style vegetables with a couple of small nuggets of rum infused pineapple included. The combination of flavors here, in my opinion, didn’t gel. Tandoori chicken, marinated in yogurt and spices then roasted and charred in the iconic tandoor oven, is one of my favorite go to Indian street foods. Unfortunately in this case the addition of a glaze of overly sugary American BBQ sauce masked all those wonderful flavors from the marinade and the tandoor.
The lamb chops korma consisted of four small chops sitting atop a thick yogurt based curry sauce containing some potato pieces and a cipollini onion. The lamb was tender and perfectly cooked to order. The sauce was extremely thick and once again lacked seasoning. The accompanying vegetables of marbled potatoes and caramelized cipollini onions would have been better served had they been presented separate from the sauce and not buried in it.
To accompany our meal we ordered a superb South African wine: Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Pinotage “The Dragon Tree” ($45).
To finish our meal we shared a plate of Gubal Jamun a la mode de Maman ($7) and two of their special teas and coffees: Cafe Slumdog Millionaire ($9) and La Soulon Chai Walla ($9). The gulab were two of those delicious hot Indian beignets sitting in a wonderfully perfumed rose water infused syrup and in Rasoi’s version it was served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream adorned with candied pecans and blackberries…a perfect ending!
I don’t know whether the kitchen was having an off night or they were overly busy and ‘in the weeds’, but the lack of flavor and seasoning in some dishes was a bit disappointing given that the chefs are of Indian origin.
Rasoi is a beautiful cozy and romantic restaurant with an awesome staff. I will most assuredly give it another try perhaps choosing some of its more traditional dishes next time.
I see they offer home delivery to my area so that might be an option on one of those cold lazy winter nights.
Our meal came to $180 (including two cocktails, food, wine and taxes)
3459 Notre Dame West
514 544-9866
Info: eat@rasoimontreal.com
www.rasoimontreal.com
Tues: 5pm – 11pm
Wed-Fri: 11am – 3pm 5pm – 11pm
Sat: 5pm -11pm
Sun & Mon: Closed
