Rasoi

Passage to India - Go for a tamarind margarita; stay for the lamb kebabs. Rasoi offers a contemporary twist on traditional favorites—and some of the best Indian food around.

Rasoi

727 East Avenue, Pawtucket
401-728-5500

Fair
Good
Very Good
Excellent

GENERAL INFO. Open for lunch and dinner daily. All major credit cards. Wheelchair accessible. Parking lot. Reservations accepted.

ATMOSPHERE Less “dark and moody” and more “air and sea.”

SOUND LEVEL Tables are separated by free-standing walls, and even Monday night live music is tranquil enough to maintain your dharma.

RECOMMENDED DISHES Lamb galouti kebab, malai kebab, scallops moilee, warm carrot and nut pudding.

WINE LIST There are a dozen varieties (all $20/bottle and $5.50/glass), but you’d be better off with an Indian beer or one of the many fruit-based drinks (alcoholic and otherwise).

PRICE RANGE Appetizers: $2.99–$5.99;

ENTREES: $9.99–$21.99, (most are under $15); desserts: $4.

I’ve often been accused of being too harsh in my response to restaurants, seconded only by being told I’m too soft. (Everybody’s a critic.) I do, however, spend the better part of my day talking to people (personally and professionally) about food, and — my own preferences not withstanding — the majority want their favorite spots to be affordable. Ethnic restaurants fare well because they’re reasonably priced but also because they offer a great deal of flavor (a feature often missing in casual cuisine that’s meant to appeal to everyone over the age of five). It’s no coincidence that people gather around university towns like Providence that often boast greater diversity, not to mention a better selection of food designed for the wallets of academics-in-training.

Rasoi, the newest child of Sanjiv Dhar, owner of Thayer Street’s Kabob and Curry, aims to imbue traditional Indian cuisine with more modern ingredients and some lighter preparations. Dhar’s quest for balance and harmony at Rasoi (which means “kitchen” in Hindi) is evident; one gets the feeling that he’s seeking a bridge between Indian and American tastes as well as classic and contemporary Eastern fare. Unlike its older sibling, which introduced college students to tandoori almost twenty years ago, Rasoi offers up a creative menu to those already familiar with the piquant meats, spicy curries and sweet coconut sauces that dominate Indian food.

The menu draws from both Northern and the lesser-known Southern and coastal cuisines of India, meaning that seafood shows up in spades and there are plenty of dishes that use grilling rather than heavy sauces. Dhar’s desire to embrace Island customs (of the Rhode variety) is evident in a calamari coated with crispy rice flour ($6.99) that is surprisingly good: not in the least bit chewy or greasy and served alongside a syrupy duck-like sauce.

You’ll find a lot of sweet and savory combinations, including a delectable (and just slightly sticky) appetizer of marinated and fried cauliflower ($4.99) that I refused to relinquish even after the entrees arrived. I wondered about the dish’s name —Cauliflower 65 — though our waitress offered only a vague reference to “something in a bottle.” Various chat rooms and five phone calls led me to what seems to be more Indian legend than fact. There may be a jar on the shelves of Indian markets with a bright “65,” but the
original dish (made with chicken) apparently came from a Madras hotel. However, whether it was the sixty-fifth item on the menu, had sixty-five spices in the recipe, or the hotel was sixty-five miles down the road, we may never know.

But I digress, as the best is yet to come. There are several noteworthy appetizers, but all play second fiddle to the lamb galouti kebab ($5.99), a deceivingly simple plate of skewered lamb filets that rival $35 chops in flavor and texture. Marinated with papaya, nutmeg, cinnamon and cardamom, and cooked with good old-fashioned ghee (that’s Hindi for clarified butter), it’s both exquisitely tender and elusively tangy (move over, rosemary). If there weren’t so many dishes worth ordering, I would take a double portion for my dinner and claim myself victorious.

Alas, there really are a myriad of tempting entrees beckoning to me. I’m concerned that people will shy away from the malai kebab ($12.99), which is described as marinated chicken with cheddar cheese. It sounds like an Americanized patty melt when, in actuality, it’s an exceedingly light and delicately flavored chicken that even those with white-bread palates will enjoy.
Shellfish eaters who have avoided Indian spices until now will devour the frontier garlic shrimp ($18.99). The vastly underrated team of yogurt and a variety of spices ensures a dish that highlights the intricate flavors of Indian spices but in a considerably more subtle manner than traditional curries.

Though many of the tables at Rasoi are separated by large red partitions, the menu is extensive and interesting enough that people often peer around the corner to investigate a captivating scent or ask for recommendations. It’s a practice that the restaurant supports (as long as the other diners are willing to socialize) because word-of-mouth is Dhar’s most promising PR tool.

A tip from the waitstaff led me to the scallops moilee ($13.99) — actually, it was more a look of incredulity when I ordered just about everything but the scallops. I was quickly set straight. The scallops are steeped in a coconut milk sauce with ginger, lime and fresh curry leaves and proved unanimously popular. Curry leaves, unlike the British-born curry powder, are very mild, and though the flavor is elusive, they have a hint of citrus with a warm base, somewhat akin to bay leaves or sage. One of my dining companions asked if I’d like a straw to finish off the sauce, clearly expecting a look of shame to cross my face. None was forthcoming.

It’s almost inconceivable that I’ve gotten this far without mentioning the bread at Rasoi. After all, bread baked in a tandoor can lure even young diners to the table. (“You don’t eat anything that’s not beige? You’ll love the bread!”) Puffy poori and layered parantha are available, but seven varieties of naan rule the proverbial roost. I won’t go through the whole list, but savory lovers will indubitably choose the garlic and spring onion, while sweet will opt for the date and coconut—particularly tempting if you like the squeak of fresh coconut between your teeth as I do.

I’m partial to Indian desserts, which are usually dairy-rich (sorry, lactose foes) as well as decidedly starchy and sugar-laden. All are affordable at $4, and most pay homage to traditional dishes. The warm carrot and nut pudding is a contemporary halwa though served with ginger ice cream and drizzled with vibrant red rosewater syrup. Doughy dumplings that resemble chestnuts are soaked in simple syrup and floated in a warm honey and cardamom broth. For better or worse, most options are just a stride past sweet, making even dessert-lovers call it quits before breaking out the Tums.

Like the menu, the atmosphere at Rasoi is also more contemporary than Kabob and Curry, though perhaps less exotic than its competitor around the corner, India. The sponge-painted saffron walls and blue floors give way to an island bar set up in the center of the restaurant, complete with a suspended television that runs music videos from India like a Wall Street ticker. Though there are about a dozen wines to choose from, none of them are high on my list of desirable beverages.

You need a bold wine to stand up to the flavors here, and as warmer weather approaches, you’d be better off with a cold Kingfisher than a California Chardonnay. Or consider yourself on vacation from New England cuisine and indulge in a tamarind margarita, which combines tequila and Cointreau with its namesake fruit.

The bright-tiled bar is mellow, despite its central location. In fact, only the kitchen belies the serenity of the culture with its sleek stainless stovetops and discordant music of clanging pans. (I will warn you that our food did not come out quickly although the extra quarter of an hour yielded splendid results. Buddha didn’t reach enlightenment in a split second either.)

Rasoi’s location between LJ’s BBQ and the vegetarian Garden Grille could be kismet. After all, the quest for harmony requires divergent tastes. If Hinduism, Buddhism and Bollywood can co-exist, I think it’s safe to say that we don’t need to choose between Northern and Southern cuisine or between classic and original. Sanjiv Dhar has managed to embrace both of them. As for me, I doubt I’ll get my curry anywhere else.