bombay mahal: can you take the heat?

my love affair with indian food started a decade ago — the layers of flavours, the subtle differences in spicing, the sweet, the salty, and the tangy.  up until recently, i had only patronized restaurants that specialized in the food of northern india.  i had long heard of bombay mahal, but my tastebuds’ first trip to southern india was only about a year and a half ago.

the food?  two words: fiery hot.  for me anyway.  this is not your typical parc-extension indian restaurant that gives you the choice of mild, medium, or spicy.  it seems like most of the dishes that i have tasted here so far are on the spicy end of the spectrum.  on some level, i am inclined to think that not having the option of spice level makes the experience all the more authentic.  is this really the case?  who knows…  you’ll have to find an indian person to answer that question.

my first time dining at bombay mahal, i decided to order a masala dosa, one of the more popular options from the south indian culinary repertoire.  i have been dying to try this for the longest time, so naturally this was the first thing i ordered off the menu.  a dosa is a crêpe made of rice and lentils.  a masala dosa is stuffed with a spicy onion and potato filling.  here it was served with sambar and a mint & cilantro chutney.  sambar, from what i understand, is a yellow lentil and vegetable stew/soup.  i’ll admit that i had and still have no idea how to eat a masala dosa.  i simply poured some sambar and chutney on top of the stuffed crêpe and took it from there.  the first time i ate this, i was left a tad bit disappointed.  maybe my longing to try this south indian food was so strong that my expectations were too high.  it wasn’t bad, not even close.  i guess i was just expecting something more flavourful.  the second time i had their masala dosa, over a year later, the spicing was just right and i longed for more.

next, i tried chicken dhansak, a spicy parsi dish of chicken and lentils. never having eaten this before, i have nothing to compare it to. that being said, i loved it. the yellow lentils added a nice texture to the otherwise creamy sauce. although traditionally served with rice, i thought this fiery hot dish went perfectly with the fluffy and buttery naan. i love it when different textures meld in my mouth…  my only issue with this dish is that more than one serving will give me heartburn that lasts for hours.  note to self: don’t bring chicken dhansak leftovers for the graveyard shift when you just stuffed yourself full of indian food.

i like my rice flavoured so naturally, i like biryani.  my usual pick is lamb biryani.  i try not to order chicken biryani unless i am in a pakistani restaurant as i have noticed that most indian places put green peas in theirs.  i’m already not a big fan of green peas, but when you put them in biryani, i downright hate them because they impart a sweet taste to a dish that i am used to having spicy.  i am happy to report that the chicken biryani here is free of green peas!  only moist pieces of chicken and flavourful rice.  a side of raita is perfect to counteract the heat from the spicing and it also adds a welcome tang to the rice.

chicken tikka and lamb tikka are served on a heated sizzling plates.  these marinated morsels, cooked on skewers in the tandoor oven, were tender and juicy.  although the chicken tikka had nothing extraordinary to offer, the fact that it was not dry has propelled it above all other restaurant versions (at least in my mind).

finally, i can’t go to an indian restaurant and not try their butter chicken.  i know this isn’t a south indian dish, but oddly enough, their creamy version is the best i have had.  this dish was mild, but it was perfect for allowing the subtle nutty flavour of butter (or ghee) to shine through.  best of all, you get to mop up the thick sauce with the warm naan.

i like the food here.  they don’t hold back on the spicing unless the dish warrants it and they don’t bother asking whether you want your food mild, medium, or spicy…  they cook it to the heat level it’s traditionally supposed to be.

bombay mahal
1001, rue jean-talon ouest
montréal, québec
H3N 1T2
T: 514.273.3331
www.restaurantbombaymahal.ca

payment: cash, debit

hours:
tue to sat 11h-23h
sun 11h-21h
closed mondays