'Taste of India' Brings Curry, Chickpeas to the Country

Author: John Prescott

"Indian food in Middlebury!?"
"Unusual flavors, spicy curries, home made flatbreads!?"
"Don't tease — you know how I get worked up over these kinds of things. If this place is any good …"
Perhaps your reaction to the opening of Taste of India on Bakery Lane was a bit different than mine. Perhaps you did not consider the relative lack of satisfying non-American food (news flash: to call Panda House and what used to be Amigo's even mediocre is awfully forgiving) to be a considerable mark against our quaint little college town. I sure did.
And I am happy to report that while not exactly lighting the culinary community on fire, Taste of India provides a moderately good dining experience.
There are a number of items to recommend specifically, and I'll start with an accoutrement that is absolutely necessary with every Indian meal: The soft and warm fresh-baked breads called "naan." They are pretty much all tasty and it's hard to make a bad bread order, but I particularly recommend the buttery, whole wheat "roti" and the onion-studded "kulcha."
Not only satisfying on their own, the breads are particularly adept at scooping up the wide variety of chicken, lamb, seafood and vegetable curries offered. A couple of important things to point out about the curries: First, they all come with basmati rice. The single most essential and delicious component of Indian food (bread is a close second), basmati rice is extra-long grain, thin and intensely aromatic, filling the restaurant with alluring smells.
Perhaps I should just quote Taste of India's menu directly for the second point: "Contrary to common belief curries are NOT prepared from curry powder, but with a special blend of spices and herbs, blended fresh every day for each individual dish. Curries are not always hot, as is generally expected; they can be mild, medium, or hot according to your choice." Well put.
I usually try to find a partner to share a meat curry and a vegetable curry, mostly because many of the chicken and lamb curries do not include vegetables themselves (and I've always felt hesitant, for whatever reason, to order their seafood). My favorite chicken dishes are the chicken curry and the tender chicken mango. While the former curry is mildly spiced with a savory flavor, the latter comes with a very tasty spicy-sweet-fruity sauce of onion, garlic, ginger and mango.
Among the vegetable curries, those with creamy spinach — the "saag paneer" also includes homemade cheese while the "aloo saag" contains cubes of potato — are reasonably satisfying. The "navratan" curry with cauliflower, carrot and chickpea is also a worthy component to a good Indian meal.
If there is one area of the menu to avoid, it would have to be "The Tandoor." When prepared skillfully, meats grilled inside this charcoal-burning clay oven are pleasantly moist. Here they usually come out noticeably dry, having also acquired an excessive amount of smoky flavor in the process. On second thought, given how much fun it is to soak up the various sauces with the bread and rice, who wants grilled food anyway?
It is also worth noting that I have purposely skipped mentioning the unremarkable appetizers and desserts; the bread-basmati-curry combination is more than enough food for empty stomachs.
Fortunately, it seems the local community is starting to take note of its local Indian fare. As they proudly display in the entrance of the restaurant, Taste of India received an Addison Independent reader's choice award for excellence (OK, so perhaps the competition for "best area southeast Asian restaurant" wasn't particularly fierce). More importantly, the dining room seems more crowded all the time, even though many diners opt for take-out service.
Then again, it is distinctly possible that the bigger crowds may be just a figment of my imagination. Along with Na's Thai Kitchen, Taste of India provides a kind of unusual dining experience that I personally think adds a great deal to the Middlebury experience.