GOOD cuisine can lift anyone’s mood. The majority of Malaysians enjoy South Indian food, however there are some delicious North Indian dining options.
theSun recently visited Namaste India, a modern Indian eatery founded by food lovers of northern Indian cuisine.
As the corporate head chef for Namaste India, Vinod Kumar Sharma is a multi-talented chef with over 32 years of vast international expertise.
As soon as you walk in, a powerful fragrance of spices welcomes you and makes you feel cosy inside. The restaurant has plenty of natural light, which creates the ideal atmosphere for spending a day there and enjoying some expertly cooked Indian food. The setting is cosy and inviting.
Dr. Harsha Hirdyani, Namaste India’s head of branding and strategic business, welcomed us. Her involvement in Namaste India was inspired by her belief as a food scientist that traditional kitchens still have a considerable amount of information that can be refined for a new generation.
We sampled a handful of their menu’s stand-out items, beginning with Namaste India’s special menu for Ramadan.
I tried their fruit chaat as a starter, which is prepared with freshly cut fruits and is sprinkled with a spice blend for added flavour.
Although I found it a tad hot, I think that’s what made the meal unique. I tried their lamb shank rogan josh, prawn malai curry, and a flavourful chicken stew with Indian spices for the main course.
I would say that the prawn curry was my favourite dish of the day. That I kept wanting more indicates how soft and flavourful it was.
It matched the kesar mutton briyani, another main item on the Ramadan menu, well. The mutton wasn’t too chewy or hard, making it the ideal entrée for elderly diners.
The dessert that was served next was zaffrani seviyan, a sweet dish prepared with wheat vermicelli, ghee, milk, dried fruits, sugar, and saffron. The taste was just right – not too sweet.
There are also several other dishes on the Ramadan menu that we sadly did not have time to try; such as fish chop, tawa boti shashlik, and kulfi falooda.
After tasting their Ramadan menu, we also tried a few of their house specialities. Despite the fact that we were starting to feel really full, we couldn’t resist the temptation. We had some of the renowned street cuisine from North India.
The variety of street cuisine offered here astonished me. I wasn’t very familiar with North Indian street cuisine, so when I saw the nicely presented items on our tables, I was actually rather impressed.
The pani puri with its crispy shells, filling of potatoes and chickpeas, chutneys on top, and special spiced water were to die for.
I also had their palak patta chaat, which is another popular dish. It was made of spinach leaves that had been deep-fried with a thin batter made of gram flour, chutneys that had been blended with yoghurt, pomegranate seeds, and crispy sev on top. It was super crispy and flavourful.
Namaste India is also a great dining option for vegetarians because they serve a range of foods that are sure to suit everyone, notably their tandoori kebab platter, which comprises an assortment of vegetables, including tandoori-stuffed potatoes, paneer tikka, veg seekh kebab, and broccoli with malai cheese.
Tandoor-grilled Kebab and Tikka platters are also available at Namaste India in a variety of vegetarian and non-vegetarian options.
For non-vegetarians, you should order the tandoori chicken. You will love this insanely delicious and smokey chicken dish.
Chapati, naan, and paratha. Whatever you need, they have it. I tried their two most popular naans, garlic and plain, as well as their tandoori lachcha paratha.
These dishes, paired with three of their best curries, palak paneer, butter chicken, and dal makhni, are sure to please curry enthusiasts.
We also enjoyed a second dessert, the Kesar Jalebi with Rabri.
It is made of batter fried sweet round crispies and served with rabri, covered in sugar and saffron syrup. I’ve tried jalebi before, and it’s usually thick and juicy, but this was thin and crispy. That was different, and I absolutely loved it.
No meal is complete without a refreshing drink. Rose Shikanji, a drink made of rooh afza syrup, lemon juice, salt, mint, and soda, rounded off our lunch. It was a wise decision to salt the beverage since, for some reason, it helped to ‘balance off’ our meal for the day.
Their Ramadan-exclusive menu is available until April 23, 2023. Make a reservation to avoid disappointment.
Address:
Namaste India Hartamas
Address: No. 6-G, Jalan 31/70a, Desa Sri Hartamas, 50480 Kuala Lumpur.
Opening Hours: 11am-11pm
Namaste India Bangsar
Address: No 54 – G, Jalan Maarof, Bangsar, 59100 Kuala Lumpur.
Opening Hours: 11am-11pm
Namaste India TTDI
Address: 128, Jalan Burhanuddin Helmi, Taman Tun Dr Ismail, 60000 Kuala Lumpur, Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur
Opening Hours: 11.30am-11pm
Website: https://namasteindia.com.my/
