and ground green
AT A
chili abounded on
GLANCE
the finish. Again,
• MOST ENTREES
$15-$20
the portion of
• BYO
two nice pieces
• DELIVERY
was perfect for
• TAKEOUT
sharing.
• ALL CREDIT
CARDS
The in-your-face
ACCEPTED
heat of chili pan-
• LUNC H BUFFET 7
DAYS A WEEK
eer — fried paneer
• OPEN FOR
with fresh diced
LUNCH AND
DINNER, 7 DAYS
bell pepper and
onions, sautéed
in chili sauce — was so yummy, so
spicy, that we polished off an entire
bottle of water with the appetizers.
Paneer, which is simply a non-melt-
ing Indian version of farmer’s cheese,
was coated with a bit of cornstarch
for crunchiness. The heated pepper
flavors that stemmed from a healthy
shot of sriracha were tamed with lots
of garlic, ginger and soy garnished
with sprigs of fresh cilantro.
My pleasure in everything on that
table was marred when we finished
our sampling. For half an hour, those
dishes sat and sat. Not one of the
many staff came to clear, and entrees
were nowhere to be seen. Eventually,
I walked to the hostess stand to men-
tion that we were long done with
our appetizers and wanted the table
cleared.
A few minutes later the entrees
all arrived, and I completely forgave
the service when I tasted the Indian
version of comfort food: butter
chicken. It is a staple on every
Indian menu, but this was heavenly.
The dish is straightforward: chick-
en slowly poached in ghee (clarified
butter), then finished with tons of
cream and spices. Sometimes the
seasoning in this dish can get muddy,
but not Bay Leaf’s version. I got
heady flavors of ginger, cumin,
tomato, lemon, hints of onion and
turmeric. The chicken itself was
tender and succulent, the sauce so
seductive, not spicy but aromatic,
that I ran out of the excellent side
order of garlic naan to soak it all up.
Biryani is an ancient dish with a
storied history throughout Eastern
regions. There are many takes on
TOMATO SOUP
biryani, and Bay Leaf’s shrimp was a
strong rendition of the dum method,
where the rice is slowly cooked for
hours. An excellent blend of spices
and sauce, the dish featured sweet
jumbo shrimp buried under the sea-
soned basmati rice. Complex flavors
of cardamom, cloves and sweet onion
peppered the perfectly cooked bas-
mati. I only wish it was served in a
larger bowl, because it was hard to
really dig in.
Our waiter recommended dal
tadka — yellow lentils with ghee herb
and spices. He noticed that we were
not in love with it, and offered to
bring a different dish. It wasn’t that
it wasn’t good, it was just that every-
thing else was so much better. Dal
simply means lentils stewed in lots of
ghee; this version had notes of green
chili, fenugreek, coriander, ginger,
garam masala and asafetida, which
is a pungent spice that is part of the
celery family.
Stuffed to the gills, we managed
to eat some of the rasmalai — sweet
creamy cheese balls floating in gor-
geous rosewater broth. It was, again,
a flawless version, and we couldn’t
stop ourselves from taking spoonful
after spoonful of the broth. ■
We congratulate Christine E. Nunn
in her new job as executive chef of
Fables, a family-friendly restaurant
in Oak Ridge. This is her final din-
ing review for Millburn & Short Hills
Magazine.
MILLBURN & SHORT HILLS MAGAZINE BACK TO SCHOOL 2018
47