Savory Samplings From North India
The north Indian city of Jaipur is a madhouse of frenzied traffic--rickshaws, bicycles and heavily laden camels charging toward their destinations. Jaipur Cuisine of India in Los Angeles is just the opposite: a serene place to meet on the Westside for a quiet dinner. The food is good and not jarringly spicy, the service thoughtful but unobtrusive. Curries are set over candles to keep them hot until eaten. Bowls of fresh fruit accompany desserts.
Because of its rosy buildings, India’s Jaipur is known as the pink city. L.A.’s Jaipur is pink too. The walls are painted a subdued tone that gives off a pleasant glow, while the white trim and white ceiling fans make the room look cool and fresh. Only the glittery Rajasthani wall hangings and a few knickknacks indicate that this is an Indian restaurant.
The menu echoes most other north Indian menus around town, but the dishes are well-prepared. You can appreciate the spices in the eggplant dish began bharta: cinnamon and cumin, blended with onion, ginger and turmeric.
The unusual bhindi (sliced okra) is flavored with vinegar, black salt and mango powder. The delicately seasoned fish tikka kebab remains juicy and tender despite having been roasted in a hot tandoor oven because the fish is Chilean sea bass. There is also a superior dish of Chilean sea bass in a velvety tomato-cream makhanwala sauce.
Unlike the usual reddish tandoori chicken, chicken reshmi kebab retains its natural color. The white meat tastes slightly tangy, rather than spicy, from its yogurt marinade. (The chicken curry, on the other hand, is not exceptional.)
The tandoori rack of lamb isn’t bad, but it also isn’t much meat for the money, just three chops. Lamb tikka is probably a wiser choice, or mutton sohitya, a curry that combines lamb and corn kernels in a tomato, onion and bell pepper sauce. (Despite the name, this dish is made with lamb, not the usual Indian mutton, which is goat meat.)
An exceptionally good appetizer is shami kebab--two small fried patties of ground lamb and pureed yellow lentils. Amazingly light and crisp, they’re irresistible. Unfortunately, one order is not enough for a group.
Jaipur has plenty of options for vegetarians, including lentils, dishes made with Indian cheese (paneer), a vegetable pilaf (biryani) and combinations such as mushrooms with peas or potatoes with cauliflower. Big chunks of cheese, tomatoes and bell pepper are skewered and plunged into the tandoor for a vegetable shashlik. Rather than ordering these dishes separately, a lone diner can ask for the assorted platter called vegetarian thali. Other dinner combinations cater to meat eaters.
Plain basmati rice is best with curries. Ornate pullaos and biryanis go well with grilled foods. The Kashmiri pullao embellished with fruit and nuts sounds intriguing, but it’s not up to the standard of other dishes here. The nuts are scarce and the fruits look to me like a canned mix.
The large selection of Indian breads ranges from plain naan to naan stuffed with lamb and spinach and onion kulcha. Kabuli naan, filled with cashews and raisins, is almost a sweet pastry, rather than a bread.
Aside from kulfi (ice cream), there are just three desserts, all made on the premises. Jaipur’s khir (rice pudding) is as fluid as soup. It’s seasoned with saffron and cardamom and dusted with chopped pistachios. The bowl of red grapes on the side is a nice touch, although grapes don’t have much in common with rice pudding.
Fruit--usually grapes but sometimes mangoes, depending on the season--also comes with gulab jamun (fried balls of milk dough served hot in a cardamom-flavored syrup) and rasmalai (clotted milk sprinkled with pistachios).
Jaipur offers wines as well as Indian beers, the yogurt drink lassi and masala chai. On weekdays the restaurant sets up a lunch buffet that is convenient for shoppers at the Westside Pavilion next door. The buffet moves up in class to a champagne lunch on weekends.
Jaipur Cuisine of India, 10916 W. Pico Blvd., West L.A. (just west of the Westside Pavilion). (310) 470-4994. Lunch 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday; dinner 5:30 to 10:30 p.m. daily. Wine and beer. Street parking. Major credit cards. Dinner for two, food only, $30.
What to Get: shami kebab, fish makhanwala, fish tikka kebab, mutton sohitya, chicken reshmi kebab, began bharta, spinach kulcha, kabuli naan, khir, gulab jamun.