Delightfully regal Indian dishes

Greer Wylder

What could be more exotic and flavorful than foods of India? At Mayur

Restaurant, you can try this wonderful cuisine. It just received

Zagat’s Survey 2004 top rating for food in Corona del Mar.

Mayur means peacock, the national bird of India. Throughout the

50-seat restaurant, peacock symbols appear, from the brightly colored

hues on the ceiling to large plume prints on the walls. The

restaurant opened in 1984, when its owner, Anju Kapoor, moved here

from New Delhi. Her husband owned the first sit-down restaurant in

Bombay. She brought with her the family’s personal chef of 15 years,

Dharam Singh, who’s cooked here since the opening. Mayur’s now

managed by her daughter, Nikki Kapoor Goel.

Kapoor Goel says that most of the dishes served at Mayur aren’t

cooked at traditional Indian homes -- they’re too regal. Indians

favor making simple dishes. Kapoor Goel also says that very few

Indians eat at Indian restaurants. It’s one of the few cultures that

prefer to eat home-cooked cuisine. She also dispels the myth that

Indian food is hot. It’s spicy from its use of aromatic spices, yet

“usually not hot spicy.”

India’s culinary traditions co-exist throughout their diverse

country. Most of the South remains influenced by vegetarianism, an

ancient Hindu tradition. In the North, foods come from the

extravagant Mughals, who cooked with meats. In South Indian cuisine,

staple ingredients include rice and lentils (the two combined make a

complete protein), coconut milk, tamarind, fish and regional spices,

aniseed, cloves, and arecanut.

Remnants of the 16th century Mughals’ reign can still be found in

North India’s rich cuisine that’s served at Mayur. The Mughals also

contributed splendor to art, beautiful landscapes, and famous

architecture including the Taj Mahal. Presentations incorporate

colorful foods and elaborate settings. At Mayur, even chicken tikka

is colored red for visual appeal; silver leaf adorns chicken Korma

and most desserts. Other Mughal contributions include tandoori

cooking, chicken, lamb or fish marinated in yogurt, then baked in a

charcoal-filled clay oven. Other elements they added are kebabs, rich

creamy sauces, nuts and saffron.

In Mayur’s small kitchen, there’s a custom, clay tandoori oven

fueled with charcoal twice daily for tandoori, kebab and tikka

specialties, along with traditional tandoori breads, leavened naan,

and whole wheat paratha. The earthen oven’s method of cooking allows

natural flavors and juices to remain sealed in. The chef makes

homemade paneer (an Indian cheese) and some dishes can require a

day’s preparation of cutting vegetables and pounding spices. Curries’

flavor comes from onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes, and spices

used include cinnamon, cardamom, saffron and turmeric.

Most guests at Mayur start with fried appetizers and some of its

delicious, made-to-order naan. In India, appetizers accompany

tandoori dishes as snacks at teatime. Samosas are fried patties

filled with mild-spiced potatoes and peas ($5.95). Lentils come in

traditional mulligatawny soup, garnished with rice and chicken

($5.95); and mildly spiced lentil soup ($5.95). For a taste of

assorted tandoori specialties, guests order the mixed platter. It

includes tandoori chicken, Sikh kebab, minced meat spiced with

ginger, herbs and honey; lamb tikka marinated in spices; and shrimp

tandoori, delicately marinated in spiced garlic, served with mint

sauce ($21.95).

Highly recommended vegetable dishes include palak paneer, creamed

spinach cooked with cheese ($13.95); and the bharta, roasted eggplant

cooked in tomatoes and onion ($13.95). Other favorite dishes include

chicken tikka masala, boneless chicken cooked in red sauce with

onions and spices ($17.95); and the tender karahi (special pan) lamb

($17.95).

A lunch special is offered daily, or order from the regular menu.

The entree special changes daily, but always includes yogurt, salad,

Basmati rice, palak paneer and naan. The popular all you can eat

Sunday buffet brunch is a bargain at $14.95. It comes with champagne.

For those that prefer to order from the regular menu, that’s

available too.

* BEST BITES runs every Friday. Greer Wylder can be reached at

[email protected]; at 330 W. Bay St., Costa Mesa, CA 92627; or by

fax at (949) 646-4170.