Pintu’s Indian Palace
Address: 217 Elm Street, West Springfield, 413-788-4929
Hours: Lunch buffet Mon. – Fri. 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. Dinner: Sun.-Tue. 5-9 p.m., Wed.-Thu. 5-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m.
Entrées: To $17.95.
In the late 1600s, the Taj Mahal was built by an emperor for his queen in the central part of India. The interlocking structures that form this marble mausoleum represent the “arabesque concept”: each element stands on its own while integrating with the main structure. This can also be said for the food at Pintu’s Indian Palace in West Springfield. A procession of curry, tandoor, samosa and vindaloo is livened up with regional versions gleaned by the owner’s wanderlust. The traditional dishes borrow from many regions of India, and they hold their own.
Take one signature dish, for example. Chicken 65 references Hyderabad, a city in southern India. Chef and owner Pintu says that this dish is inspired by road food eaten by people who live in or drive past Hyderabad (speed limit 65). Pintu equates his creation with hot wings of the U.S.—the atomic variety.
Made up of garlic, hot peppers and kari pata (curry leaves), Chicken 65 is indescribably hot. When ordering at Pintu, servers will ask, “How hot?” about many of the main courses. If ordered “regular,” the Chicken 65 has to be approached with a fistful of bread or beer in one hand and a fork in the other.
When asked how much hotter other people order it, Pintu said, “Four times hot.”
This is not true for all the food at Pintu’s. Only some dishes require a two-fisted approach. But it is true that the entire staff is as accommodating as Pintu, who wafts about the Palace in his white turban. A complimentary dish of dahi (lentils) and a taste of Pintu’s Porter (brewed for the restaurant by Berkshire Brewery) are part of what makes this restaurant distinctive.
Pintu’s adventurous menu includes appetizers, vegetarian dishes, lamb, beef and fish dishes, as well as foods prepared in the tandoor oven. There are no less than 11 homemade breads to choose from. The poori is puffy and on the oily side, but good, and as airy as the butter nan is crisp and dry. Not to be outdone is the keema nan, which is leavened bread stuffed with lamb keema and spices.
There are other nans that are variations on the theme and a lovely, fresh-tasting pudina parantha, which layers whole wheat bread with mint and spices. Breads are served with a trio of mint chutney (mint, spinach, peppers), onion and pepper chutney and a tamarind sauce that is rich enough to stand a fork in. There is also a stellar raiita comprising homemade yogurt, cumin and sea salt plus something mysterious.
Other dishes that support the Palace but stand on their own are the three main courses that we had. The fish amritsari is mahi mahi marinated overnight, coated in chickpea flour and fried. It’s in a very rich sauce with Indian spices that let the fish maintain its fresh, fleshy integrity. Also on the table was lamb chop masala cooked in the tandoor oven and served with an onion yogurt cream sauce. It was filling and complex. Nav ratan korma consisted of nine fresh vegetables (including asparagus) with nuts cooked in a cream sauce. This was excellent the next day with leftover basmati rice.
marynelen@gmail.com
