Cilantro Indian Cafe’s ‘homestyle with a twist’ menu means vibrant dishes | Review
When I get a craving for Indian food, I can practically smell the fragrant spices and taste the vibrant flavors. Often, it’s the memory of a particular dish — the delicate dance of cardamom, coriander and cumin in chicken tikka masala, say, or the pungent peppery nip of lamb vindaloo — that sets my mouth to watering.
Recently, though, those spices and vibrant flavors had nothing to do with the dish that triggered my craving. Maybe it was a case of pandemic-induced yearning for comfort, but it was the yeasty aroma and pillowy softness of the naan at Cilantro Indian Cafe that I couldn’t stop thinking about.
This is not the familiar tandoori naan, mind you. It’s called roghani naan (sometimes spelled roghni), and it’s a specialty of owner/chef Tavassum Rahmen. He’s a native of Bihar in the northeastern corner of India who moved to the Triangle more than two decades ago by way of New York. After operating a little takeout shop out of a gas station for a few years, Rahmen opened Cilantro Indian Cafe in MacGregor Village in 2014.
The restaurant doesn’t have a link for online ordering, but you can order takeout by phone (be sure to specify curbside) or delivery by DoorDash. I opted for the latter — not once but twice, about a week apart. Both times, the food arrived fresh and hot within the half-hour window I’d specified.
Rahmen describes her extensive offering of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes as “homestyle with a twist,” noting that all curries are gluten-free and nut-free. I sampled a dozen dishes over the course of those two meals (plus, thanks to the generous portions, a couple of leftover meals). Across the board, the food lived up to the praise I had offered when I reviewed the restaurant in 2016.
Here are a few highlights:
▪ Tandoori wings and vegetable samosas scored at both ends of the carnivore-vegetarian spectrum. They made a great DIY appetizer sampler, with a cool mint-cilantro chutney playing counterpoint to the spicy wings and crispy pyramids of pastry filled with a savory amalgam of peas and potatoes.
▪ Tawa catfish served up filets of mild white fish, crusted with spices and showered with cilantro and onion, on a bed of rice. Like most entrees, Tawa fish comes with Moroccan “hummus” (quotation marks mine because this savory chickpea stew isn’t at all like the hummus most of us are familiar with) in addition to the rice.
▪ On another night, I loaded my plate with a colorful patchwork of tandoori spice-reddened lamb tikka kebabs; a creamy turmeric-tinted Bihari coconut chicken curry; and saag paneer, whose burnished spinach was riddled with cubes of homemade cheese. With a mound of exemplary loose-grained rice in the middle, it made for a meal as pleasing to the palate as it was to the eye.
▪ Rhogani naan, which also comes with most entrees, rounded out the meal, satisfying the craving that set me out on this adventure in the first place. And proving that, even if Indian isn’t your native cuisine, it can be as comforting as it is exhilarating.
Cilantro Indian Cafe
107 Edinburgh South Drive, Suite 107, Cary
919-234-1264, cilantroindia.com
Takeout Tales
Send me your experiences with restaurant delivery and curbside pickup at ggcox55@gmail.com. I’ll publish as many as I can (edited as needed for brevity and clarity) in this space.
Garland
Jane and Jim A. sing the praises of Garland in downtown Raleigh, whose contemporary take on Indian cuisine has earned national acclaim for owner/chef Cheetie Kumar.
“Before COVID-19 we have always enjoyed chef Kumar’s work at Garland. We recently tried Garland’s lamb biryani heat-and-eat dinner. The dish is in a container for heating in the oven; it takes about 20 minutes. The amazing thing is that the biryani is covered with a thin dough layer that causes the dish to be steamed while baking. When ready, the dough is simply removed and the dish is ready. It was truly outstanding! It is based on braised lamb shoulder.
“The dish comes with containers of pickled onions, raita, toasted slivered almonds and lemon wedges. It was also huge. I think sufficient for 4 persons, although it is said to be enough for two to three people.
“Garland will provide curbside pick-up. In fact, our order was delivered by the chef’s husband. We look forward to dining in the dining room some day, but until then the heat-and-eat dinners are a terrific alternative.
“By the way, the website describes safety measures in the restaurant. After reading this, I think one would feel very comfortable with their process.”
Kababish Cafe
Bob C. rounds out this week’s all-Indian edition with a shout out to Kababish Cafe in Cary.
“Just wanted to offer a nod to Kababish Café, one of the best of many outstanding Indian/Pakistani restaurants in Cary. The delivery experience was seamless, and the food, as always, delicious. I’d recommend ordering directly from the website, where the menu is easy to navigate for placing a delivery or pickup order.
“My order, scheduled for 7:30, actually arrived at 7:15, delivered directly by Syed, the affable owner. It included what I think is one of the best (and most affordable) appetizers in the Triangle, Kababish Shrimp: six jumbo shrimp lightly breaded in panko crust and very cleanly fried.
“The onion naan was its usual tender, airy self, and the chicken karahi, an underrated classic, was perfect, moist and succulent in the tomato, onion and pepper sauce. You have your choice of heat from mild to Indian hot. I always get an order of mixed pickles because they add another level of spicy goodness and cucumber raita to smooth things out and moderate heat levels.
“Everything I’ve ever ordered from Kababish has been wonderful, and the family running this restaurant is unflaggingly pleasant and accommodating.”