Curry in a Hurry
Indian food is becoming a larger presence on the St Louis food scene, and as regular readers know, that makes us happy. And buffets in Indian restaurants don’t bother us nearly as much as they do in Chinese restaurants; the food is generally a lot sturdier and better able to stand up to the rigors of a steam table. So when we read that Curry in a Hurry downtown was serving a 40-item, all-you-can-eat Saturday lunch buffet, we suddenly were in a hurry for curry, and biryani, and tandoori, and lots of other things.
The restaurant says it offers South Indian food, and we saw some dishes that are from that part of the nation . Many others will be more familiar to those who patronize St. Louis’ subcontinental restaurants.
Yes, the buffet seems that large, though we didn’t stand there and count items. And many dishes are labeled, which is a real boon for most St. Louisans. The buffet begins with soup, including rasam, a tart broth that traditionally accompanies the steamed rice cakes called idli—which, happily, are also available on the buffet, covered with a damp towel so they don’t dry out. We also sampled a coconut soup that was not quite as spicy as the rasam, and more of a contrast in its sweetness. Don’t miss the idlis, by the way; they’re very good for sopping up the last bit of sauce from one or another of the wetter dishes.
The line begins with plain rice and three different biryanis, one chicken and two vegetarian, and that leads into the idli and quarter-slices of the flatbread naan. Samosas stuffed with potato and peas are less leaden than most of their kin, with a crust that’s far more tender than many of its counterparts around town, and so greaseless we thought they might have been baked rather than fried.
Among the vegetable options is a chickpea dish cooked with tomatoes in a light, slightly sweet tomato sauce, and a couple of mixed vegetable dishes, one of which features palak, or spinach.. Vada look like onion rings or bahjis, but turn out to be made of a batter that’s seasoned and deep-fried, pleasingly un-greasy.
Another of the don’t-miss dishes is the malai kefteh, meatballs in a velvety tomato sauce, tender and lovingly spiced, surely as outstanding a meatball in its own way as those put out by the old-line Italian masters serving downtown diners. But this meatball isn’t made with meat. It’s made with a homemade cheese. We had no idea it wasn’t a meat meatball until we read about it later. Totally charming.
Several chicken alternatives are set out, including a good tikka masala and tandoori chicken that hasn’t dried out. Tandoori, bright red from its marinade, is cooked very quickly in a special high-temperature oven, and is a great introduction to Indian food for those unfamiliar with it, especially kids. A creamy shrimp curry charms with its coconut-laced sauce, despite the fact that the shrimp can’t be cooked to order and thus get a little rubbery. And there’s goat in a dark, musky sauce. Ann loves goat, with its flavor that’s like a more intense version of lamb. In most cultures, it’s cooked with its bones, and that’s true here; it’s finger-licking good for those who love it and worth investigating for everyone else.
Yes, there are tamarind and mint and coconut chutneys, all nicely spicy but without a deep burn, and a particularly thick, tart raita with red onion. And desserts? Kulfi, the rice pudding, in a very thin version, fragrant with cardamom, plus what’s called fruit salad. It’s a fluorescent orange mango whip that’s studded here and there with fruit cocktail, the mango curiously satisfying, color or not, after all the Indian spices ping-ponging around in the mouth.
Things were pretty quiet when we were there and we paid just over $25 for the two of us, including soft drinks. At that price, this is too good a deal to miss. The upcoming Saturday, April 28, is an afternoon baseball game...how about some curry instead of a hot dog?
And even if you eat too much, you can walk it off on the way to the stadium.
Curry in a Hurry
612 Olive St.
314-241-7900
Lunch & Dinner Mon.-Sat.
Credit cards: All major
Wheelchair access: Good
Smoking: No
Entrees: $7-$14
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