India Palace serves up some of Utah County’s best Indian food
Light Orange Coconut Curry, Chili Chicken, and Chicken Tikka Masala placed alongside a Tandoori Mixed Kabab at India Palace in Provo.
Homemade Mango Ice Cream is offered at India Palace in Provo.
Sweet Bread is offered at India Palace in Provo.
Garlic naan, sweet bread, chili chicken, chicken tikka masala, light orange coconut curry, tandoori mixed kabob, briyana rice, mayo ice cream and mango and strawberry lassos are offered at India Palace in Provo on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
A Tandoori Mixed Kabob is offered at India Palace in Provo.
A strawberry lassi is offered at India Palace in Provo on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Chili chicken, chicken tikka masala and light orange coconut curry are offered at India Palace in Provo on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
Garlic naan is offered at India Palace in Provo on Tuesday, July 28, 2015. SAMMY JO HESTER, The Daily Herald
A Tandoori Mixed Kabob is offered at India Palace in Provo.
Light Orange Coconut Curry, Chili Chicken, and Chicken Tikka Masala placed alongside a Tandoori Mixed Kabab at India Palace in Provo. Visit heraldextra.com/ticket to read a review.
Chili Chicken, Chicken Tikka Masala and Light Orange Coconut Curry are offered at India Palace in Provo.
Walk into India Palace in Provo and your senses are confounded with sounds and aromas of a familiarly foreign culture.
Soft Indian music fills the silence in between tables set in a dinning area divided by decorative partitions. I was greeted and seated quickly and mentally perused menu items based on the sweet, spiced smells wafting through the air.
When I think of Indian food, I resort to thinking of curry — and justifiably so, I suppose. However, it’s the complex blend of specific spices that actually trigger this knee-jerk association. One cannot taste it all in one bite, but after three or four spoonfuls you know what you’re getting yourself into.
India Palace specializes in authentic Northern Indian cuisine, and I began with Chicken Shorba (chicken soup.) It’s served in a teacup-sized dish with a tomato base and plenty of diced chunks of chicken. Green peas and minced onions tie in a mild blend of Indian spices that went down smooth.
After turning to the entrees, I noticed two different mango chicken menu items. I ordered the Mango Chicken entree from the traditional chicken specialties section and was surprised at what I was served — red curry?
I swallowed my presumed expectation of seeing orange mangoes and cautiously dipped my spoon into the scarlet mixture. First I tasted a definite tomato flavor, but then it gave way to a spirited spectrum of peppered seasonings.
Thin mango slices in the sauce had soaked up the color of the red curry laying among large pieces of chicken. When I added a mango slice to my spoonful of Mango Chicken the pepper-sweet combination balanced out nicely.
The other mango chicken dish, Mango Chicken Korma, is comprised of a mango pulp in a yellow curry sauce that is less sweet-and-sour and far more sweet than the red-colored mango chicken dish. I would recommend the yellow curry-based version.
I’ve had Indian food a number of times but was surprised not to find other treats in the curry sauces. Ingredients like potatoes, carrots and other add-ins were absent from the two curry entrees I had just tried. They merely had the meat and curry sauce with some traces of diced onion.
I ventured on and found my desire in a wonderful Shrimp Pineapple Curry in the seafood specialties menu section.
Large, quartered potatoes and vegetables with canned pineapple chunks and plump de-tailed shrimp stared up at me. They were all bathing in a sweet yellow curry touched with a hint of coconut milk. Like I said, wonderful.
There are three spice levels available: mild, medium and hot for most entrees. I typically go with mild so the hotness doesn’t overwhelm the subtle flavors of good curry. However, I went for medium this time, and it was time for a breather.
India Palace has a drink menu that’s full of tropical fruit titles so I went with a Mango Lassi, which consisted of mango puree mixed with a smooth homemade yogurt. It’s just what I needed to cool the taste buds and cleanse my tingling palate.
Diners can also take a break by choosing from a small variety of ice cream and rice pudding dessert items ranging from $2.95-$3.95.
I had ordered some garlic naan, unleavened bread cooked in a clay oven, to go with my entrees, and I still a good portion left. There is a whole menu section devoted to lamb specialties and I just had to try something from there to finish off my Indian bread before heading out.
I targeted Lamb Madras and hoped for the best. It didn’t disappoint. This too, was a yellow curry with only onions and a main meat. The lamb pieces were generous, savory and seemed to hint of mint a little bit.
Each entree is served with rice that’s speckled with a tasteless but brightly colored orange sort of rice confetti. It was a nice touch and added a little character to what otherwise would be ordinary white rice.
On my way out, the host motioned to a small clay dish at the counter filled with raw seeds and tiny, colored candies. Apparently, you take about a half tablespoon of these seeds and candies and palm them into your mouth as a breath mint. I did so, and was delighted with a crunchy sort of licorice flavor.
I nice little touch, I thought.
INDIA PALACE
Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturday, closed Sunday.
Where: 98 W. Center St., Provo, and 1086 West, South Jordan Pkwy. suite 3, South Jordan
Prices: Soups and salads $3.95-4.95; entrees $12.95-$16.95
Info: (801) 373-7200, indiapalaceutah.com