Tandoori Oven : Tikka your taste buds

I struck a conversation with some of my friends over certain lifestyles and specific eating habits, especially vegetarian and vegan. Vegetarians are having a hard time eating at restaurants because of the lack of choices on the menu; vegans even more so.اضافة اعلان

Not a single hungry person wants to hear “salad maybe?” when asked about vegetarian options.


(Photo: Tandoori Oven’s facebook Account Zeid Odeh/Jordan News)

The culinary scene uses stocks or broths to produce food for vegetarians. Our culture depends on chicken, meat, or fish for protein intake. Substitutes for dairy products for vegans are either hard to find or expensive, so restaurants turn a blind eye to that matter or place one type of salad and steamed vegetables on the menu and call it a day.

Indian food is supposed to be shared in groups and consumed until everyone is full.

With that in mind, I decided to check out restaurants with a substantial vegetarian influence on their menu that is not based on salads. The restaurants that fit the category were those from Asia, and Tandoori Oven came to mind. It is an Indian restaurant located in Abdoun, behind the American embassy.

Indian food is supposed to be shared in groups and consumed until everyone is full. All courses are served simultaneously on a thali platter, which is a huge tray used to serve all the food at the same time. Some dishes are sweet and mild, others are spicy and hot.

Persian and Chinese cuisines, among others, have affected Indian cuisine. The common thread throughout the centuries remains the unique mixing of spices that unfailingly give Indian cuisine its flavor and aroma.


(Photo: Tandoori Oven’s facebook Account Zeid Odeh/Jordan News)

Walking into the restaurant, you are greeted by an open kitchen where the chef is in front of a tandoori oven making bread and an arabesque interior with red colors and off-white walls.

This restaurant’s menu comprises soups, starters, kebabs, curries, biryani, and desserts. Since we were sharing multiple food options, we ordered for appetizers tomato soup, lentil soup, papadams (assortments of crackers with three types of dips), Punjabi samosas, harra kebab, and vegetable dal kebab. For the main course we ordered the aloo gobi (potato and cauliflower curry), channa masala (chickpeas, onions, and ginger curry), vegetable biryani, and pillau rice.

The server tried to recommend items using the dish’s name, without explaining what the thing is. Guests are not used to eating Indian food daily. Explaining a dish is a normal part of the interaction with the guests; it is describing, in simpler terms, what the food item is. Having the server a little frustrated was not a comforting feeling to experience, especially that most people who come to that restaurant are locals who would need a little support and patience.


(Photo: Tandoori Oven’s facebook Account Zeid Odeh/Jordan News)

It took quite some time for the appetizers to reach the table, but the soup was definitely worth the wait. The creaminess of the lentils, with a little squeeze of lemon, made the cold weather bearable. The spices used in the soup were not overpowering, but gave a great balance to the overall dish.

The tomato soup had more broth consistency, but was full of flavor, with a spicy kick toward the end. If you do not want to get super full quickly and have space for the rest of the dishes, I recommend this soup, rather than the lentil soup.

The little starters of appetizer kebabs were pretty interesting since vegetarian options are made from chickpeas or lentils; they can get you pretty full, pretty fast. The sauces accompanying the dishes had a fresh coriander base which elevated the fried vegetable kebabs.

... The curries were tasty, full of flavor, and the consistency was just right. Mixing it with the biryani rice or the buttery pillau rice introduced a new medley of flavors.

The Punjabi samosa, filled with vegetables and served with tamarind chutney, was flavorful with spices and vegetables. The crust, however, was a little hard and thicker than usual, which made it a bit hard to consume.

We ordered vegetarian dishes for the main courses, which is not something that we would usually choose. However, the curries were tasty, full of flavor, and the consistency was just right. Mixing it with the biryani rice or the buttery pillau rice introduced a new medley of flavors.

One vegetarian dish that was a highlight for me was the paneer tikka. Paneer is an unaged, soft Indian cheese similar to feta, but less salty or crumbly. The spices on the paneer and its char flavor, together with the chickpea relish, made a great vegetarian dish.


(Photo: Tandoori Oven’s facebook Account Zeid Odeh/Jordan News)

The homemade bread ranges from naan to paratha, to garlic; it was homemade, fresh, and tempting to grab and dip in one of the curries as a substitute for rice. Hard to find the time to stop eating.

The overall food experience at Tandoori Oven was excellent; the prices were very reasonable for the amount of food. The ambiance is relaxing and artistic. I would come back again to try out their butter chicken dish. It is one of my favorites, but for the sake of this vegetarian experience, I skipped it this time.


(Photo: Tandoori Oven’s facebook Account Zeid Odeh/Jordan News)


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