Curry Craving Fans Find Indian Eatery in Mammut Mall

This is immediately obvious as owner of the new Cilantro Étterem is the former well known manager of the well established aforemention rival - so you have to take your hat (turban?) off to him for being brave enough to give it a go solo. Still he does continue to enthuse positive vibes about The Bombay Palace, "Its very good at what it does," says Arpad Kousai. He actually came to live in Hungary over 28 years ago, running the poshest Indian place in town since 1994. Born in Turkey he was raised in England where he says he "fell in love with Indian food". In Hungary he set-up a disco and coffee bar before managing restaurants.

So what of the name selection for his latest venture: Cilantro, where is it, or what does it mean? For many of us it doesn't immediately conjure up exotic or appetising images of the Asian subcontinent. In fact Cilantro is an Indian word for coriander, and "Coriander is the link between Mexican and Indian cuisine,'' says Mr Kousai. Now we get it, Cilantro Étterem is not just an India restaurant but a Mexican one too - with a permanent chef flown from Venezuela.

The coriander connection is true, although Mexican and Indian foods do both combine a whole range of similar flavours - hot, spicy, sour and sweet - and share many common ingredients such as tamarind, mango, pepper seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, beans, rice, chillies, and jalapeno peppers. For the purposes of this review we concentrated our taste buds on the handywork of the two Bombay born chefs who run the India kitchen at Cilantro.

So this new Indian eatery has a pleasant, almost bistro ambience with touches of Eastern décor - which manages to remain understated to the extent that the restaurant could almost pass for an informal eatery without really suggesting its Indian character. One would think positioning a restaurant in a busy shopping centre would not be conducive to an intimate dinner, however Cilantro Etterem manages to allow its diners to enjoy a relaxing and informal meal without being unduly disturbed by the presence of passing shoppers and movie-goers.

The staff were polite and pleasantly unobtrusive. First they brought our entrees on an oval platter. First we tasted shish kebab - a simple chicken kebab with aromatic spices. Next down the hatch went chicken tikka - chicken cut in bite sized chunks marinated in ginger, garlic, cumin, red chilli and yoghurt. The third started was tandoori chicken - assorted chicken pieces roasted in the tandoor. These were served with a selection of chutneys - an unusual white creamy looking option cought my eye, it was a coconut pickle which is imported all the way from England. The next sauce on the tounge, and the one most worthy of metion, was a green mint chutney. This being mainly a combination of yoghurt and mint leaves which I and my dinner companion would recommend as a definite must.

Despite the unique complexity of Indian sauces, I have always felt that sometimes the best dishes are those that are simply marinated then grilled or baked in a tandoori (clay) Indian oven. Cilantro's tandoori chicken is a great example of basic, perfectly prepared meat. Chunks of boneless chicken breasts are marinated in Indian spices, and then baked in a tandoori oven. The chunks are terrific -- the marinade and method of cooking makes for tender and juicy pieces. Dress up the chicken with a little of the green mint sauce which we thought worked well with the texture of the chicken.

Our next course consisted of daal (HUF 780) - a lentil based delicacy flavoured with ginger, garlic and cream - chicken jalfrezi (HUF 1450)- a dish of boneless pieces of chicken in a cream based gravy subtly flavoured with onions, peppers, spices and herbs - plus basmati pulao rice (HUF 490) - an aromatic rice dish flavoured with an array of spices. All were attractively presented in dark coloured metal bowls with wooden trims. The rice was perfectly simple, both light and fresh tasting. The daal was just right too. The chicken jalfrezi gravy was flavoured with distinctive black cumin, cardamom, and cloves; perhaps a bit too much clove for my liking but tasty nevertheless.

The only real problem with Cilantro was that they had no naan available - naan being a round of white pita bread that's puffy and tastes great with whatever dish you wrap it with. This stuff is a basic requirement for lovers of Indian food, and can often be lighter than rice to eat as an accompaniment to the main course. My dinner companion and I were disappointed by the lack of it, however by the time you read this the owner assures Naan production will in full effect - offers for Indian gourmets including Keema, Peshwari, Kulcha (all less than HUF 300). Its is such a staple of the Indian diet and an important factor to test in Indian restaurants is to ensure the naan does not turn rubbery when cold. While we reviewers were both impressed with the overall quality, we thought Cilantro's food was not as spicy as some other Indian restaurants. After mentioning this fact directly to the owner he encouraged us any anyone else to specify the required level of pungency when ordering.
Amid much discussion of the first few rounds of food we got round to ordering desert, ghulab jamun - brown coloured dumplings of dried milk and refined flour soaked in sugar syrup. The sugar syrup surrounding the brown mounds was of a lovely consistency, not too sweet and the dumplings practically melted in the month.

The only other disappointment was the lack of wine; it was beer, soft drinks or spirits. Again given our polite protests, and the fact this article is now in print, you can be sure wine is now an option to wash down your favourite Indian or Mexican dish. Good old Kingfisher beer may just be what you were craving though anyway...

All in all Cilantro Etterem is perfect for those diners who want to take their friends to a modern, comfortable place for authentic Indian food without shelling out palatial prices. Or in the words of the owner and manger, "Our food is twice as good as the competition and half the price". For sure curry craving fans of Indian cuisine who live in Buda have an exciting new option to conveniently pop into Mammut Mall I, or simply call for a free home delivery on orders over HUF 5000.

CILANTRO INDIAI ÉTTEREM & BÁR
BUDAPEST, II. Kerület, Lövõház utca 2-6
Mammut I. Üzletház III.em.R322
Tel. 345-8040 / 50
Open Daily 11-23