Northern Indian: So Good!

At a meeting with some Indian consular officials recently, Murray made a point to ask about the most authentic Indian restaurants in New York.  He was aptly provided with two names – one specializing in northern Indian cuisine and the other southern.  We decided to check out the northern Indian recommendation first – Yuva, on E. 58th Street, in Manhattan, which the chief administrative officer identified as the most authentic northern Indian restaurant in New York City.

It was President’s Day, and we were there on the early side for dinner, but still we were astonished at the number of empty tables around us.  The service was attentive, and the food was spectacular, making Yuva one of the many high points of our diplomat dining adventures.

We dined by ourselves at Yuva and so were unable to try as many different dishes as we would have liked. But we ordered a lot for two – enough for dinner and, we thought, a bit to take home. (In the end, everything was so tasty that we exceeded our usual quota for dinner, and had only a small amount for lunch the next day.) This is what we ate:

Appetizers

Vegetable Samosas: cumin-spiced potatoes and peas wrapped in a light, flaky crust, which Murray and I agreed were the best samosas we have ever tasted.  In the photo below, they are shown on the right.

Tandoori mushrooms: a special on the menu.  They sounded interesting, but ended up being nothing spectacular – just large roasted mushrooms smothered with some kind of cheese. 

Entrees

Boti Kabab: cubes of lamb seasoned with ginger, lemon and yogurt, skewered and grilled.  The lamb was exceptionally tender.

Chicken Shahi Korma: morsels of chicken cooked in a yogurt sauce.

Palak Paneer: Cubes of homemade cheese smothered in spinach.

This picture shows a sampling of the entrees on my plate, along with a piece of the poori, a puffed whole wheat bread.

In a rash moment of enjoying the food and feeling a bit concerned that the restaurant was so empty, I decided to tell our waiter how Yuva had been recommended to us, and why I was taking photographs.  We don’t always do this, but when we do, we always do so after we’ve finished our meal.  Well, there was a flaw this time that I need to confess: We were too full for dessert and so hadn’t ordered any, but after we told the waiter about diplomat dining, he brought us small dishes of kheer, a rice pudding with dates, cardamom and pistachios.  Needless to say, it was delicious.  But I swear I was not swayed into writing a nice review of Yuva by a bribe of a nice dessert.  We had a truly great meal at Yuva, and I hope to get back there in the not too distant future.

That said, the meal at Yuva was on the expensive side; we spent $168, including wine and tip, more than I can afford on a regular basis, but worth it for an excellent, special meal every once in a while.

All major credit cards are accepted.

Where and When

Yuva
230 E. 58th Street
New York, NY 10022
212-339-0090

www.yuvanyc.com/home.htm

Open 7 days a week
11am - 11pm

Comments

[Palak Paneer]

Thanks so much for featuring my frontier Indian grill! Today I'm going to sharing another nice appetizer out of your blog. Thanks again.