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 Irvington, NY - Food enthusiasts searching for an upscale Indian restaurant need look no further than Main Street and the new Chutney Masala Indian Bistro.
Executive Chef and co-owner Navjot Arora, formerly of the critically acclaimed Café Spice Group in New York City, has created a unique dining experience using the finest all natural ingredients and home-style recipes to create wholesome Indian dishes with a modern flair. The meat is natural and free range with no antibiotics or hormones, the seafood is wild, not farmed, and the garden-fresh produce is locally derived.
The restaurant’s name is derived from two of Indian cuisine’s most important ingredients. “Chutney”, an anglicized form of the Hindi word chatni, is a traditional condiment made from a combination of fruits, vegetables, herbs and spices. “Masala” means a blend of herbs and spices combined with aromatics to bring out the complex flavors of Indian food. Both are made fresh in house using recipes that have been handed down through Arora’s family in India for generations.
“Nutritious and appetizing food has always been very important to my family,” says Arora, who grew up helping his mother and father in the kitchen and still grinds his own spices using a mortar and pestle. His menu will offer multi-regional Indian classics as well as innovative dishes and daily specials, many of them freshly baked or grilled in a Tandoori clay oven for the healthiest, most flavorful preparation.
Signature dishes include murgh khasta kebab, tender chunks of chicken marinated in cardamom & mace flavored yoghurt dusted in semolina and roasted crisp, sarson macchi, a Chilean sea bass prepared with stone ground mustard paste, crushed garlic and fresh green chilies, and goan clams,
New England clams made with desiccated coconut and reshampatti chilies. The bi-level bistro can accommodate nearly 100 diners as well as parties and special events and is located on the Hudson River side of Main Street just steps away from the Metro North train station.
Arora honed his skills as a chef working for the prestigious Taj Group of Hotels in India after graduating from the country’s most prominent culinary Institute. His eight years as a chef in Manhattan fostered in him the desire to bring Indian cuisine to the suburbs. “I wanted to create a restaurant in a beautiful setting that was elegant and welcoming and where patrons could enjoy the same level of quality and sophistication as New York,” he remarks. The dream became a reality with the help of his current partner and former employer, Sushil Malhotra, a longtime resident of Irvington who had once owned Dawat, New York City's finest Indian restaurant. Malhotra had been asked on numerous occasions by neighbors to open a restaurant in town. He and Arora joined forces to create Chutney Masala and share their experience and passion for fine Indian food with the community.
Upon entering the handsome brick restaurant, guests are enveloped by the warm, comfortably stylish atmosphere. Designer Tarik Currimbhoy has captured the ambiance of the British colonial period in his natural design with a modern twist. Dark gleaming woods frame saffron-colored walls and exposed brick accented by stunning black and white photographs from the Raj Era by the famous 19th century photographer, Raja Deen Dayal (www.deendayal.com). Emerald green banquettes edged with bolster pillows and matching plush stools create cozy, lounge-like dining. An ample bar on the first floor, offset by Victorian mirrors and hand-blown glass lighting fixtures, is inlaid with handmade ceramic tiles from India.
Chutney Masala Bistro is located at 4 West Main Street in Irvington. It is open 7 days a week and will offer full dining throughout the restaurant. Lunch is served from 12 PM to 3 PM. Dinner is served Monday to Thursday and Sunday from 5 PM to 10 PM, Friday and Saturday, from 5 PM to 11 PM. Reservations are recommended. To make a reservation, call (914) 591-5500. For more information or for directions to the Bistro, visit www.chutneymasala.com.
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