Badshah: A New Look At Indian Cuisine
In the midst of Hell's Kitchen, I made contact with a contemporary Indian restaurant called Badshah, named after a Hindi term for "King of the Village". They focus on inventive Indian cuisine inspired by a combination of traditional flavors found throughout Asia.
Badshah's kitchen is led by Chef Charles Mani. With a big smile and a badass mustache, you might see this guy bringing out the dishes from the kitchen himself. His cooking is colorful and energetic. I like his style of layering spices and ingredients on top of each other. Each bite follows through with a story-like progression of flavors. Legit.
Badshah just recently expanded their hours into brunch/lunch. Some highlights from the menu include Grandma's Goat Curry, a slow cooked heaven of baby goat, saffron, and Kashmiri spices, or the Clove Smoked Lamb Chops, lightly massaged with cardamom and clove masala.
This spot is still fairly empty for lunch but I could see myself stopping by during the workweek for a nice leisurely meal. I also had a chill conversation with one of the waiters there about drones. That was cool. Hoping to visit again soon!
Note: This meal was complimentary of Badshah as part of a social media partnership to share photos on my Instagram account. However, I'm writing this review to augment the pictures since I think the food is actually quite good and you should know about this place.
First, I got a trail of Badshah Cauliflower. I think the full order comes with more pieces but since I was by myself and the meal was comped, they reduced the serving, which I am 100% ok with. I got to try so many dishes!
These delicious bite-sized pieces of cauliflower were seasoned with sesame, onion seeds, tomato, and chili sauce. Imagine a kind of kung pao cauliflower but better. The exterior was at the right level of crunchy without being overly oily. I would order this again [$12 USD]
Next, I got the Kale Moong Chaat, which comes with Crispy Kale and Sprouted Lentils. Oh man, this was delicious. This kind of dish should be at more vegetarian restaurants because it's addicting. I didn't expect to finish the whole thing but I did.
The vegetables were tossed in a tamarind and mint chutney. It had a tangy, fruity, creamy, and minty essence. I loved it [$10 USD].
For my main course, I got the Boneless Tandoori Chicken with Spiced Yogurt and Roasted Whole Spices. It came with a side of naan.
This one seemed just like a tikka masala given its bright orange hue and creamy flavor. I LOVE this stuff [$22 USD]