Restaurante Masala – the best of Indian cuisine

When someone tells me "I don’t care for Indian food", I know it is because of one of two reasons; the food is too spicy & hot, or they have never tasted authentic Indian food. If either of these two reasons holds true for you, then you need to dine at Restaurante Masala, a direct descendant of Panama’s first Indian restaurant, Bajwa’s Shamiana, and later Calcutta, the latter of which closed in 1999.

Now managed by the original restauranteur’s daughter, Masala opened in April of 2006 and offers traditional North Indian cuisine.

And what fine cuisine it is. You will be asked ahead of time how intense you want your meal spiced….if it is your first time, go for "1". If you are an experienced connoisseur of Indian food, then shoot for level "5". They serve plenty of homemade yogurt with diced cucumber to cool the palate down. Or go for "3" and enjoy a hint of both worlds.

Owner Koreena Bajwa.

The cuisine at Masala is absolutely authentic, starting with the best Samosas I have ever sampled. Flat delicate puff pastry is filled with potatoes, green peas, herbs, spices and your choice of chicken, minced lamb, meat or a vegetarian version, then sealed and fried.

My guest's favorite was the Baingan Bhartha, smoked peeled eggplant simmered with chopped vegetables, cumin seeds, homemade yogurt and spices. While actually a main course, this incredibly smoky dish also makes an appetizer for four. All appetizers are served with various sauces and homemade mango chutney.

Our main courses consisted of a Punjab specialty, Channa Gosht; mutton marinated in yogurt for 48 hours, then delicately spiced and cooked with chickpeas. This deeply flavored dish was followed by Murgh Saagwala; deboned chicken cooked with fresh mustard leaves, seasoned with garam masala and herbs, and served with Kashmiri Biryani, the white basmati rice that is slowly cooked with almonds, nuts and raisins. Jheenga Shahi Korma is a Moghlai dish that can be made with either chicken, mutton, shrimp, fish or a vegetarian version. We chose the shrimp and the chef managed that delicate balance of spices and herbs that still left the fresh shrimp flavor intact. No easy feat!

Of course, what would any Indian meal be without Nan, bread made by slapping the flat rounds of raw dough against the interior sides of a red hot tandoori oven until the dough browns and forms a crisp outer shell? We tried both the garlic and onion…fresh from the oven. I could eat my weight in this perfectly made Nan. (That would be a considerable feat).

We ended our meal with three different desserts….Kheer, a traditional Indian rice pudding that can be served either hot or cold. Kulfi, Indian ice cream with pistachios, and delicately flavored with saffron; Gajjar Ka Halwa, a hot carrot and reduced milk dessert garnished with almonds and nuts. Carrots for dessert? Absolutely! It is like a sweet, warm carrot pudding…only better.

The décor of Masala is pure Indian….from the scent of delicate incense mixed with the bite of curry, to the wall hangings and Indian music. Your hostess, Koreena Bajwa, keeps a close eye on both the kitchen and the dining room to ensure that Masala offers you nothing less than a fine dining experience.