Authentic flavorful south Indian food
Note that this restaurant in prior years offered very bland Indian food for the daily lunch buffets. It is now being run by a different group of people who have changed the recipes and selection dramatically.

Now, the lunch buffets consist of spicy, flavorful, and authentic South Indian food. Sample dishes include very flavorful sambar (accompanied by idly and vada), soups including a delicious mulligatawny (South Indian style, rich and thick but made without cream, full of a variety of flavors), chicken saag (excellent), and bissibella bath (South Indian mixture of rice cooked with lentils and vegetables and spices).

A distinguishing aspect of this restaurant is that it prepares dishes in a style that you will not get in most other restaurants that prepare their dishes more in the north Indian style with more cream and butter.

The lunch buffet typically includes a very small salad bar, sambar, one soup, idly, vada, at least three or four vegetarian selections, two meat selections (chicken and lamb), plain basmati rice, several desserts, fresh naan and dosa which are brought to your table, and a variety of chutneys.

Very reasonable prices, very hospitable service. There are other Indian restaurants that offer more of a selection at the lunch buffet, but most will not offer the rich and spicy flavor that Taj Mahal offers in many of its dishes. The heat in the flavors is not overdone, but it is more pronounced than at some of the other restaurants that tone down the flavor.

Recommended for quality, flavor, variety of dishes (some of which you will not find elsewhere), service, affordability, and an unique experience of authentic south Indian food, not diluted for the American palate.    [15 Jun 2006 04:10:41]

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Recommended Dishes: Chicken Saag, Mulligatawny Soup, Sambar

     ­Anonymous   

No..No..No
Taj Mahal has been taken over by Bawarchi and the change is catastrophic. Been there today and still feeling the effects. The south Indian flavor of the place is gone and the food has been North Indianized in a dreadful manner. TOOO SPICY. A meagre spread and dosa is not on the buffet. North Indian food is palatable though. I will not return.    [08 Jan 2007 00:03:58]

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Recommended Dishes: If you have to, then go for north Indian (too oily)

     ­Anonymous   

Excellent Authentic Indian Food
We were happy to discover this New Indian Restaurant in the Chesterbrook Shopping Center. It's our pick as the best Indian Restaurant in the area....and we've been to all of them. You know it's good when 80% of the customers are True Indian Families:-) Keep up the good work. -CD    [22 Apr 2007 10:52:06]

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Recommended Dishes: Bawarchi Chicken salad, Lamb Vindaloo, Bawarchi Naan, Raita, Mango Lassi, Gulab Jamun, & Bawarchi Special Tea

     ­Anonymous   

Extraordinary flavor, overall offering a unique experience
Years ago, Taj Mahal offered for their lunch buffet dishes with little flavor and spice.

In recent times, there has been a major overhaul of that cooking style and what exists now is food that represents authentic south Indian flavor - that is, very spicy, flavors not typical of north Indian dishes, and foods typically served in south Indian cuisine, such as sambar, idly, and vada.

Let me get the negatives out of the way first. The salad bar is extremely subpar. A few salad vegetables are chopped up (lettuce, cucumber, tomato) and presented in an unappetizing manner. A few trays in the buffet are left empty which is also a bit unappetizing. Colors of the dishes are not as bright as one would find at north Indain restaurants. That's it.

You will find it difficult to taste better sambar than you get here. Dunking an idly into it is a meal in itself.

I have had two soups here - the tomato soup was thin (no cream is used) but enjoyably flavorful with a spice different from that I have had at north Indian restaurants, and the Mulligatawny soup was exceptional. That word may not do justice to the flavor of the soup. Other Mulligatawny soup I have had elsewhere has had a different taste. This was more peppery, like a combination of split peas, lentils, rich spices, all exploding with each sip! You could easlily fill up just on the sambar and soup.

There are normally at the buffet at least four different vegetarian dishes, some of which you don't find at other restaurants, such as the Bissibella Bath (a mixture of rice cooked with lentils and vegetables) and Ennai Katrikkai (baby eggplant cooked with spices). The chicken saag was very good. I had been used to more green-colored saag dishes, but due to the cooking with the chicken, the flavor was more grayish, not as appetizing as a more greenish color, but very tasty.

No special treatment is given to the basmati rice, but the plainness combined with the richness of the other dishes, works well.

A large dosa is brought to the table upon request. It is filled with a potato mixture that was unmemorable.
Fresh naan is brought to the table and is better than what you would get at other restaurants that let the bread sit out in containers. There are a few chutneys to choose from.

I have never seen pieces of chicken cut up as small as they are (for the Tandoor Chicken) at this restaurant. The size allows you to eat them like an appetizer finger food. Once, the tandoor marinade was weak, the next visit the dish was done right. My preference is for larger pieces.

There are several desserts to choose from, and as expected, the gulab jamun are very good - the balls were light and the syrup was very flavorful. At one visit I had custard which was thick and had a nice flavor, reminding me of a banana puree used to sweeten the dish.

This restaurant currently has a manger who does an exceptional job with welcoming visitors, assisting them with their selections, and giving them all the attention and care they need. He is a rare individual in this regard.

The restaurant is on the small size, giving way for a more intimate experience. Due to the ambience which is more subdued and nicely decored (not formal, but not informal either), it is easy to have a relaxed meal.

For the uniqueness of the offerings, the quality of most dishes, Taj Mahal is definitely worth visiting for their lunch buffet, and for dinner so as to experience even more selections.

One thing to be aware of - upon your first visit at the lunch buffet, you may be put off by the apparent smaller variety and selection of foods due to the size of the containers and presentation (buffet size). But if you examine more closely, and consider that you will fill up on sambar, soup, and the main dishes, you will leave stuffed.

Many people who frequent other nearby Indian restuarants are not familiar with this place, and so it is seldom crowded. The fewer number of selections for the lunch buffet is probably not a desirable selling point for patrons who seek quantity over quality. But if you are going to a place for soup and entrees, and can forget about a large salad bar and dessert selection, you will have a memorable experience here.    [22 Jun 2006 03:33:04]

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Recommended Dishes: Mulligatawny Soup, Sambar, Chicken Saag, Kadai Bindi Masala

     ­Anonymous