The Newtown, Pa., restaurant formerly known as Shano’s just may be Bucks County’s best Indian restaurant.
By: Richard Burns
While the food of India is becoming increasingly popular in this country, to many it remains a mystery, with the prevailing view that any Indian food must burn the tongue and throat. In fact, the range of Indian food is an immense amalgamation of food from the different cultures, religions and regions of India.
Julie Sahni, the noted Indian cookbook author, points out, "The unifying factor that brings all these varied cuisines under the heading of ‘Indian food’ is the ingenious way that fragrant herbs and aromatic spices are used in all the regions. Indian food is the most aromatic of all cuisines it is the cooking of captivating fragrances and intriguing flavors." All Indian food is based on a variety of spices and herbs; not all Indian food is "hot."
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Sita’s |
Sita’s in Newtown, Pa., is the best example I know that illustrates this point. Unless you order a vindaloo dish, none of the food is hot to the taste. They will make it "hot" if that is the way you want it, but the bulk of the dishes reflect a full range of varying flavors that should please everyone.
Sita’s is the direct descendent of Shano’s, which opened in 1992. It is in the same location, with the same chefs from the Punjab, and under the same management. Only the ownership was changed when the original owners, two doctors, moved to California and sold the restaurant to relatives in New York.
When Shano’s was in development, one of the owners had his brother, also a doctor, and his wife, Suren, and daughter come to this country to manage the restaurant. Dr. D.V. Chawla gave up the practice of medicine and runs the front of the restaurant. (His daughter says he is much happier now than when he was running a clinic in Delhi.) Suren supervises the kitchen and helps in the front. For years, their daughter, Shruti, functioned as a vivacious and charming waitress. My family and I and numerous guests have eaten at Shano’s and its successor, Sita’s, on a regular basis. Because of our love for Indian food, we also have tried most of the other Indian restaurants in the area. While there is one close second, Sita’s, in my opinion, is the best Indian restaurant in the area.
Sita’s is located in an attractive double storefront in a strip mall off Richboro Road. The décor is quiet with mauve tablecloths and booths. There are a number of Indian artifacts strategically placed around the restaurant, with an impressive, decorated door as you enter. Indian music plays softly in the background.
The menu is large, although many other Indian restaurants offer more dishes. Like most Indian restaurants here and in the tourist parts of India, only North Indian food is offered. Nevertheless, the offerings provide great choices.
Of the appetizers, we especially enjoy the papad (75 cents), the samosa ($2.95), the vegetable pakora ($2.95) and the tandoori chicken wings ($5.95). Papad are very thin, crisp, lentil wafers that are quickly deep-fried. They are served with cilantro/mint and tamarind sauces. The samosas are two deep-fried pastries stuffed with mashed potatoes and peas flavored with Indian spices. Those at Sita’s are very flavorful and delicious. Pakoras are essentially vegetable fritters, and can be made with a slice of a vegetable in a seasoned chickpea batter or, as Sita’s does it, with a mixture of chopped vegetables in the batter. One of our guests had never eaten Indian food before and found this dish exceptionally good.
Tandoori chicken wings may be a response to the American Buffalo wing craze. Chicken wings are marinated in a mixture of Indian spices, with turmeric the prevalent spice, then cooked in the tandoori oven. These are my favorite crisp on the outside and moist on the inside with great flavor. As a final appetizer, we ordered an onion kulcha ($3.50), a flat bread that is stuffed with onion and baked on the side of the tandoori. It is moist, flavorful and exceptional.
A range of tandoori dishes includes the traditional tandoori chicken ($13.95), in which a chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices, placed on a long spit and roasted in the tandoori oven. Seekr-kebab ($14.95), minced spiced lamb, chicken tikka ($13.95), boneless chicken, and tandoori-shrimp ($19.95) are among the other tandoori dishes available. My favorite is the garlic-boti ($15.95) made with large pieces of lamb that are marinated in garlic and then cooked in the tandoori. If you do not specify, the lamb will be cooked well-done. I always ask that it be cooked medium rare, which makes it moist, tender and very flavorful.
A variety of chicken, lamb, beef and seafood curries is offered. As the menu points out, curry is a western word for the range of dishes made with various blends of spices and served in a sauce. Many of the dishes use the same spice blends for the different meat or seafood. They range in price from $13.95 to $19.95. Space does not permit descriptions of all the varieties offered. Some of the dishes date back to the period of Mughal rule of most of northern India. For example, the korma dishes ($13.95 for the chicken), is a typical Mughal dish in which a mild but flavorful cream sauce with cashews and raisins is used to cook pieces of boneless chicken to a succulent tenderness. One of our favorites is the shimp-bhuna ($19.95) with the shrimp cooked in a delicious sauce of fresh ginger, garlic, onions and tomatoes. The shrimp are always perfectly cooked and the taste is wonderful.
Whether you are a vegetarian or not, you will find the vegetarian offerings unusual and delightful. Mushroom mattar ($10.95) presents mushrooms and peas cooked with tomatoes, onions, herbs, and spices. Aloo-palak ($10.95) is a delightful dish of spinach cooked with potatoes, onions and spices. Our choice is a popular dish called began-bharta ($10.95) in which eggplant is cooked with tomatoes, herbs and spices into a fine textured paste with a distinctive, delightful taste. All tandoori dishes are served with dal (cooked lentils), and raita (homemade yogurt with cucumbers and spices). All entrées are served with a wonderful basmati rice pilaf. The various dishes are served family style.
Most Indian desserts are overly sweet and not normally attractive to the American palate. Sita’s offers one of these, gulab jamun ($3), pastry balls made from milk and served in syrup. A better bet is the kheer ($3), a rice pudding with raisins and flavored with cardamom. Also offered is an excellent mango ice cream ($3.50). Kulfi ($3.50), a homemade pistachio ice cream, reminds me of the junket freezer-tray ice cream my mother used to make.
The service at Sita’s is friendly, informal, relatively prompt (the tandoori dishes take a little longer), and properly attentive.
Sita’s is an outstanding restaurant. It offers what most successful restaurants do: top-flight, fresh ingredients (including the use of fresh spices and herbs that are blended in-house); effective, hands-on management that is concerned about customers; and consistently excellent food. If you like Indian food, you will love Sita’s; if you have not tried Indian food, Sita’s is the place to learn about quality Indian cuisine.