In an attempt to put a halt to our daily routine, otherwise known as “the rut”, my husband and I decided to break away from our usual night out of burgers, steaks, and pizza to try something new. My husband, home from an hour-long commute, walked in the door and suggested we try the new Indian Restaurant in town, India Sizzling. Although based on the recommendation of a trustworthy source, this was a stretch for him to adventure this far out of his comfort zone. He’s your typical ‘meat & potatoes’ kind of guy – he likes his Miller Lite, the same pizza once a week, and is not ashamed to admit his many-times-a-week McDonalds habit. I accept the invitation with excitement as well as reservation. I’m happy to try something new, but feel it may be inevitable that our night will end in a trip through a drive-thru.
So we’re off on a restaurant adventure. When we arrive at India Sizzling, I am taken aback by the decor. It was simple and serene, colorful with a rich feeling of Indian culture, yet very modern and tasteful. Iron sculptures line the walls, depicting what I imagine to be a landscape of India - very beautiful. We are greeted and seated immediately as there is only one other family in the restaurant. Our server brings us water and two beverage menus - I am a little disappointed that we do not have our food menus yet - as I am very excited as well as STARVING. We settle on two Miller Lites (some ruts are hard to break out of), and anticipate being able to look over the food choices.
Alas, our server brings the menus. I suddenly feel overwhelmed and confused - what on earth are all these dishes and how do you pronounce them? The choices include chicken, lamb and seafood Tandori Treasures from their clay oven; vegetable entrees; Samundarka Khazana (Seafood); Bombay Indo-Chinese; and many Chicken, Gosht and Lamb selections. I ponder for awhile and decide to do what anyone who has ever worked in the food industry would do - ask the server for recommendations. I do have an idea of what I might like, and I ask the server about the Manchurian (Dumplings of veggies/chicken deep fried & simmered in a tasty sauce). He explains it has a bit of a Chinese taste, more Chinese spices than Indian, and this is fine for me as I am counting on “sharing” my husbands 100% Indian dish. My husband, not knowing what’s going on, says he would like something “with chicken and rice and a little spicy”. Our server recommends the Chicken Tikka Masala, and we also agree to add a side of vegetable fried rice. Next our server brings some sort of crunchy flat bread - delicious and full of flavor - with two dipping sauces. I assume that one is a cilantro sauce, which was unbelievable, and the other is some sort of cumin-pepper sauce. We wait in anticipation for our dinners to arrive.
Our server brings enough plates and bowls to feed what seems like a family of ten. He hand serves our vegetable fried rice as well as the Manchurian with a fancy spoon and fork method. We dig in and I suddenly realize that my taste buds have gone into a state of shock. I am not used to this many spices and flavors all at once (I had chicken fingers and green beans for lunch). I feel like I’ve died and gone to India Sizzling heaven. We sit in silence, shocked at how pleased we are with the food that defies our state of “normal” dinners. We are served thicker garlic flat bread which is also very flavorful, and goes great with the dinners. The Manchurian has the perfect amount of spice, and the vegetable fried rice has REAL vegetables - not the kind of fried rice that seems like they threw a frozen bag of veggies in it to save time. The Chicken Tikka is equally delicious, prepared with a cumin flavor and served in a fancy bowl with lots of sauce. I can tell by the look on my husband’s face that he is not missing his club steak and french fries.
We eat about one-third of our food and find ourselves stuffed silly. Our server, who is quite possibly one of the nicest and polite people I’ve ever met, comments that we “hardly even ate any food at all”. We ask for the rest of our food to be boxed up - I am already getting excited about eating the leftovers for lunch tomorrow.
As we pay our bill (Chicken Manchurian $9.95, Chicken Tikka Masala $10.95, Additional Veggie Fried Rice $5.95, Extra Garlic Flat Bread $2.95) our server tells us they have been in business for three weeks. He also tells us that they haven’t hit advertising hard yet, and I imagine that this place will do well once word spreads of how good it is. I leave full, satisfied, and having learned three things:
(1) India Sizzling is the best meal I’ve had in a LONG time.
(2) You CAN teach an old dog (husband) new tricks (food).
(3) With the mix of great food and friendly staff, India Sizzling deserves a ‘five stars’ in
my book.
India Sizzling
11301 Village Square
(The newest strip mall on Allisonville, two blocks south of 116th Street, behind CarX)
Fishers, Indiana 46038
317-845-5500
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