may 2011 15

living

India “from the heart”

Thanks to Arun Pal and

India Gourmet authen-

tic Indian has come to

the city

Good Indian restaurants have colonized virtually every major city in the world. Wherever

you go, be it Toronto, New York or Sydney, you’ll find trays of tandoori, chicken tikka and a framed picture of the Taj Mahal in eateries with such spar-kling names as Jaipur Jewel or Taj Pal-ace. And you keep going back to them because, the allure of Indian food is as timeless as the country itself. But until two years ago, when Arun Pal opened his India Gourmet near the 93 Park, there were few options for an authentic Indian meal in the city. In fact, you just waited it out for that next trip stateside. But those days are over now thanks to Arun and his kitchen.

Born in Kolkata during the 1950s, Arun has come along way to being a suc-cessful restaurateur and caterer. In fact, it took him tens of thousands of miles riding a bicycle when he departed his native India in 1972 to catch a glimpse of the Munich Olympics. Peddling his way across Iran, the foothills of Ana-tolia, the plains of Greece and much of Central Europe, Arun, did make it

to Munich and despite suffering an ac-cident in the Bavarian capital, he was determined to see more of the world. After passing through the Nordic states and into France, this “Man of Steel” (as he was known to colleagues at the Dur-gapur iron factory in Bengal), arrived in London.

Of course, where else would Arun get his formal training as a cook if not at India House restaurant in Lon-don?. However, the Americas - espe-cially South America - seemed to ful-fill Arun’s destiny and he first arrived in Bogotá in 1974 on his way cycling to Peru. During his brief stay in the Colombian capital, he met his wife Maristella Forero whose own vocation took her to Kolkata to work alongside Mother Teresa.

Today, Arun takes pride that he is the “oldest Indian living in Colombia” and that India Gourmet has become a defacto consulate for Indians resid-ing in the city or passing through in search of a taste of home. An article in a recent travel guide referred to Pal’s restaurant “as the best” of Indian in the Andes.

The menu at India Gourmet is typ-ically Indian, but with several regional dishes from Bengal. Customers have a choice when it comes to the level of hotness they want in their food, such as the house favorites Tamarind Mut-ton ($22.900), Shrimp Masala ($27.900) or the assortment of Biryani (rice). The venue is intimate and décor-wise a tap-estry of tablecloths and hanging cloth elephants. In one of the corners a flat screen streams videos of Bollywood with superstar Sharuk Khan dancing in the Alps, on the George Washington Bridge

and Mumbai promenades. All this en-hances the dining experience at Arun’s India Gourmet.

Start you meal with samosas ($4.000) and a plate of fried papadams. The cheese-filled paneer is also best accompa-nied by Pal’s lemon and mango pickle - another business venture, which he per-sonally overseas from a farm in Guamo, Tolima. Next month, Pal’s pickles go on sale for $10,000 a jar. They are sure to be a bestseller, as every dish in India Gourmet is free of preservatives and prepared by Arun himself and his dedi-cated kitchen staff.

Besides the curries and many veg-etarian dishes in his restaurant, India Gourmet caters wedding receptions and events which involve the Indian Embas-sy in Colombia. On May 15th (Mother’s Day) Pal has organized a special celebra-tion at the Museo Chicó, which brings together an Indian dance group as well as Colombian musicians. For a $35.000 pesos admission fee you can enjoy the India Gourmet buffet and walk away prizes such as the limited edition India Gourmet Cookbook. For the chef these

events are part of a greater mission to promote his country in another country he has called home for more than thirty years. “I feel it is my duty to show some-thing of India,” claims the restaurateur.

Arun is not alone when it comes to India Gourmet - his daughter Zeenat is present at all times making sure the fam-ily business runs smoothly. Aldemar, the headwaiter, is attentive and as much of India Gourmet’s reputation has come from “word of mouth,” knows custom-ers on a first name basis.

Last (but far from least) is India Gourmet’s sweet list. Order a dish of Rasmali, curd balls with cardamom, or the Bengali take on buñelos – Rasgullah. There is also homemade kulfi (ice cream) and plenty of chai and lassi to quench one’s thirst. But then again, great In-dian and cold beer are a perfect match. And I’m not talking cricket, but rather cooking and which Arun does “from the heart.”

India GourmetCra 19B No.92-52Tel: 621-7923

TexT ANd PhoTos: rIChArd emBlIN