Emily Hays Photo
When Dave Singh first tried navratan korma in New Jersey, he knew he wanted the creamy, vegetable-filled curry on his own restaurant’s menu.
Twenty-five years later, Singh’s Tandoor The Clay Oven has sold over 100,000 servings of the “nine-gem” korma.
“The mixture of vegetables itself is tasty. With so many vegetables, it is healthy and will keep you full,” Singh offered.
As the name suggests, the “nine-gem” korma involves nine vegetables. Tandoor uses cauliflower, broccoli, potatoes, peas, green beans, carrots, tomatoes, bell peppers and eggplants in their version.
Take-out and delivery orders will prove crucial to the ability of local restaurants like Tandoor to weather the pandemic during the coming months as Covid-19 cases climb and cold weather sets in. Call 203 – 776-6620 or visit the restaurant’s website to order the navratan curry and other dishes for take-out or delivery. Tandoor also uses delivery apps like Grubhub, Uber Eats and DoorDash. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day.
Tandoor anchors the corner of Chapel and Howe streets from within the old Elm City Diner building. Dave Singh bought the restaurant with his cousin, Happy Singh, three years after moving to the United States from Punjab. Dave had held various odd jobs in New York and New Jersey and moved to New Haven for the restaurant.
Happy, who is now head chef at the restaurant, was only 16 when he first moved from Punjab.
Business has been steady enough during the pandemic that the Singhs were not terribly enthused about touring around a reporter. Setting an interview date took some wrangling; Dave Singh answered interview questions after helping a couple navigate the lunch buffet and in between ferrying delivery orders to the kitchen.
We broke through that ice when I disclosed that Tandoor is one of my favorite restaurants and mentioned that I love the salty-sour powder that dusts the samosas.
Singh’s eyes lit up. He explained that the chefs make the samosas from scratch twice a week, that they never freeze them and that the pastries are always sold out by the time they make the second weekly batch.
He brought me past the kitchen to the walk-in refrigerator to show me the yogurt they make from whole milk. He spooned up a ladleful of the yogurt and explained that high-quality yogurt should always separate. Sure enough, a small pool of water rested on top of the dense gallons of yogurt below.
Tandoor’s kitchen crew makes most of the menu items in advance. The navratan korma starts by sautéing onions and whole spices in a pan with ginger and garlic paste. Then the chefs add tomatoes and ground spices like turmeric powder, coriander, cumin, chili powder, salt and pepper. Then the nine vegetables go into the pan to cook and soften. When this gravy is done, the crew transfers it to a container to await customer orders.
Once a customer orders the navratan curry, the chef starts the same process again. In this case, it was Chef Ricardo Pascual sautéing more onions, ginger and garlic. Then Pascual ladled the pre-made gravy into the pan.
Pascual added the finishing touches — cream, cashews and another dash of spices. (Tandoor can swap out the cream for coconut milk for vegan and health-conscious eaters.)
The result was savory, creamy and comforting. It was as tasty as my usual favorites. I like that about Tandoor; it always delivers.
Previous coverage of recommended take-out orders to help local businesses survive the pandemic:
• Today’s Special: Haci’s Napoletana Pie
• Today’s Special: Fred & Patty’s Brie On Baguette
• Today’s Special: Nieda’s Moist Falafel
• Today’s Special: Qulen’s Vegan “Wings”
• Today’s Special: Aaron’s Peruvian Rice Bowl
• Today’s Special: Singh Bros.’ Chana Kulcha
• Today’s Special: Grandma’s Chicken Soup
• Today’s Special: Woody’s Steak & Shrimp
• Today’s Special: Shilmat’s Yemisir Sambusa
• Today’s Special: Arjun’s Vegetarian Manchurian
• Today’s Special: Mohammed’s Bhel Poori
• Today’s Special: Francesco’s Tortelli
• Today’s Special: Seikichi’s Sushi
• Today’s Special: Ketkeo’s Khao Poon
• Today’s Special: Mike Fox’s French Toast
• Today’s Special: Zhang’s Squirrel Fish Dish
• Today’s Special: Jessica’s Gumbo
• Today’s Special: Kenny Kim’s Vegan Ramen
• Today’s Special: Ernesto’s Venezuelan Arepa
• Today’s Special: Corey’s “Prison Reformer” Frank
• Today’s Special: Bryan’s Butter Chicken Pie
• Today’s Special: Jared’s Super Supreme Baked Potato
• Today’s Special: Craig’s Breakfast Reuben
• Today’s Special: Sunny’s Mackerel Sashimi
• Today’s Special: Jamshed’s Lemon Chicken