Kebab Factory Opens For Business In Norwalk

In the Norwalk space that formerly housed Gateway of India, and before that a Filipino market/restaurant, Kebab Factory has now opened.

This contemporary Indian bistro is brought to you by the same good folks who are behind Tawa and Chili Chicken in Stamford.

On Tuesday, April 6th, I attended a press dinner at Kebab Factory. The empty seat you see is mine.

At every press dinner I had covered in the past, I was the lone cameraman. This time, there were two other individuals taking photographs, and my Canon EOS10 and I were clearly outgunned by this professional.

I guess other news media are finally realizing the importance of using contemporaneous images to make such dining experiences relatable to their reading public.

But I believe that few, if any, Connecticut food writers makes such events come alive the way I do. I’ll start you off with a tour of the restaurant. Here you see the team behind Kebab Factory,

especially chef-owner Kausik Roy, whose exceptional mastery of Indian food allows him to reach beyond that paradigm to create unique dishes you’ll find nowhere else on the planet,

here you see photographs depicting the henna designs that are part of the Indian wedding ritual,

here you see the bar area (there’s no counter seating, obviously),

here you see the tasty little offerings of which departing guests can avail themselves,

and here you see two diners embarking on a culinary adventure.

But let me take you through our culinary adventure. While most members of the press made selections from Kebab Factory’s extensive wine and beer offerings, this gal was a mango lassie.

And here’s a close-up of her yogurt-based mango lassi.

Throughout the meal, I enjoyed a Saint M Riesling from Germany, a Marlborough Pinot Noir from New Zealand, and a Taj Mahal beer.

Once we had our drinks in hand, a tsunami of food followed. The first wave featured really cute individual portions, like this soup of the day (a tomato coconut broth flavored with coriander and peppercorns),

this chicken kathi roll (a paratha roll with chicken),

this malai paneer tikki (a paneer croquette with curried chickpeas, crispy potato and tamarind chutney),

this tandoori-aloo kabuli chat (fresh white and black chickpeas, tandoor-grilled potato, red onion, tomato, mint and tamarind),

and this lamb shammi kebab (ground lamb, lentils and garam masala).

Subsequent waves of food were served in portions to be shared. In the second wave, we enjoyed lasun ki gobi (cauliflower florets made crispy with rice flour and lacquered in a sweet-and-sour garlic sauce)

chicken seekh kebab (minced marbled chicken, crushed coriander, ginger and onion),

tandoori shrimp with tikka masala sauce (tomato cream sauce),

chicken malai (with saffron and a nutmeg cream marinade),

green frogs (just kidding—it’s chicken marinated in mint, cilantro, basil and Key lime juice!)

and possibly my favorite, paneer tikka (homemade cottage cheese, tomato, onion and bell pepper).

But we were far from done. The gentlemen adjusted their belts, the ladies adjusted whatever it is that they adjust, and the third wave of food broke over us until we were gasping for oxygen. There was saag paneer (cottage cheese with creamed spinach, roasted garlic and onion),

baingan bharta (minced, charcoal-grilled eggplant, mint, cilantro and red onion),

mushroom malai mutter (white mushroom, ricotta cheese, green peas, brown curry),

chicken tikka masala,

Malabar chicken (coconut curry with curry leaves and dried red chili),

goat vindaloo (fiery Goan curry with potato),

and lamb biriyani (Hyderabadi slow-cooked rice with saffron).

Let’s not forget the accompaniments. There was plain naan,

wonderful Peshwari naan,

and other unusual types of naan,

as well as raita (yogurt with cucumber) and

basmati rice.

And finally, let’s not forget the dessert course. We all enjoyed a masala tea

with the shahi tukda, an absolutely lovely combination of “bread pudding” topped with sweetened cottage cheese and diced strawberry.

Roy told us the dessert wasn’t really Indian, and I said believe me it’s not really American, either. Dishes like this unusual dessert and the crispy cauliflower florets show the creativity and exuberance of Roy’s cooking.

So much for the food, but I try, whenever possible, to capture the human element as well. Here is a photo of my friend, Linda, enjoying the meal,