Nitraj Cusine of India
Belmont Shores 5262 E 2nd St, Long Beach, CA 90803
- Go – Get up and get Grubbin!
- Sane – Price is right and perfectly reasonable for what you get!
On the rusty shorelines of long beach sits a hole in the wall restaurant surrounded by expensive boutiques and too many frozen yogurt shops. Owner Singh and his family have run the familiar name Natraj restaurant well over decades and like the people of their native land have the utmost hospitality and gratitude. His wife is a server there but kind of mean and short; oddly, its charming. Natraj sits second to last in a retail strip building with a small patio and elongated dinning area. The carpet is worn, the ceilings dark and the pedestal lamps dated. On the outside is a picture of the Taj Mahal which I’ve visited in person. Can you tell the difference?
Lucky for me I am 50 lbs lighter now.
During the day Nitraj runs an incredibly forgetful all you can eat buffet lunch. The lunch buffet though seems like a grand plan, fails miserably in capturing the hot sizzling experience of its dinner. So simply don’t go to the buffet and shame on the quick fix’n meal by an establishment that I know is much more proud of their freshly prepared meals. My journey through India makes my super tasting powers stronger than the average backyard cook; I seriously think there is no comparison between Indian food in India Vs America, but which is superior? Ill get to that later, in the mean time don’t poke the bear in the zoo.
Upon arriving arriving your given complimentary appetizer of chutneys served in casts from 6th century BC. They’re all traditional chutneys, and most Indian restaurants will serve the tamarind (brown) and cilantro-mint (green) at a minimum.
What I enjoy is the pickled chutney (yellow) that accelerates the taste buds to the salty sweetness to force the desire to eat mo’!
Since I was a small child I admired the Tandoori oven. Everything in life tastes better coming out of that gorgeous round cylinder of heaven. The smell of baking bread unique and abundant fills the nose, hairs and even traps under the eye lids in a great way. I typically order the american staple; Chicken Tikla Masala. Chunks of chicken marinated in spices and yogurt, that is then baked in a tandoori oven, and served in a masala spice mix sauce.
The sauce usually sits in its own juices in a tiny colander that holds the heat till you need it. However upgraded our Indian status we use the same spicy sauce but the protein is Lamb. Lamb Tika Masala is just fantastic here. We order the dish as a 10 out of 10 spicy but still lacks the hot kick in the jaw that we food junkies crave. We asked owner Singh why he doesn’t trust us that we are asking for an Indian 10 but really serves us the American 10 spicy. So he gave us the code word 11. Ask for an 11 out of 10 and he will make sure its a meal you will never forget, perfect and will do!
Dating the Lamb Tika Masala is a fluffy Indian Basmati serving of rice (free refills). This is a savory Indian style rice dish flavored with whole spices and fried onions with a few cilantro leafs for color, style and bridge to flavors. Luckily this comes with any curry you order so enjoy.
If anyone on the planet earth has read this blog and even made it this far, wow bravo. I am impressed and probably can die happy, and so I return the favor by telling you what to do NEXT. You must order a basket of the fresh baked Garlic Naan. Naan is one of the most ordered Indian bread but here its made fresh and served piping hot.
This soft tasty Indian bread is cooked in the tandoori oven, which is a hot clay oven used to cook all the tandoori dishes. Often the temperature reaches to 500 degree in tandoori ovens making it difficult to adopt the naan recipe at home so order at least two servings if not more per person.
Tandoori chicken is a dish originating from Indian subcontinent. It is widely popular in South Asia, Middle Eastern and Western countries. It consists of roasted chicken prepared with yogurt and spices and comes out sizzling in onions and lemon slices on a iron skillet.
The chicken has an administrative you’re in trouble red color and a smell that can make the most depressed person Elton John happy. Make sure you dip your bread and rice in the Masala, follow it up with a delightfully spoon of fluffy basmati rice then snap a bite of the Tandoori Chicken. Wash it down with a slurp of coke and then tell me you don’t want to donate to charity, build homes for the poor and have a spinal tap of bone marrow donated to a cancer patient. Nitraj delivers so well that you would likely be willing to do ALL those things. Enjoy!
Oh, you might be wondering if Indian food is better in India or America? The Indian food here in the USA is far more flavorful, better prepared and overall more enjoyable. No contest, so go get your step curry on! Swissshh.
I love food and I love everything involved with food. I love the fun of it. I love restaurants. I love cooking, although I don’t cook very much. I love kitchens.
–Alma Guillermoprieto
WANDERGRUB 
