By Alok Ganguly
Public Relations Manager
& Craig Brinkerhoff
Copy Editor

Modern Indian music flows through the air, providing a friendly and comfortable environment for an Indian food novice. We brought an expert along to help sift through the plethora of options, and we were pleasantly surprised.

Tandoor grilled chicken was blended with chickpeas, packed with yellow rice and tamarind sauce, and encompassed in a whole wheat Indian-style tortilla, called a roti. This is a standard meal at Rangoli Grill, a new Indian restaurant located in Cornerstone Plaza.

The chicken is a pale red color, due to the spices used when it is being grilled to perfection in the tandoor, a special clay oven used primarily on the streets of India to grill food. Chole, a mixture of chickpeas and potatoes, was also added to the wrap to provide more texture to the meal. The added turmeric rice helped fill out the wrap and contributed an extra layer of flavor.

Finally, the wrap was doused in tamarind sauce, which provided an earthy and tangy garnish. This is a standard wrap for the establishment, but lives up to its expectations. If you are vegetarian, feel free to substitute the chicken for paneer, a type of cheese.

The chaat bar found at Rangoli Grill is one of a kind – it is the only restaurant in the area to have one. This type of chaat bar can be related to a self-serve salad bar, where the customer buys a small or large bowl and can fill it with fixings of their choosing. There are several different options for the chaat bar, with small puris, tiny biscuits, chickpeas, tomatoes, lettuce, and onions being only a few of the several options. A good combination for the chaat bar for a beginner would be to layer the bottom of the bowl with a few puris, and then add a layer of chickpeas and potatoes. Following this, lettuce, tomatoes, and onions should be thrown into the mix and finished off with a garnish of cilantro. In order to add an extra texture, a small dose of yogurt should be drizzled on top of the bowl. This is a delicious combo, and a great way for anyone to introduce themselves to chaat.

For drinks we ordered a masala chai and a mango lassi, which covered the entire spectrum of the rather small beverage menu. The chai was a surefire hit, with creamy notes of ginger and cinnamon. The mango lassi was the opposite, a very sweet, iced milkshake with mango flavors. Both were delicious.

Overall, Rangoli Grill was a good experience. The ambiance was friendly and inviting, the service was prompt, and the food was simply second to naan.