Mayuri leaves you satisfied, smiling

Published 3:33 pm Thursday, July 2, 2009

BOTHELL — There’s something comforting about a restaurant in which servers emerge, aprons crisply pressed and vague smiles intact, from a kitchen that sounds to be in the throes of a frying pan fight.

Sure, it’s noisy, but the kitchen crew is busy prepping for the dinner hour, laughing together and enjoying the food.

At Mayuri Indian Cuisine in Bothell, it’s a sign of a staff that enjoys turning out good food. The elegantly decorated restaurant isn’t the place to go for the quietest of meals, but it’s a good bet to satiate a hearty appetite through either a series of grilled meats or a tasting menu of hard-to-find south Indian specialties.

I started with vada sambar ($3.79), two small, savory doughnuts served with a small cup of tangy lentil soup. It’s a vague reminder of a classic American breakfast — doughnut and coffee — but much healthier. The doughnut is made of lentils and spiced with pepper. The lentil soup is hearty and flavorful. If Mayuri were open before lunchtime, I’d be tempted to stop by for an order of vada sambar on my way to work.

The vada sambar is listed in a somewhat lengthy section of the menu featuring south Indian cuisine. The options are a refreshing departure from the curry/paneer/naan-heavy kitchens that purport to showcase the best bites of India. Anyone who has spent time on the subcontinent knows that the food there is as varied as the dialects. Mayuri offers a sampling of appetizers (and a few entrees) from southern India, including crepes with various stuffings and lentil pancakes.

For the mixed hors d’oeuvres plate ($8.99): chicken and lamb are cooked on skewers and arrive at the table on a sizzling platter. It’s enough meat to feed about six people as an appetizer, and at least two as a meal. Even so, it’s a worthy order, especially as part of a meal made up of various appetizers.

I fell in love with the flavors of Indian food while on a teaching stint in New Delhi. My sustenance then was prepared three times daily by a dedicated cook who served all the teachers in the house. There were endless homemade chapatis and large bowls of buttery dal. The mangoes were fragrant; sliced red onions, arranged theatrically on a platter, were always crisp.

My memories of India jibe with the appetizers at Mayuri: vadas on every street corner and platters of simply prepared meats or vegetables. Lentils prepared a million different ways.

The deja vu faded when the entrees came out. A server recommended Navaratan Koorma (or korma, $8.99), a vegetable dish smothered in a paneer cheese-cashew nut cream. The vegetables were pulverized by the cooking process and barely recognizable. The sauce had a pleasantly sweet, nutty flavor from the cashews, but otherwise was overwhelmed by the paneer cheese.

A good vindaloo, a dish that originated in Goa, India’s southwestern resort town, requires mango lassi, a traditional yogurt smoothie that cools a seared tongue. Mayuri’s lamb vindaloo ($10.99) hits the mark. The flavor of the super-spicy sauce is deepened by a concoction of spices that likely included ginger, cumin and generous portions of cayenne pepper. The meat, however, was tough, and on the bone, despite the description for “boneless lamb.”

Fortunately, the menu at Mayuri is extensive, particularly for appetizers. Don’t hesitate to cobble together a meal made up of small snacks. If you find something you’d like to try to recreate at home, you’re in luck: The restaurant is back-to-back with the Mayuri grocery store, which provides most supplies needed for standard Indian meals.

The staff at Mayuri is unceasingly helpful. Diners who ask for some of the restaurant’s more unusual offerings will get extra-special attention, so take a chance and order something unexpected. At Mayuri, you won’t be disappointed.

Mayuri Indian Cuisine

20611 Bothell Everett Highway, Bothell; 425-481-6900

Hours: Lunch, 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. daily, dinner 5 to 9:30 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday

Reservations: Not necessary

Alcohol: Beer and wine

Credit cards: Major cards accepted