Friday, August 15, 2003

There's a new restaurant in Scott that's hot. Deliciously hot. Its pretty name is Tamarind, and it has a subname that more directly reveals its subcontinental vibe: Savoring India.

From inside, it's easy to forget that it's in a shopping plaza -- in the Scott Towne Center storefront formerly and rather briefly occupied by Thali, another Indian restaurant that Munch much enjoyed.

This incarnation is more chicly decorated in sunny turmeric tones with white tablecloths, simple artwork and spare lighting and candles.

The menu is very specifically and authentically South Indian.

That's where the "hot" comes in.

Munch stopped in recently with a South Indian friend, who was impressed by the decor and the menu's breadth. The other tables being occupied by Indians was another good sign, figured Munch, who -- as regular readers know -- has a thing for South Indian food.

Whereas the more familiar North Indian fare tends to be heavier on meat and creamy sauces, South Indian is mostly vegetarian, lighter, flavored with coconut and, yes, tamarind.

For the uninitiated, the menu describes it as the sour fruit that adds zip and color, along with the necessary chili peppers.

Whole black peppercorns studded our first appetizer: the fried lentil doughnuts called medhu vada. We'd actually ordered the dhai vada, which are the same doughnuts soaked in yogurt. But when our sweet server delivered the other ones to our table by mistake, they were doomed. Tongue-tingling delicious. When the dhai vada arrived, Munch welcomed the soothing yogurt.

But the peppercorn-crunchy vada were just a warm-up for the next appetizer, Chicken 65. Popular at Namaste on Banksville Road as it is at South Indian restaurants all over, Tamarind's version is brilliantly orange chunks of chicken served with raw onion and a lemon wedge -- as fiery as it looks.

For entrees, we had to order a dosa, the classic South Indian rice crepe. Tamarind offers more than a dozen different kinds, but Munch's friend couldn't resist the only one labeled "HOT" -- the Madras masala dosa, which is filled with potatoes, onions and spices.

It was hard to decide what else to order, since the menu offers so much. There are several flavors of uthappam, or thick pancakes, and long lists of vegetarian curries (including coconutty avial), chicken and lamb specialties and rice specials (including tamarind rice).

House specialties include the unusual chicken dosa, relatively staid classics such as pongal (rice and lentils) and uppuma (vegetables in cream of wheat) and both a veg and non-veg thali (or platter of several dishes, sides and bread).

Munch was happy to see several unusual items and ordered one of them: the bisi bele bhath. It's a distinctive blend of rice and lentils and vegetables that Munch first tasted made at the home of an Upper St. Clair woman who, like the dish, is from the Indian state of Karnataka.

Served in a lovely stainless container, the casserole was silky smooth, rich and, yes, spicy.

But it was the masala dosa that really raised Munch's body temp.

A sweet lassi (yogurt drink) and some pistachio kulfi -- the coarse but wonderful Indian ice cream -- also helped cool things down.

But what we both appreciated about Tamarind was the heat.

The prices are good, too -- most dishes are $6 to $9, with only the lamb dishes priced at $10.99, and our entire bill for two was less than $30 with a well-deserved $5 tip.

Found out later that service and cleanliness are top priorities with co-owner, Prasad Potluri, who has a day job as a Bayer Corp. programmer. He makes no apologies for the "good spicy" food that you "have to have the way it is supposed to be."

Tamarind, at 2101 Greentree Road, offers a lunch buffet that is $6.99 (11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Tues.-Thurs. and Sun.) or $7.99 (11:30 a.m.-3.30 p.m. Fri. and Sat.). Dinner is 5-9:30 p.m. Tues.-Thurs. and Sun., and 4:30-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 412-278-4848 or www.tamarindpa.com.

E-mail Munch@post-gazette.com.

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