Recently, a new Indian restaurant, named Mitti Chulha, opened on the intersection of Route 9 and Otis Street. You’re probably wondering: what is Mitti Chulha? Well, mitti in Hindi means dirt, and chulha in Hindi means stove, so mitti chulha means dirt stove, or a stove made out of dirt. Now, let’s get into the specific details, and what aspects of this restaurant are truly admirable.
Ambience and Setting:
When I first came into the restaurant, I was greeted by a cozy room, with a wreath of mistletoe on the windows for Christmas, but also items that you would find in India, like some khaats and statues portraying people and animals, and antique clocks hanging on the walls. A khaat is a bed made out of some strings and wood, but it is not like modern beds today. Instead, these strings are interlaced, and wrapped around wooden logs. As I left the entrance hallway to go sit down, many things were the same in this main room. Cozy, soft music was playing in the background, and it was packed with people. There was a door-sized hole in the wall, for people to pass through. I was looking around the rooms, and they were both the same; brown painted walls to symbolize the dirt part of Mitti Chulha. I would say this setting is very fitting and comfortable for the name of the restaurant.
Food Quality:
I really wanted to try a variety of foods, so we bought three different food items to satisfy my appetite, and it definitely worked. I got full just by eating the two appetizers, which were chicken and paneer, a type of cottage cheese. The chicken was crisp and aromatic, and the way they made it was very delicious. Although, there was an accident with this appetizer. The first time they gave us the plate, it was cold. Not even warm, which I consider to be fairly notable. They messed up on this order, but made up for it with a replacement. This one wasn’t bad, and the temperature was appropriate for the appetizer.
Then came the Chilli Paneer. It was soft and diced up, and many of the spices put into the dish were felt and tasted. The soft, tofu-like cubes each had a different burst of flavor, but they all had one thing in common. It was amazing. They added some sauteed vegetables on the side, like green peppers and onions, which were delicious and very crunchy. They also spread a tangy dressing on it, which made it easy to eat, and very tasty.
The last dish we bought was the Malai kofta. It was in a round plate, with gravy covering the kofta, and white yogurt all around it. As soon as we cut the perfectly round sphere, we could see the soft filling inside, and boy, did it look so mouth-watering. After we ate, we were so full. I, personally, thought that the food was really satisfying and made to perfection, even though they were under a lot of pressure.
Customer Interaction:
From strolling into the restaurant, to walking out the door with a full stomach, there were many interactions with the waiters throughout the dinner. First of all, 20 minutes after we came and sat down in the long hall, a waiter came in and gave everybody mango lassi, a type of mango drink, for free. This was probably the highlight of the day. As we drank it, it tasted like mango yogurt, and had a really sweet taste to it.
However, they made a small but notable accident in the chicken. When we first got the platter, it was cold. Just cold. So, we called the waiter over, and then he took the platter, warmed it up, and served it back to us. This was not a big mistake, and he made up for it, so I would say that mistake was not as bad as other mistakes I have encountered.
At the end, the waiter apologized for his mistake, and, as a final treat, he gave us all another drink, which was full of cream and loaded with lots of dry fruit. We took this as a thank you, paid our bill, and left with a handful of drinks.
Rating:
Well, there were many things that I saw and ate, and most of them were very good. The atmosphere of the room was very traditional, and I mostly never see that in quite a few restaurants. The food was amazing, but the chicken incident was hard to forget, and they have been working for four days already, which was pretty considerable. The mango lassi was a big highlight and always perfect for now and then drinks. Then came the customer service and interaction. There was always something to talk about, and the waiters were very polite to all of their customers, which I have seen in many places. Of course, even though Mitti Chulha was a bit more traditional than other Indian cuisines around Westborough, the food there was a lot better, and there were more complex spices which you could taste in your mouth.
In all, Mitti Chulha is a very traditional Indian cuisine, with pops of modern taste and culture.
Out of 10: 7.5 or 8 out of 10
Out of 5: 3.5 or 4 out of 5
