Indian food, like the culture it
springs from, is a moving target:
magnetic, unwieldy, confounding,
stupefyingly beautiful
and impossible to grasp.
Just when
you think
you’ve got a handle on it, just
when you think you understand,
another dazzling, enigmatic
scent flurries past your
nose and you’re mystified again.
Jewel of India, a modest but
proud Punjabi eatery in a King
Soopers-anchored strip mall on
West 103rd Avenue and Federal
Boulevard, represents this heritage
well: The place is magnetic,
unwieldy, confounding, mystifying.
It’s also wonderful.
Some Saturday nights, locals
pack themselves a half-dozen
deep into the vestibule to wait
for a table, sometimes impatiently.
Other nights, you’ll
breeze in and sit down all in
one curry-scented breath, with
no other customers in sight.
But full or sparse, Jewel always
feels alive. The extravagant
decor (an elaborate, decadent
mix of deeply saturated
tapestries, colorful paintings
and recognizable India kitsch)
is energetic and warm. And
there’s method to the music,
too: a nonstop, jubilant mix of
sub-continental beats that
could be ancient or modern, or,
like India itself, an inextricable
combination of both.
And then there’s the air: The
kaleidoscope of scents (clove,
cumin, cinnamon, coriander,
garlic, onion) commands you to
breathe more deeply at Jewel,
to savor the air more attentively.
The mix of aromas here is almost
shockingly complex, each
inhale entirely different from the last.
Also shockingly complex is
Jewel’s most unwieldy feature,
its sprawling menu: six pages of
long words in small type, with
somewhere around 130 items to
choose from. It’s fun to read for
about two minutes. Then it just
feels daunting.
But there’s dinner somewhere
in that chaotic menu. This is a
restaurant, you’re here to eat:
You must order.
If this is your first visit to Jewel,
get one of the five thalis, or
combination plates. Each one is a
full dinner that lets you sample a
whole range of flavors. The nonvegetarian
thali was especially
good. It included a meat samosa
(lamb and spices in a crisp pastry),
tandoori chicken (marinated
in yogurt, aromatics and spices,
then cooked in a clay oven),
lamb curry, chicken saag (chicken
in a spinach sauce), and plenty
of naan (traditional Indian flatbread),
rice and raita (flavored
yogurt) to go with.
There also are vegetarian and
seafood thalis, as well as thalisfor-
two. Feeding each other is optional,
but potentially gross if
you get carried away. I digress.
Once you’ve initiated yourself
with a thali, come for a second
visit and dig deeper into one Jewel’s
curries, like the Special Egg
Curry halved hard-boiled eggs
in a stew of curried vegetables.
Like all great curries, this one
didn’t hit just one note: Each bite
revealed something unexpected.
A swipe of cumin here, an edge
of ginger there, a twinge of toasted
coriander, a sharp sting of
chili. Separately, sonorous. Together,
harmony. A mesmerizingly,
frustratingly, invigoratingly
complex dish.
There are so many flavors and
smells at work (some working together,
some fighting each other,
some pushing forward, some hiding
in the back) that you can’t
stop tasting to see what the next
bite will reveal. (Like all of Jewel’s
curries, it’s offered in hot, medium
or mild, but choose medium
or mild, even if you’re a heat
freak. Too much heat muddles
the nuance.)
Mild or medium, each of Jewel’s
curry dishes tasted even better
when its splendidly spiky edges
were rounded off by a pile of
basmati rice, a few spoonfuls of
raita and plenty of torn naan or
roti (whole-wheat flatbread).
Three condiment sauces also appeared
on the table, all good:
Sweet tamarind, tangy cilantrojalapeno-
mint, and spicy tomatoonion.
Also indispensable with curry:
Beer. Kingfisher is on offer at
Jewel, along with three other Indian
beers. (There are a few Indian
wines on the menu, too. Try
them if you must, but these
won’t impress.)
Vegetarians rejoice: There’s
plenty on Jewel’s menu for you.
Highlights included dal (spiced
lentils) and saag paneer (spinach
cooked with cubes of homemade
cheese). Also good was the aloo
mattar, a stew of perfectly tender
potatoes and peas in a spicy,
saffron-colored sauce. Samosas
(both meat and vegetarian) were
crispy and light.
One bummer: Jewel’s tandoori
dishes, especially the meats
(lamb, chicken, fish and shrimp),
were disappointing on all visits.
Where the best tandoori dishes
are a perfect three-way marriage
of tanginess, spiciness and char,
Jewel’s were missing the tang.
Drizzle on some extra raita to
make up the difference. Better
yet, order chicken vindaloo instead,
meaty chunks of chicken
in a creamy, cumin-scented
sauce.
Punjabi desserts, like those offered
at Jewel of India, are not
for the lactose-intolerant. Milk
and yogurt-based dishes prevailed.
Jewel’s kheer (rice pudding
with raisins) was soft and
soothing, the kulfi (a cross between
ice cream and semifreddo)
had a strong pistachio flavor,
and the ras malai (milk-curd
balls in a double-cream syrup)
was bracingly, eyelid-twitchingly
sweet.
Lunch is a great way to take in
the scene at Jewel: Every day
they put out a full, fresh buffet
with all the best dishes lined up.
Take a little of each, then go
back for more of what you like.
Where the food can be mesmerizing,
the service at Jewel of India,
especially the pacing of your
meal, can be just plain perplexing.
At one moment your table
will be overloaded with dishes of
this, baskets of that, and platters
of the other, each one in imminent
danger of getting cold. At
another moment, you’ll be
parched, abandoned, desperate
for someone to come replenish
your water.
But even if you have to ask for
it twice, the naan gets to your table
hot. (Eat it quick!) You might
have to hold your question about
the menu for a while until a server
manages to get to your table,
but when they get there, you’ll
get an attentive, educated answer.
The staff at Jewel are rightfully
proud of their restaurant,
and they take seriously the responsibility
of guiding patrons
through the menu. They’ll just
do it in their own way, taking
their own time.
You’ll never catch all the
scents and colors of Jewel of India
in a takeaway box, but plan
to take home leftovers anyway.
In fact, get an extra to-go order
of vegetable biryani (rice with
vegetables, saffron, nuts and raisins)
to take home for breakfast
tomorrow. You’ll be jonesing for
a morning-after visit with the
magnetic, mesmerizing Jewel.
Dining critic Tucker Shaw can be reached at 303-820-1958 or at dining@denverpost.com.
Jewel of India
Indian
10343 Federal Blvd., Westminster, 303-469-7779
**|Very Good
Atmosphere: Busy, lushly decorated strip-mall Punjabi restaurant. Most prominent atmospheric element: The fabulous aromas of curry.
Service: Busy and knowledgeable, but not very speedy.
Wine: A few Indian wines, which are best avoided in favor of one of four Indian beers.
Plates: Small plates, $1.95-$6.95. Entrees $11.95-$22.95.
Hours: Lunch: 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Dinner: 5-9:30 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 5-10 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Details: All major credit cards accepted. Parking in the King Soopers parking lot. Wheelchair accessible. No reservations required. Daily lunch buffet.
Three visits.
Our star system:
****: Exceptional.
***: Great.
**: Very good.
*: Good.
No stars: Needs work.
