BEST OF EVERYTHING

WE HAVE
THE LOWEST PRICES
ANYWHERE OF
TOP QUALITY CARRY-OUT DELI

YOU CAN TELL THE DIFFERENCE
WITH OUR HOMEMADE GOODNESS!

Excellent Indian
Indian Cuisine
Comes To Northwest Suburbs

OFF!
*1 ON OUR BEAUTIFUL

DANNY RASKIN

Local Columnist

ALREADY LOW-PRICED 1.
: MEAT OR DAIRY TRAYS
With This Coupon
et*
.
l •
Milieu
•
•

Expires 6-30-90

Not Good On Holidays

AVAILABLE

10 Person Minimum I

I • C)rie Per Person
• =1•••••• ■ •IIIMMINIMOMMIIIIIIMMBRIONIIIIIIIMMINNII

WE MAKE ALL OUR FOOD
ON OUR OWN PREMISES!

• HOMEMADE COLE SLAW
• HOMEMADE POTATO SALAD
• HOMEMADE CHICKEN SALAD
• HOMEMADE TUNA SALAD
• HOMEMADE EGG SALAD

WE COOK
OUR OWN
CORNED BEEF
& PASTRAMI

I OPEN 7 DAYS 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

STAR DELI

24555 W. 12 MILE, Just West of Telegraph, Southfield

352-7377

Let Us Cater
Your Next Affair

COUPON I

1

FAMILY ITALIAN DINING & PIZZA

4033 W. 12 MILE, 3 Blks. E. of Greenfield
Berkley
548-3650

PEA-RIBS-FISH
HOMEMADE GARLIC BREAD

.,SODARE PIRA
SMALL OR LARK

OF F

HURD PIZZA
SMALL-MED-LARGE
ON FOOD PURCHASES
OF $6 OR MORE

DINING ROOM, CARRY-OUT
Expires December 31, 1990

• BANQUET ROOMS • BEER • WINE
• COMPLETE CARRY-OUT • COCKTAILS

B

A

N

la-h

D

OUR MUSIC
WILL HELP MAKE
YOUR PARTY!

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(313) 544-7373

70

FRIDAY, JUNE 1, 1990

T

he name is not one
you'll easily recognize
. . . But if you enjoy ex-
cellent Indian food, no chance
of not recalling where you
had such a wonderful taste
treat of this popular ethnic
palate-pleaser.
That's because the new
Natraj India restaurant on
Greenfield Road, just south of
11 Mile is a second operation
of the very fine Peacock India
restaurant on Maple near
Schaefer and Michigan in
Dearborn, owned by Terry
and Aji Ahluwalia.
This is truly authentic In-
dian dining . . . and whether
you like mild, medium or
spicy, when cooked properly it
is hard-to-beat cuisine . . .
And herein lies the key .. .
Foods of India prepared cor-
rectly are gratifying ex-
periences . . . which is why
Natraj is so good.
Seating is for 150 persons at
tables and booths amid an
elegant atmosphere you
wouldn't in a million years
have thought was previously
a Denny's restaurant.
The entire interior of the
former Denny's was torn out
. . . and in February, 1989, the
doors of Natraj were open
with a more contemporary
look of India than usually
found.
Contrary to so many other
India restaurants, with their
many red colorings, Natraj
has 18 beautiful dark wood
windows with off-white cur-
tains, a brass bar, black lac-
quered furniture in the main
dining room and brass table
tops in the lounge, off-white
fabric upholstery at booths,
black carpeting with sea
green and rose pink designs,
green cloth napkins, etc. . . .
A small banquet room seats
up to 50 people.
Natraj received a liquor
license four months after its
opening . . . The brass bar top
and brass table tops in the
lounge are decor pleasantries.
As you enter this excellent
Indian restaurant, the statue
of Natraj greets you in a dan-
cing pose while standing on a
symbol of evil . . . In India,
Natraj is the identity that
stamps out or keeps away evil
spirits.
There certainly is a dif-
ference in Indian food . . .
when it's the authentic thing,
taste buds tingle with much
delight . . . Natraj restaurant
takes after its older sister,

Peacock restaurant, in serv-
ing the genuine item . . .
therefore much goodness
evolves after a dining
participation.
Dipu Islam is an example of
the courteous, ever-so-polite
and eager-to-please
employees at Natraj . . . as he
brought me Indian food that
examplified bona fide
goodness . . . Foods of India
prepared properly can be
mighty delicious . . . mild,
medium or spicy . .
whichever way is preferred
. . . If not made right it can be
a big turnoff . . . And this is
why it is so important to have

A former Denny's

has become a
contemporary,
authentic Indian
restaurant.

truly authentic Indian food
. . . not "authentic" as claim-
ed by some . . . but pseudo in
reality.
Too
many
Indian
restaurants make much out
of having Tandoori ovens .. .
and not enough about its
other foods . . . This, in many
instances can be attributed to
the fact that they think non-
Indian people look upon Tan-
doori cooking as the only
authentic style in which In-
dian food should be prepared
. . . such a fallacy borders
high on the ridiculous.
Natraj has two Tandoori
ovens for its breads and cer-
tain dishes . . . but is a much
diversified type of Indian
restaurant.
True Indian cooking is a
great art . . . Peacock and now
Natraj also give customers a
complete variety of this ex-
tremely healthy cuisine.
As example, the chicken,
lamb or beef palak, prepared
with curried spinach . . .
Whether or not you like
spinach makes no difference
. . . it tastes like anything but
and contains the full nutri-
tion that spinach offers (look
what it does for Popeye) .. .
Or there's the chicken, lamb
or beef korma, prepared in a
mild creamy sauce with slic-
ed almonds and very finely
ground cashews, or chicken,
lamb or beef jalfrezi, prepared
with mixed vegetables.
The chicken is so very
tender . . . and the dishes ex-
tremely tasteful . . . You won't
find much better biryani
anywhere . . . I had the
kasmiri vegetable pullao with

its basmati (long-grained rice
imported from India),
tomatoes, peas, thinly-sliced
almonds, chick peas, carrots
and string beans . . . so much
flavor and good, solid
nutrition.
Everything at Natraj is
made from scratch . . . even
the yogurt to marinate
chicken, and all natural ice
cream without any preser-
vatives . . . Natraj also makes
its own ricotta or farmer's
cheese, and uses a lot of fresh
garlic and pure ginger root.
All chicken served at Natraj
is skinless . . . The only one
with bone is the Tandoori
chicken, served marinated in
yogurt and on a sizzling plate.
Natraj makes both mango
and ginger ice cream . . . In
the latter, Aji squeezes the
juice from genuine ginger
roots.
The kheer (rice pudding) is
not the thick type you may be
used to . . . This tasty devil
does, however, present a flavor
all its very own within the
measure of some body
consistency.
Natraj is open for lunch
Tuesday through Friday,
11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.; Tues-
day through Thursday dinner,
5 p.m. to 10 p.m.; Friday and
Saturday dinners, 5 p.m. to 11
pin.; and Sunday brunch, 12
noon to 2 p.m., and dinner, 5
p.m. to 10 p.m.

Terry holds down the fort at
the Peacock restaurant .. .
and Aji is on the Natraj
premises every day . . . usual-
ly in the kitchen watching
with an eagle eye to make
certain everything is made to
her specifications.
Take your pick . . . getting
your car test-driven for
whatever, or eating some of
the best Indian food around
. . . Aji is capable of providing
both.
Back in January, 1974, she
was hired by General Motors
as a test driver for durability,
speed, high altitudes, etc. . . .
and left in 1986 to spend full
time with Terry at the
Peacock.
She had been a waitress at
the former Holiday Inn on
Eight Mile and at Botsford
Inn . . . Aji was the first
waitress hired to be trained at
Lion's Head in Sammy
Lieberman's former Raleigh
House, from where she left to
test drive, helmet and all, at
GM.
You won't find a can of
vegetables hiding anywhere
at Natraj . . . It's all very fresh
. . . And the cooks from India