Chhauka: Gobi Manchurian and Paneer Kundey Kalia
If you grow up eating Indian food prepared by a small army of smaller brown women armed with rolling pins and a disdain for indoor voices, two things invariably happen:
You end up becoming a small brown woman avec rolling pin and sans indoor voice.
You essentially become the personification of this Lily Sullivan tweet.
(I have done this. I will continue to do this. If you want to help out in my kitchen, keep me company and drink wine)
And you end up with really high standards for Indian food and high standards doesn’t mean high-end.
My favorite Indian joint in South Florida is a hole in the wall with a completely vegetarian menu, Bollywood movies blaring on the TV, technicolor images of Ganesh emblazoned on the wall and a bathroom situation which is not up to Buc-ee’s levels of cleanliness but I’ll ride at dawn for that place (review coming soon).
I’ve been wanting to check out Chhauka ever since it first opened. I was genuinely excited about a new Indian restaurant finally hitting downtown West Palm Beach - especially one backed by Michelin-starred chef Hemant Mathur.
Hell, I would be excited about anything opening in downtown West Palm Beach as long as it wasn’t another sushi joint or a weed store but unfortunately, the experience didn’t live up to the hype.
Let’s get down to details
Heavy on the sesame seeds, light on the crunch. Chhauka’s Indo-Chinese Gobi Manchurian appetizer.
Stunning presentation, but desperately in need of naan. The Paneer Kundey Kalia and rice.
The Spot: Chhauka
Location: 105 S Narcissus Ave #130, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Vibe: Cozy, upscale and understated Indian joint. No Bollywood hits blaring over the PA - Big B will not be belting out Jumma Chumma De De in this place.
The Bite: Gobi Manchurian and Paneer Kunday Kalia
Price:
Gobi Manchurian: $18
Paneer Kunday Kalia: $28
Vegetarian Status: Gobi Manchurian is vegan and paneer is vegetarian
The Flavor Breakdown
Remember in Steel Magnolias when Shirley MacLaine’s character says, “If you can't say anything nice about anybody, come sit by me!”?
Well, baby, come sit by me. Because in the words of every single girl I want to sit next to and pour another glass of wine for: “Can I be mean for a second?”
Firstly, the gobi manchurian. This is one of my favorite appetizers and part of my standard Indian order (Gobi Manchurian, Malai Kofta and Bullet Naan with extra onion chutney and raita).
An Indo-Chinese fusion classic, gobi manchurian is a fried cauliflower dish served with big crunchy chunks of green peppers, red onions and scallions, all tossed in a chili-soy sauce. The batter is usually made with rice flour so it stays crispy despite being drenched in an umami-rich sauce.
At Chhauka, though? The cauliflower was soggy, the green peppers were missing in action and the onions were soft.
I expect this sogginess when it’s in my takeout order. After all, it’s spent 20 minutes steaming in a polystyrene clam shell, but when it’s coming straight out of the fryer? There’s no excuse for that.
The sesame seeds were a nice touch, though.
For the main course, I initially tried to order the achaari paneer tikka, which the menu advertised as charred paneer with peppers and onions marinated in a spiced pickled yogurt.. Three minutes later, the server came back to say they don’t have achaari paneer but they do have paneer kunday kalia.
My brother in Krishna, what do you mean you don’t have the achaari paneer but you do have the paneer kunday kalia? If you have paneer in the back, I assure you - you have both.
I switched up my order and went with the dish the server recommended.
A short while later, my entree arrived. Four beautifully soft quenelles of paneer in a rich tomato sauce. 10/10 for presentation but as for the food itself?
I think there might be some confusion regarding this item.
Paneer Kundan Kaliyan is an Awadhi dish with saffron, cloves, cardamom, yogurt and rose petals. Chhauka’s paneer kunday kalia is four quenelles of paneer sitting in a bowlful of intensely tomato-y gravy. If you order this dish, be sure to order some naan too because after you eat the paneer, you end up with a bowl of sauce and nothing to dip in it.
The entree comes with rice which seems like it was day-old and reheated as it clumped up in the bowl. Old rice has its place - in tawa paneer, lemon rice or kheer - but if you’re serving it alongside a curry, it should be freshly made.
For a pricy meal ($46 for two dishes), this was disappointing.
The Beverages: Cherry Valley
Price: $18
Everything the food lacked, the cocktail menu made up for in spades.
Their craft cocktails are exactly that - crafted. The Cherry Valley is light, refreshing and well-balanced and features a floating ice cube in the shape of a rose with a maraschino cherry in the middle.
The rest of the menu looks just as clever and creative and I would definitely return for another drink.
The saving grace: The Cherry Valley cocktail, complete with a gorgeous rose-shaped ice cube.
One Mouthy Sandwich Girl Rating:
Flavor & Freshness:
🥪 - Gobi Manchurian
🥪 🥪 - Paneer Kundey Kalia
🥪 ½ - Average Rating
Value for Buck:
🥪 🥪
Pricy but they do have a happy hour which features $9 signature cocktails, $7 wine and $5 beer. They also have bar bites available from Tuesday through Sunday between 3:00-6:00pm.
Vegetarian Variety:
🥪 🥪 🥪
Vegetarian options for every part of the menu. I still don’t understand how they had paneer for one dish but not for another.
The Verdict:
🥪 🥪
If it hadn’t been for the cocktail, this would be a one-star review. This is especially painful because I am a firm advocate of Brown in the South and anything that furthers the concept of Indian food being as elevated and elegant as French cuisine.
To be fair, my husband loved his entree - the Konkan Mahi - and cleaned his plate but I didn’t have the same experience.
Go for the cocktails, go for Happy Hour but if you’re looking for Indian food in West Palm? Go to Indus.
