Indian fare adds flavor

Source: Saginaw News
MIDLAND - Of the four partners in the new Cafe Tandoori, only Hem Rana has training in the culinary arts.

Still, the others - college graduates with degrees in computer science, engineering and biology - say they are living their dream by owning the Indian cuisine restaurant, which opened here in January near MidMichigan Medical Center.

"We planned to do this a long time ago," said Chandra Shrestha, who with his wife, Uma, are the partners who work behind the scenes. "We were waiting for Hem to finish his schooling." Chandra Shrestha, 38, has an engineering degree from Saginaw Valley State University and is an administrator in a medical billing office.

Uma Shrestha, 32, has a degree in biology from Central Michigan University. She works for Dow Chemical Co. in the plastics group.

"Hem and Nisha are the heart and soul of the restaurant since me and my husband have full-time jobs," said Uma Shrestha, who lives near SVSU.

Hem Rana, 36, who has a culinary degree from Metropolitan Community College in Omaha, Neb., is the chef in charge of the kitchen.

His wife, Nisha, 37, takes care of the front of the eatery. Nisha Rana has bachelor's and master's degrees in computer science from Bellevue University in Omaha.

The couple lives in Midland.

All four are natives of Nepal, a small south-central Asian country that borders on India and China. Friends in Nepal, Uma Shrestha and Nisha Rana came to the United States together about 10 years ago and met their husbands. Hem Rana worked in an Indian restaurant in Omaha, while attending the community college. Classes there taught him how to set up and operate a kitchen and run a restaurant. He learned the spicy Indian recipes and cooking in Nepal and while working in Omaha.

Driven by consumers who are eager for new taste experiences and by new immigrants to the United States, the market for ethnic restaurants and cuisine has grown in the past decade.

The Lansing-based Michigan Restaurant Association did not have a count of Indian restaurants in the state.

Communications Director Kim Ohlemacher noted, however, that ethnic restaurants are enjoying strong sales "partly due to the fact that their flavor and taste sensations are not easily duplicated at home."

When the partners were seeking a location, they considered Saginaw and Bay City but decided on a site in a Midland plaza, 2600 N. Saginaw, in part because it is the home of Dow Chemical and near Dow Corning Corp. headquarters.

Employees of those companies are diverse and often travel the world. Many of the restaurant customers have knowledge of Indian dishes.

In fact, monthly trips to dine in Indian restaurants in suburban Detroit drove home the need for a similar restaurant in the Tri-Counties, Uma Shrestha said.

"We would invite our friends over and cook for them and they would like the food," Chandra Shrestha added.

Because Nepal borders on the northern portion of India, the Nepalese religion, culture and cuisine is "very much the same as India," Uma Shrestha said.

To make authentic Indian food, Hem Rana uses the traditional Tandoor oven, a device dating to the 10th century, when the Persians introduced it to India. The oven is made from clay and shaped like a huge vase.

Traditional breads cook on the hot sides, while vegetables and lamb, chicken and seafood slowly roast over the heat.

The dishes are made from scratch, including Indian style ice cream, kulfi, in mango and pistachio flavors.

Spices such as cardamoms, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon, cloves and nuts are integral to the Indian flavoring, aroma and texture.

Ingredients come from a Chicago grocery and the International Foods and Spices grocery on Bay Road in Saginaw Township.

"Curry in Indian means sauce," Nisha Rana said, pointing out that the curry spice is not used in entrees such as lamb, chicken and vegetable curry.

The restaurant, which also caters, employs about 15 workers, several also from Nepal, including Anil Shrestha, a distant relative of Chandra Shrestha, who met Hem Rana in Omaha and came with him to Midland to work in the new endeavor.

To help people become familiar with Indian dining, Nisha Rana said the restaurant will have a food booth on Main Street during Midland's Friday Diversity Walk.
Source: Saginaw News