LAMB RIB cHopS, BASMATI RIcE, BAAdAL jAM ANd GREEN FISH cURRy As a young girl, I had almost no exposure to eatting anything except “American” food until I was well into my early twenties. Even as an adult, I have sometimes been reluctant to try worldly cuisines with which I am unfamiliar. Before visiting Ajanta, an upscale Indian Restaurant located near the top of Solano Avenue in Berkeley, I had not eaten Indian food for a very long time. Like many people, I typically associated Indian food primarily with curry—which I don’t dislike, but in the past have found to be a bit too spicy for my taste. However, our dining at Ajanta opened my eyes to the expansive array of Indian creations and spices— far beyond traditional curry dishes--representing many different regions of India. Ajanta was opened in 1993 by chef-owner Lachu Moorjani, who was born and raised in India, and where he was trained to be an engineer. He worked for several years in Bombay as an Industrial Engineer before immigrating to the Unites States. He 34 MARKETPLACEcontrac osta .com September 2015 settled in Berkeley, and from 1970 to 1987, worked for major local companies such as Bechtel, Safeway, Bank of America, and Lawrence Livermore Laboratory. Lachu always had a passion for food, and searched for the best restaurants in the Bay Area by reading restaurant reviews and recommendations from local publications. Although he visited some of the most highly rated and expensive venues, he found that his dining experiences at Indian restaurants often left him disappointed. So he began to prepare his own Indian food at home, and soon thereafter, was cooking not only for himself, but also for Indian friends who had also longed for excellent Indian cuisine. Lachu was never officially trained in the art of Indian cooking. He learned many skills from his mother who always prepared fresh meals for the family. While he was still living in India, he learned about the different flavors and foods that were popular in regions other than Northern India where he’d grown up. This restaurant review 1888 SoLANo AvENUE IN BERkELEy | (510) 526-4373 AjANTARESTAURANT.coM by vickie lewis AjAntA: Distinctive Indian Cuisine • Featuring Regional tastes of India
Contra Costa Marketplace - Sept 2015
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