In my travelling days I never got to the subcontinent and so I’ve never eaten Indian food in its natural setting, as it were. “You know, that expression ‘Indian food’ is rather misleading,” Nathan of Mother India, told me. “It’s just too vague, like talking of ‘European food’, as if Finns sat down to the same meals as Greeks. South Asian cuisine – that’s the food you find in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka – is enormously varied as you move through the area from Bengal to the Tamilnad, where I come from. And there’s a lot of history. Particular cuisines have been influenced by other traditions they came into contact with – even that of the colonial power. Brits invented Naan bread with cheese.” How authentic is Indian food served in Europe? “It varies, of course. Yugaraj in Paris is among the best Indian restaurant in the world. What matters is that the people running a restaurant should care about being authentic rather than just offering exotic dishes to foreigners. I like to think that at Mother India we’re a culinary embassy for Tamilnad. This is what you’d eat in our part of India and I can tell you that because Tamils who come here are always very happy – and come back.”

I couldn’t judge the authenticity of the food for myself but I noticed two obviously Indian couples that were tucking in with evident enjoyment. As I did. After an entrée of vegetable pancakes I tried both the mother prawns and the diapazza lamb, served with daal (vegetables) and rice. I opted for the garlic Naan rather than the Raj variety. The dessert – gulab jamun – is one of the signature masterpieces of Tamil cuisine and has to be discovered. Wine seemed not quite appropriate (though India has its own vineyards) and I drank Kingfisher Indian beer. Of course, a restaurant experience depends not just on food. Mother India has a warm and welcoming atmosphere – much appreciated on a chilly night – and the staff is friendly without being intrusive, although happy to chat if you feel like it. Anyone looking for an agreeable culinary adventure won’t be disappointed.

Mother India is at 5 rue Jules Gilly in the old town of Nice. Open evenings from 19h00. Dinner with drinks: €30.



From Riviera Reporter Issue 131: Feb/March 2009

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Subscribe to this comment's feed

Show/Hide comments

Show/Hide comment form