In a not-so-far away life, I was a technical recruiter. That means I hired all those techie types to develop cool programs we use on our computers. I was often assigned the really tough-to-find skills and as a result ended up talking to candidates from many different countries, especially India and Pakistan. Through these meetings and conversations, I got a great glimpse into their culture and customs, but what I remember most was the food. My new hires were eager to treat me to foods like idli (rice and lentil cakes), Aloo Gobi (a potato-cauliflower dish), and spiced tea (widely known as chai tea). The flavors and combinations blew me away. I had only known of Indian foods like Chicken Tikka Masala over rice with mango chutney on the side.

I have tried recreating the dishes at home, I have tried various Indian restaurants, but nothing quite matched the home cooking of my Indian friends until I visited OM.

OM is a new restaurant in downtown Minneapolis focusing on contemporary Indian cuisine. Raghavan Iyer, a culinary genius, designed the menu to reflect the many regions of India and the flavors that correspond with those regions.

This is not your standard Indian take-out joint. It is a classy sit down restaurant with a great vibe for dining, drinking, and socializing. The open layout, tall ceilings, and upbeat music made me feel like I was part of something hip and cool. It is difficult to pick a favorite part of the restaurant. I enjoyed the vibrant colors and fabrics in the lounge area and the gorgeous chandelier hanging over the reflection pool.



While both of those features awed me, my favorite part of the restaurant would have to be the food and drink. Did you know that you can get eight distinct flavors from a whole spice? Raghavan Iyer knows this and shows it in his menu using spices in different ways to create fantastic dishes. While most foodies would go after items like the Konkan Wild Salmon, Fenugreek Lamb Chops and Goan Pork Tenderloin, I wanted to go the vegetarian route and Raghavan made it easy for me.

I took his recommendation and started with Indian street food like Mumbai Crackers, which are little crunchy bursts of spicy and savory flavor and the salt dusted Patiala Cakes, creamy yet crispy potato cakes stuffed with mint, chile and red onion and served with a tamarind-date and mint-cilantro sauce.


Patiala Cakes

Although I hear the Vegetable Curry Casserole is amazing comfort food, I really wanted to try a few sides. I tested the Peanut Stuffed Eggplant, which has a Western Indian influence, Braised Okra, and the featured legume of the day, my favorite dish, split yellow lentils with coriander, tomato and smashed chile. I asked Raghavan for the recipe and he coyly said that I would have to check out his book, 660 Curries as the recipe is in there.


Peanut Stuffed Eggplant -- photo by Jenn Cress

I've also been lucky enough to try the Cardamom Thai Chile soup which only has one spice: cardamom, but the hint of heat from spicy chiles shines through as well. The Green Chile & Potato Naan are delicious and as a bread addict, it is a nice change from plain naan.

I mentioned that OM has a hip and cool vibe which would not be complete without cocktails. The martini menu covers all that I'd desire in a cocktail. Ever had a Thai Chile martini? The Agni is quite spicy and bound to warm you up on a cold day. I dare you to try it. While my favorite was the Kashmir Margarita, I think it was surpassed by The Amber: Bombay Sapphire, ripe Alphonso mangos and lemon juice floating over crème de cassis. Beautiful and delicious, no wonder City Pages named it the Drink of the Week.


Amber Martini

While I'm not normally a big dessert person and especially not a chocolate person, the banana-ginger crème was calling my name in the Chocolate Nirvana dessert. Think molten lava cake spiced up with cayenne pepper and served with vanilla ice cream. Paired with a Himalayan martini, this was pure decadence and a great way to end an amazing meal.



If you are an adventurous foodie or looking for a great night out, OM is the place for you. The atmosphere, the food, and the drink were outstanding and my next visit is not too far away.

OM
401 First Avenue North
Minneapolis, MN 55401
(612) 338-1510