Montreal offers a variety of dishes from around the world and the Indian restaurants have been gaining in popularity. Restaurant Le Taj, located in downtown Montreal , has made its place serving authentic Indian cuisine for more than 20 years at a very affordable price à la Carte and a buffet that is very popular at lunch time.

As you step in, you feel like you have taken a trip to Cachemire, by the smell, the background sound of the sitar and the décor that is not over baring but well balanced. There is a splendid artistic wall of clay made for Expo 67 accompanied by paintings and other tasteful artwork.

The North Indian aroma is well complimented by the feeling your taste buds will experience. Some of the appetizers included Seek Kabab (blended meat that looks like sausages), Aloo Tikke (potato patties with fresh coriander and herbs), Samosa (well seasoned vegetables wrapped in flour) and Onion Bhaji/Pakoras (a mix of fried onions and spices) all served with various sauce such as tamarind, carrot pickles, yogurt mint, and watch out for that spicy coriander. They are good, but the best is yet to come.

The plate is served in a bowl with the buttered sauce in which you can dip your Nan Tandoori (flat bread of fine flour) that comes in several ways: plain, hot, with homemade cheese, cottage cheese, with ground beef, garlic, etc… Of course, curry dishes are very popular meals but I wanted to try something different from my usual habits… By the way, don’t worry about all the unusual names; the attentive waiters will guide you well in your selection .

To finish it all, towards the end of the night, we had the Gulab Jamun and the Kulfi. The first is a sweet dessert served hot in a sweet sauce, a true delight! The second is a homemade ice cream with peanuts inside.

Culinary exploration has nothing to do with religion or politics so set aside your boundaries and go for it… this is a Daavat (feast) you must try.