LONG "ISLANDWWW.NEWSDAY.COM SUNDAY, APRIL 4, 2004 INASSAU EDITION $1.50 0

•••...::::;::::; Indian fare a balance of flavors

NEWSDAY PHOTOS / KEN SPENCER

BLENDING SPICES WITH SUBTLETY, the flavors of Saffron are created by, from left, SushilMohan, executive chef, MojahidA/i, chef, and Sameer and Sonia Mohan, owners.

ple dal makhni, or black lentils"fragrant in a delicately spicedsauce, and yellow dal, cookedwith cumin, ginger and garlic.

Mashed eggplant, baked withonions and tomatoes; aloogobhi, a combo of steamed pota-toes and cauliflower with on-ions and ginger, and chanamasala, 'or' subtly seasonedchickpeas, all are recommend-ed.

Breads are the standards, sat-

SAFFRON128 BROADWAYHICKSVILLE516,-681-5151

CREDIT CA~DS: All majorcards 'NOTABLE DISHES: Sarno-

: sas, papri chaat, chana ,masala, dal makhni, chickentikka masala, rogan josh, 'Goan fish curry, mint par-atha, garlic riaan.WHEELCHAIR ACCESS:-One levelDIRECTfONS: West side,o osite St. lgnatius Loyola ,x

GH diningo~t---- __ ...."......---~-----,------:--SAFFRON~ IN HICKSVILLE,

<I'lo BY PETER M. GIANOTTISTAFF WRITER

*CUISINE: IndianASSESSMENT: Good ser-vice, familiar fareOPEN: Every day for lunchand dinner

, NGE: Main

Saffron adds spice to Long Is-land's growing garden of Indi-an cooking., Maybe they should call it

"cumin" , or" "cardamom," in-stead. Perhaps, "mint." This is amodest place. Saffron's name isits richest ingredient. '

The newcomer is depend-able for the basics, and a satisfy-ing entry in the strong localcompetition, taking over the ad-dress previously occupied bySansar.

Saffron keeps the cliches to a,minimum and stresses a bal-ance of seasonings and flavors.The heat never turns incendi-ary, and the sweetness is heldin check. Subtle is preferred tobold. Condiments and garnish-es don't go-beyond the job de-

, ' scription.So, while everything else this

year is pulled to the extremes,consider Saffron moderate. '

That goes for the decor, too;with some stylized Indian arton the walls and a more sub-dued carpet replacing an imageof the Taj Mahal, A two-tonehint of Rothko adds colorwithits blocks of color. The diningroom's gleam comes from thebuffet servers.

You'll enjoy the vegetable sa-mosa.s, those pyr~d-shap~d

SMALL-BITES

In that Opening Day frame ofmind, here are three reliableshort stops beyond the fence atShea Stadium.

GREEN PAPAYA38-12 Princ;eSt.Flushing718-353-1888

You'll definitely be fired upafter sampling the invigoratingsoups and salads at this Thaistorefront. Try the refreshingand juiced-up larb, especiallygood with pork. For a maincourse: curry beef stew, whichcan be hotter than an Augustdoubleheader at Busch Stadium.

MASTER GRILL34-09 College Point Blvd.Flushing718-76,2-0300

After an hour here, youwon't have room for a hot dog.Master Grill is a major-league,

, over-the-top churrascaria. Theskewers of grilled meat just 'keep coming, so pace yourselfand seek a balance in themany-and-varied Guts. Ifyou're here for lunch, it's$12.98; for dinner, $21.98.

PRINCE'RESTAURANT37-17 Prince St.Flushing718-888-3138

Dim sum and noodles high-light Prince. But you can diveinto a variety of good seafooddishes, as well as a Beijing duck.Consider lobster with gingerand scallions, walnut shrimp,

. roll

. on e s an garmsn-,. es don't go beyond the job de-.

. scription.So, while everything else this

year is pulled to the extremes,consider Saffron moderate. .

That goes for the decor, too;with some stylized Indian arton the walls and a more sub-dued carpet replacing an imageof the .Taj Mahal. A two-tonehint of Rothko adds color withits blocks of color. The diningroom's gleam comes from thebuffet servers.

You'll enjoy the vegetable sa-mosas, those pyramid-shapedpastries filled with potatoes

. . and peas. The vegetable pako-ras, or fritters, are made' withpotato, onion,· cauliflower and-spinach, They're commend-able, too.

But the chicken pakoras aredry. Instead, refresh yourselfwith papri chaat, or crispstossed with chickpeas and pota-toes, mint, yogurt and tamarindchutney. [hinga chatpatta, orshrimp seasoned with ginger,garlic, peppers, onion and toma-to, also are finished with a tama-rind touch, this time a sauce.

The savory appetizer assort-ment is worth -sharing. It in-cludes mashed potato cutlets.accented with mint and tama-rind, and minced lamb, as wellas a samosa, vegetable pakora

E and marinated chicken.S Chicken vindaloo hones a~ .IQ vinegary edge. But.if you want1 them to ignite your palate, sayc so. The dish improves with~ more spicing. Chicken "chili•• chili" does get a boost from red

chiles, but it's also a centrist se-C!; lection..~ Calm, sensible seasoning de-

fmes chicken tikka masala, acreamy, tomatoey number witha suggestion of fenugreek. Thechicken curry similarly takesthe temperate path.

But tandoori chicken is onthe dry side, as are shrimpscooked in the .round-toppedbrick-and-clay oven. The tan-doori salmon is retrieved intime, smoky and moist. Salmon

s in the house's Goan fish

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BLENDING SPICES WITH SUBTLETY, the flavors of Saffron are created by, from left, Sushi IMohan, executive chef, Mojahid Ali, chef, and Sameer and Sonia Mohan, owners, .

ple dal makhni, or black lentils,.fragrant in a delicately spicedsauce, and yellow dal, cookedwith cumin, ginger and. garlic.

Mashed eggplant, baked withonions and tomatoes; aloogobhi, a combo of steamed pota-toes and cauliflower with on-ions and ginger, and chanamasala, 'or' subtly seasonedchickpeas, all are recommend-ed.

Breads are the standards, sat-isfactorily prepared. Best arethe whole-wheat, mint parathaand aloo paratha, with pota-toes; white, leavened' garlicnaan; and the ballooning,deep-fried poori.

Indian beer goes with a lot of.the food. Fruit juices, such as

~ pineapple 'and mango, andspiced teas are available. Butyou should try a lassi, a yogurtdrink made sweet, salty or withmango. That last one could dodouble-duty as dessert. .

Saffron'S kheer, a rice pud-ding with nuts, is fine. Or con-sider rasmalai, the chilled,milk-dipped home-made cot-tage cheese cakes. Gulabjamun, or cottage cheese dump-lings dipped in honey and rose-water, also are right.

And kulfi, the thick Indianice cream, is housemadewith saffron.

*CUISINE: IndianASSESSMENT: Good ser-vice, familiar fare f

OPEN: Etrery day fbt.lund'iand dinnerPRICE RANGE: Maincourses, $9.95 to $18,95;vegetarian entrees, $6.95 to$9.95; appetizers anasoups, $2.95 to $8.95.Lunch buffet. six days.,$6.95, and $7.95 onSy,nday.,

CREDIT CARDS: All majorcardsNOTABLE DISHES: Samo-sas, papri cheat, chanamasala, dal makhni, chicken'tikka masala, rogan josh, 'Goan fish curry, mint par-atha, garlic naan,WHEELCHAIR ACCESS:One levelDIRECTIONS: West side,opposite 51. Ignatius Loyola

. Parish, in Broadway Corn-. mons shopping center, .

~. ' ., . ""';f

Four stars mean outstand-ing; three, excellent; two,very good; one, good; none,fair or R.oor.

A SPECIALTY at Saffron is the lambvindaloo, which packsmore heat than its chicken counterpart and comesstandard with a salad and garlic' naan saffron rice., , - - :.;;8 "'~

curry, spiked with onions andfreshly-ground spices.

Saffron's lamb specialties areled by rogan-josh, the crimson,creamy Kashmiricontribution.Lamb vindaloo packs moreheat than its chicken' counter-.part, .and is very good. Lamb

I' ., 1

saag, completed with spinach,is a tranquil alternative, andzardalu boti, or lamb with cash-ews, apricots and shredded po-.tato, is also boneless and a little .different.

Vegetable courses areamong the highlights here. Sam-

Wining and DiningTaste the wines and tour the

. vineyards of the North Fork andthe Hamptons with "Long Is-land Wine Country" by criticPeter M. Gianotti. The $14.95softcover guide features localhistory, wi1ieryWofiles; sightsee-i!lg, restaurants, lodging, shop-ping, winemaking and wine tast-ing, plus more than 600 wine re-views. The paperback also in-cludes color photographs and apullout map of the region. Avail-able at bookstores.' Or call800-400-4112. Order online atwww.listore.com.

,. over-the-top churrascaria. Theskewers of grilled meat justkeep coming, so pace yourselfand seek a balance in themany-and-varied Guts. Ifyou're here for lunch, it's$12.98; for dinner, $21.98.

PRINCE RESTAURANT37-17 Prince St.Flushing718-888-3138

Dim sum and noodles high-.light Prince. But you can diveinto a variety of good seafooddishes, as well as a Beijing duck.Consider lobster with gingerand scallions, walnut shrimp,

. sesame-mango-shrimp roll,deep-fried taro puff, pan-friedturnip cake, and chive dump-lings.

- PETER M. GIANOTTI

WINES OFLONG ISLAND

Ready to pair with dinners.of lamb or ham are the wines ofmany Long Island producers.

Rieslings, more fruity thandry, top the list of wines thatgo well with traditionally ,prepared hams. Look for the2001 Paumanok Semi-DryRiesling ($15), the 2002 Pe-conic Bay Riesling ($l3) andthe 2002 Martha ClaraRiesling ($15).Also, consider arose: the 2002 Wolfler EstateRose ($l3), 2002 MacariRose d'une Nuit ($10) and2001 Comtesse ThereseRose ($14).

With lamb, the East End'smajor Bordeaux-style blendsare ideal. Among the morewidely available are the2000 Paumanok Assem-blage ($36); 1998 PeUegriniVintners Pride Encore($29);and 1998 Pindar Mythology($28). .

- PETER M. GIANOTTI