An Indian restaurant that closed has returned to the same spot in Macon but under a new owner and management.
Bombay Curry ushered in the new year by opening Jan. 1 at 3892 Bloomfield Village Drive. The previous owner closed the restaurant in 2019.
Mohammad Jewel, a native of Bangladesh in South Asia, hopes to breathe new life into the restaurant.
“We are serving here traditional Indian food as well as some Indian street foods and fusion foods,” said Jewel, who operates the restaurant.
A popular Indian dish served at the restaurant is Chicken Tikka Masala, which is chicken marinated in a blend of yogurt and mild tandoori spices, then baked in a clay tandoor oven and cooked with fresh mint leaves, cream and a chef-created saffron-colored sauce.
An Indian street food on the menu is Pani Puri, which are fried puffy balls filled with potatoes and kala chana (black chickpeas) served with chilled mint water and tamarind chutney,
An Indo Chinese fusion dish option is the Chicken Manchurian, which is battered fried chicken tossed in an aroma chili garlic sauce.
The menu includes samosas (fried triangular pastries filled with vegetables or chicken), chats (savory snacks), noodles, pastas, Biriyani (mixed rice dishes), curry dishes, tandoori dishes (cooked in a clay tandoor oven), breads, desserts and relishes.
Authentic cuisine
Jewel promises authentic cuisine.
“I have experience as I’m working in this field eight to 10 years,” Jewell said. “I have experience to help people to get Indian foods” so that “what they’re thinking and what they’re getting” match up.
“Our goal is to make sure everyone will have the taste of real Indian food.”
The restaurant has a main chef and a tandoori chef.
Tandoori relates to an Indian method of cooking meat traditionally over charcoal or wood in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven. The restaurant uses a modern gas tandoor clay oven.
What to order
New to Indian and South Asian cuisine? Here are a few options:
Chana Masala — A dish made with chick peas cooked with potatoes and spices in a brown curry sauce.
Saag Paneer — A vegetable curry dish made with pureed spinach and spices and paneer, cubed cheese made in-house.
Vegetable Hakka — A mix of shredded vegetable and chines spices with soft and long Hakka noodle with a choice of vegetable, paneer, egg, chicken, shrimp or mixed.
Vegetable Biryani — Biryani is an Indiana type of flavorful rice with vegetables with some special sauces and spices. Menu options include adding a protein.
Chicken Alfredo pasta — Penne pasta “cooked to perfection” in Alfredo korma sauce with baby spinach.
Tandoori shrimp — Jumbo shrimp marinated in a special sauce made with yogurt and lemon juice then grilled in the tandoor.
“If it’s shrimp, lamb or chicken, whatever it is, we marinate these items for like 20 to 24 hours with yogurt and some spices. Then we cook in a clay oven with 1,000 degree temperature,” Jewel said.
“For dine-in services, we serve it in a sizzling hot plate with some sliced-up onions and bell peppers and lemon,” he said.
Everything is made to order, Jewel said.
The restaurant, which offers lunch specials Tuesday through Friday, offers dine-in and takeout.
Also, a 20% discount is now being offered on take-out orders purchased only in the restaurant or by telephoning the restaurant. Online orders and third-party delivery services are also available but do not include the current 20% takeout discount offer.
Operating hours are from 10:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. The restaurant is closed Mondays. The telephone number is 478-444-3401.
In Bangladesh, Jewel had his own production unit, manufacturing denim pants, T-shirts and sweaters for European countries. Most recently, he’s worked in the restaurant industry.
“It’s my honor to serve people,” Jewel said. “It’s my passion to make people smile.”
