The area around the United Nations has always been fertile territory for Asian restaurants—it’s where the phenomenon of Hunan/Sichuan cuisine began back in the 1970s—and Zaika adds to the Indian entries in a highly contemporary way, not least in a décor of handpainted pillars depicting Buddhas, a glittering bar, and rippled walls lighted in violet colorings.
Opened by two Indian physicians seeking the kind of cuisine they missed from the Old Country, Zaika opened six months ago and has attracted a solid neighborhood clientele of every ethnic stripe, not a few from the U.N. at lunch. In the kitchen is a veteran of 35 years, Executive Chef Raamanuj Sharma , whose experience includes Bukhara Delhi and Tamarind Tribeca. His cooking is largely Northern Indian in style, though lighter in butter and yogurt.
Manager Mohan Ahliwalia has an international résumé over 42 years, and he is an extremely affable host. I’ll give some slow service a pass on the night I visited because a party of 26 people without a reservation came through the door at eight o’clock, took up an entire room and needed to be out in ninety minutes.
The chef offers three- and five-course tasting menus, and I left ours pretty much up to Chef Sharma. Proceedings began with methi (fenugreek) malai (cream) tikka of beets with papaya and lychee chutney ($12) and large, hefty samosa pastry pockets made with angooir sounth (ginger) and chana chat ($12), a Northern Indian street food of chickpeas in a richly spiced sauce. Best of the starters was a cake of juicy chili crab cooked with red onions and tomato masala spice mixture ($16). Aloo gobhi matar was a vegetarian entrée ($17) of cauliflower, tomato, potato, peas and ginger, while saag paneer—a classic dish of spinach, housemade cheese grilled peppers and annatto tomato oil ($19)–had plenty of nuance and levels of flavor.
Ambarsari choley—called “Mom’s chickpea curry” ($17)—was indeed a homey, stick-to-your ribs dish of red radish, pickled onions and cherry tomatoes.
Salmon tikkey was cooked in the tandoori oven very quickly to retain succulence, served with orange-glazed asparagus, papaya and lychee and a shot of pink pepper ($26)/ The best of the mains I tried was a form of Indian osso buco—slowly braised lamb shank with cremini mushrooms, whole spices to add pungency and a red wine sauce very unusual in Indian cookery, balanced with sweet-sour pineapple ($34). We couldn’t resist ordering butter chicken ($21), perhaps not the best I’ve had in New York but a good standard rendition.
There is every good reason to order two or three of the steamy, yeasty breads ($4-$6), like the mushroom truffle naan, the onion kulcha and the garlic naan.
Desserts ($6-$7) like soft, fragrant ras malai cheese patties infused with saffron; gulab jamun balls soaked in rose and saffron syrup; and gajjai halwa of shredded cooked carrots mixed with nuts, are nothing out of the ordinary at Zaika, but they are refreshing for those who want to end with a creamy sweet.
There is a long list of special cocktails at Zaika that make for a good way to enjoy the finger foods here. They do a chili-and-salt rimmed margarita that has a kick. Wine lists have become more and more interesting at Indian restaurants, but Zaika’s is not among them.
Zaika is breaking from the established menus found so often elsewhere, and I encourage Chef Sharma to go further with his own ideas in the coming year. I’ll try anything he chooses to make.
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Zaika
230 East 44th Street (near 2nd Avenue)
212-697-9797
