India Oven Masala Bar & Grill
Goat Korma
Butter Chicken
Saag Paneer
Butter Naan
Basmati Rice
Vegetable Samosa, Pakora
Seekh Kebob
Tamarind Chutney
Mint Chutney
Gulab Jamun
Kheer
Gajar Halwa
Located at 1040 East Flamingo Road, an area once dense with Indian Restaurants and UNLV students, it was late 2017 that owner Ulzan Mehta merged India Oven and India Masala to become India Oven Masala Bar & Grill, the interior one of Las Vegas’ most elegant and the combination of dishes representing North and South India offering a great deal of diversity.
Not far from Maryland Parkway and the National Atomic Testing Museum, COVID-19 altering not only the culinary landscape but India Oven Masala’s once-popular Buffet, it was for the first time in over a year that catering was requested across town on Monday, the spread for 25 guests arriving on-time, temperature appropriate and complete with all seviceware, plates and utensils.
Happy to let the accountant-turned-cook concoct a menu, four prior events pleasing a variety of guests, it was with bold smells perfuming the office that attendees gathered plates and perused options before selecting, recognizable items such as Kebobs, Naan and Rice predictably going first while Samosas also proved popular thanks to both their familiarity and bold taste.
Slower to accept Saag Paneer, its visual appeal always in question even though the combination of springy Cheese and Spinach is unquestionably delicious, it was no surprise that Butter Chicken many mistakenly called Tikka Masala also went quickly, the brightness of Coriander particularly noteworthy while creamy Gravy helped sell many on Bone-In Goat Korma.
Requesting no Daal on this visit, but instead golden Pakora that are good on their own but better with Chutney, it was after a few more pieces of Naan that Dessert was enjoyed, Gulab Jamun syrupy and satisfying while Kheer was good but unfortunately a little overlooked thanks to impeccable Gajar Halwa that ranks as the best to grace this writer’s mouth.
N/A: Making it blog policy to not ‘rate’ places based on catering alone there are only a few Indian Restaurants in town that offer the breadth and quality to please a diverse staff, and on Monday Ulzan Mehta and his team at India Oven Masala Bar & Grill outperformed expectations once again.
RECOMMENDED: Butter Naan, Vegetable Samosa, Goat Korma, Saag Paneer, Tamarind Chutney, Gajar Halwa, Gulab Jamun.
AVOID: N/A.
TIP: Currently 11:30a-3:00p and 5:00p-10:00p daily.
WHAT THE STARS MEAN: 5 World Class, 4 Excellent, 3 Good, 2 Fair, 1 Poor.
www.indiamasalalasvegas.com
