Mother India
Mother India opened on Moody street in Waltham in the early 1980s. The restaurant began, like many others, in a small space about the size of a corner pizza shop. It was the first Indian restaurant I remember in Waltham, and one that seemed to lead the way; several others would open and close in the years to come. Like Massachusetts Ave in Central Square, Moody street is conveniently located near two colleges, so many restaurants in the area tend to cater to the college students as well as the locals.
For me, their Moody street location offered many advantages over the cluster of restaurants in Central Square, Cambridge. Moody street was relatively close to my house and offered a much better parking experience than Cambridge. More importantly, the food was reasonably priced and consistently good — for many years! Sadly, most of the restaurants that populated that stretch of Moody street have closed. All is not lost, however, two large Indian grocery stores: Patel Brothers and Waltham India Market remain. Situated just a few blocks from one another, they ensure that Moody street will remain an important destination for me and many others.
In keeping with my modus operandi for new restaurants, I subjected Mother India to the Vindaloo Test — likely on my first visit. My Vindaloo Test was simply an order of vindaloo where I asked the restaurant to make it very hot. What I was looking for in this test was heat and flavor — not just extra chili powder. For me, a good vindaloo will offer heat that continues to build in intensity as you eat the dish.
For my first try, I was greeted with a pretty flavorful version, though I don’t believe it broke any Scoville records. However, when I returned, they turned up the heat after I requested that they they make the dish very hot. At that point their vindaloo became a contender for my hot list! The dish I was served on this visit was tangy, with a touch of sweetness, and possessed a heat that snuck up on me, slowly singeing the sides of my tongue with each subsequent bite until I almost couldn’t eat any more. But there was a sense of accomplishment as I finished the dish. And that is what I was talking about.
Other dishes, such as the kormas or other curries that I tried over the years were well-prepared and sparkled with flavor. I seem to remember that they made really nice poori in the early days as well.
But times change, and nearly 20 years later, I found their take on Bhel Puri kind of disappointing. By that time I had been creating my own version and had certain ideas about ingredients and acceptable spice levels. I thought that their version was kind of flat, uninspired and “would offend no one.” 1 It was one of the only fails I recall in all the years of eating there.
New Mother India — Upping the Ante
In the nineties, the restaurant moved across the street to a larger and more central location, and re-branded themselves as New Mother India. In the new, more upscale restaurant, their menu expanded. One of the motivations for their move may have been new competition in the area. Little India had opened a few blocks up the street from their original location, and a third restaurant, Jewel of India had also appeared — not to mention a large number of restaurants crowded into a few blocks of Moody street that were all vying for customers.
Compared with their earlier efforts (which, themselves, compared favorably with Central Square’s Old Calcutta) the quality of the dishes at New Mother India were vastly improved. The food was more refined and flavorful — and less oily (which was sometimes an issue at other restaurants).
They began to offer a few regional and lesser known dishes, such as Achari Chicken. Some of these new dishes were also beginning to show up on the menus of other restaurants at the time. But I thought that Mother India prepared them better than most others.
The expanded menu also added a few dishes that might have been their own creations — dubbed somewhat arbitrarily with names such as Chicken Royal. Around this time, I would have been more likely to try one of those dishes rather than an old favorite. And I often did! You never knew what you might discover.
And speaking of discoveries, I made a few at the New Mother India. One of which, once discovered, would go into hibernation for nearly 20 years. One night in the early 2000s, a mixed pickle appeared in the condiment tray. Even though my tongue had still not acclimated to the Indian pickle, this one seemed to be a bit different than others that I had tried and I was intrigued. The owner came out and was happy to discuss the pickle with us; then about the restaurant and even answered a few of my cooking questions. From our conversation, it was clear that he was very dedicated to the restaurant and was continually trying to improve the food and dining experience. He even sold us a large can of the pickle which lasted me well over a year! That piqued my interest in Indian pickles. (But that story shall wait for another day.)
Sadly, Mother India closed in 2014 when the owners decided to retire, after 33 years in business. But they were hardly the last of the Indian restaurants in Waltham, and a few short years later the cycle would repeat itself.
- My father used to use this expression as a polite way to characterize something as bland, or completely acceptable to most people.