Kamana meets need for Indian cuisine

Just because a new restaurant doesn’t get reviewed here doesn’t mean I’m unaware of its presence. Sometimes I feel the odds of survival are so slim I don’t want to waste my time or yours thinking about it.

Such was the case with a small Indian cafe, now gone, in downtown Honolulu. The food wasn’t exciting, but it was decent and the small menu was suitable for the hourlong lunch crowd. For me the kiss of death was having to listen to an argument between the front of the house and kitchen staff flow into the dining room, signaling a lack of mutual respect and personnel issues. Yes, tempers do flare up in the heat of meal service, but no customer wants to experience that cringey feeling of needing to leave the room.

It was a shame because there’s such a dearth of Indian cuisine, one of my favorites, on Oahu.

Thankfully, in its place came Kamana Kitchen, a small local chain that has a proven track record, with two restaurants on Hawaii island and one in Kihei, Maui. “Kamana” sounds like a Hawaiian name but is Sanskrit, meaning “desire.”

Owner Tirtha “Raj” Luitel took note of the lack of Indian cuisine in the islands when he moved here seven years ago, and took a chance there were many closeted food lovers hungry for a taste of India. It looks like he was right, considering his quick expansion. The Honolulu restaurant has seating for about 36 in tight quarters.

The big plus for those who live/work in the area is that it’s the rare business-district restaurant that remains open straight through from morning to night; there’s no closing after the lunch crowd dissipates. That means it’s there for takeout dinners or those who want to hang out until the rush-hour traffic is gone. Limited street parking is also free on Bishop Street after business hours, or park at the underground municipal lot at Beretania Street near Smith Street and walk over.

By day you’ll find a streamlined menu of lunch plates. Eight vegetarian dishes and meat/seafood curries are offered as complete meals with basmati rice, yellow dal, vegetable curry of the day, achar (spiced pickles), half naan and small salad, from $9.99 for chana masala (chickpea stew) and saag paneer (cheese in spinach) to $13.99 for shrimp or fish curry.

In the evening you can mix and match to your heart’s content from an extensive menu. Note that dishes from the tandoori oven take longest to prepare (about 20 minutes), so if you know this is what you want, order a mixed grill ($20.95 with chicken, lamb, shrimp, shish kebab) or tandoori chicken ($15.95) before you even look at the rest of the menu.

That said, I found the mixed items to be rather dry, but the flavor of the tandoori chicken, marinated in yogurt and spices, alone more than compensates for any dryness. It is one of those dishes that will bring you back for more.

Another such dish is the popular bhuna shrimp ($18.95), sauteed in ghee (clarified butter) with onions, tomatoes and spices. Diners are finding that sweet combination of butter and loads of caramelized onions irresistible.

Most people start with an appetizer of two samosas. There is a meat version ($7.45), but I always get the vegetarian option that combines a mash of potatoes with peas backed into a crisp pastry shell ($6.95) and served with a sweet chili sauce and spiced cilantro-mint sauce.

Nonmeat eaters will be delighted to find a short menu of vegan dishes. When I have the Punjabi aloo gobi ($13.95), a stew of cumin-spiced cauliflower and potatoes, or baingan bharta ($13.95), a mash of char-grilled eggplant seasoned with herbs and onions, I don’t miss meat at all.

After this, all the meat curries begin to blur as handi after handi — the elegant metal bowls — are presented. The bowls look small but you’d be surprised how quickly you fill up because the salty, spicy and rich dishes require rice (which comes with each curry) or bread.

Bread selections include traditional leavened naan ($2.95) baked in the tandoor, garlic naan with cilantro ($3.45), cheese naan ($3.95) or Peshwari naan stuffed with almonds and raisins ($4.45). I also liked the onion kulcha ($3.95), an enriched wheat flour flatbread layered with chopped onions and cilantro, and the aloo paratha ($3.95), flatbread with a thin spread of yellow curry potatoes, peas and spices.

All the curries ($13.95 to $15.95) are very different but it’s hard to keep track of the tikka masalas, kormas and matars served with your choice of protein — chicken, lamb, shrimp or fish. You can get any of these mild, medium or hot, but keep in mind that an Indian medium is much spicier than American medium. If you need to cool your tongue, get a side order of raita ($3.95) or mango chutney ($3.45). A dish of chicken saag ($14.95) also offers relief from heat. It’s one of the blander dishes on the menu.

Again, if you don’t want meat, you can opt for mushroom matar ($13.95) stewed in a creamy butter sauce, or malai kofta ($14.95), fried cottage cheese croquettes stewed with potatoes and vegetables. I didn’t care for the latter because the deep fry combined with curry gave the croquettes a spongelike consistency. But a friend loves this dish, so “to each his own,” I always say or, when being savage, “There’s no accounting for taste.”

For dessert there is pistachio kulfi, an Indian ice cream made of condensed milk that is not whipped, for a custard- like consistency denser than American ice cream.

Nadine Kam’s restaurant reviews are conducted anonymously and paid for by the Star-Advertiser. Reach her at nkam@staradvertiser.com.