Hospitality is great, but dishes need spice at Passage to India

Indian cuisine is one of the world's great comfort foods. Its palette of fragrant spices titillates the taste buds and soothes the soul.

Over more than a decade, I've found solace and delight in the food served at Passage to India in Bonita Springs. During more than a dozen meals, I reveled in the lush dishes that resulted from the harmonious blending of ingredients such as yogurt, garlic and onions with cinnamon, cardamom, cayenne and coriander, turmeric, nutmeg, nuts and dried fruits.

But something was amiss during my latest meal. Those aromatic combinations seemed muted, pastel in flavor rather than of the bright acrylic intensity I'd expected.

The restaurant is a quiet and peaceful place. Its dining room holds about a dozen tables but feels bigger owing to arched mirrors mounted on opposite walls. Indian tapestries and scenes adorn the walls and colorful tablecloths add a lively note. The worn carpet and faded walls, however, detract from those decorative flourishes.

When it comes to hospitality, however, nothing has changed. The staff greets newcomers warmly, and diners are well attended to throughout the meal. On this night, when about half the tables were occupied, food arrived in relatively short order, although not so rapidly that we felt rushed.

KAREN FELDMAN / FLORIDA WEEKLY Gulab jamon is a traditional Indian dessert of spongy balls of dough in a sweet syrup. The restaurant offers a respectable selection of wines and beer, but I chose chai tea instead and was rewarded with a steaming pot of the fragrant elixir. Chai is traditionally a blend of tea, spices, milk and sugar. This version came unsweetened, but there was plenty of sugar at the table so I added my own. Nonetheless, while it had the requisite aroma, the concoction was bland, possessing neither a strong flavor of tea nor of the cinnamon, cardamom and other spices with which it is normally brewed.

A platter of fried appetizers included chicken pakura, vegetable pakura, onion bhaji and vegetable samosas. The chicken was soggy while the vegetable version, which held a slice of potato, was bland. The onion bhaji, essentially clusters of fried onions, was crunchy and good on its own, further enlivened by a combination of spicy mint chutney and sweet tamarind sauce, which were served on the side along with hot tomato chutney. The best of the bunch were the samosas, little turnovers made of chickpea flour stuffed with potatoes and peas. Crisp outside, creamy within, they were delicious with the trio of sauces.

The entrée menu is extensive here, although it's essentially about a dozen preparations to which you add your favorite protein: chicken, lamb, shrimp, scallops and, in some cases, beef or fish.

Curry, korma, malaee, makni, dansak, biryani, madras and vindaloo are the primary sauces and vary in seasonings and heat, with biryani at the mild end of the scale and madras and vindaloo at the other extreme. That said, almost any of the dishes can be ordered mild, medium or hot. If you aren't certain how hot you want it, the management willingly supplies extra seasoning you can add yourself. It's mainly cayenne pepper so a little adds a lot of kick.

For newcomers, tandoori — chicken, shrimp or fish — is a safe bet as the poultry or seafood is marinated in a mild yogurt sauce then roasted in a clay oven known as a tandoor.

Vegetarians have at least 12 entrees to choose from, along with meatless soups and appetizers.

We ordered chicken mahkni, shrimp korma and vegetable malaee along with nan, a pita-like bread baked in the tandoor.

Having dined at many Indian restaurants, I've learned that mild, medium and hot are relative terms and vary wildly. We chose the mild preparation and accepted our server's offer of extra spice on the side.

Even when ordered mild, most Indian food has sufficient seasoning to give it vibrant flavor. Too intense a burn can obscure the delicate bouquet of spices. On this occasion, however, the kitchen proved too cautious, with two of the three dishes seriously under seasoned.

The chicken mahkni contained boneless chicken that had been marinated in yogurt and a trace of spices then cooked in a mild tomato sauce. Adding some of the cayenne mixture, mango chutney or the spicy tomato-onion chutney helped. I used the same tactic with the vegetable malaee, a mélange of vegetables in a creamy coconut sauce. It wasn't simply that these dishes were mildly seasoned: They lacked the complex layers of flavor that are the trademark of good Indian fare.

The best dish was the shrimp korma, with large shrimp and a more lively sauce containing garlic, onion, tomatoes, ginger, spices and bell pepper.

We liked the chewy, buttery nan bread, the mango chutney and the raita, a yogurtbased sauce studded with cucumber that's traditionally used to balance spicy dishes.

For dessert, we shared an order of gulab jamon, spongy balls of dough served in a honeyed sauce, often with a touch of rose water. These were tasty and light, making for a good ending to the meal.

It may be that Passage to India has cut back on its seasonings to appeal to a clientele that demands a milder approach. If so, that's a shame. Well-seasoned need not mean fiery hot. With a cuisine that's all about the spices, less is never more.