Rang Indian Bistro Stoneham

Rang Indian Bistro in Stoneham is finally open for dine-in again, so my lunches here can resume. I have been missing their excellent food. Both the online menu and the regular menu has been updated. There are no more meat dishes labeled Vegan😁 and the prices are (mostly) accurate.

There is free on-street parking and also in the communal lot across the street. I'm soo happy that they survived. Both the food and the staff are excellent. It's such a nice little place.

CHICKEN SAAG (8.95). "Chicken cooked with fresh spinach". This is probably my favorite Indian dish. Done correctly, it should use Tandoori chicken. They do this at dinner, but then the meal is called Chicken Tikka Saag. However, at lunch, you get plain chicken that is cooked really well and is still moist. I ordered it medium-plus, and it comes out perfectly spicy for me. You also get half a flawlessly cooked Naan. Your condiments arrive with a couple of papads. The onion chutney is spicy, but not overly so. I must admit that the lunch servings are very generous. Look at the amount of basmati rice you get. 07/26/21

I ordered the Lamb Shank ($15.99) from the specials menu to celebrate that dining-in is back. "Tender Lamb Shanks cooked in Kashmiri style sauce that is made with cloves, cinnamon, garlic and ginger cooked until meat falls of the bone". I have had my eyes on this dish for a long time, and now when I'm paying with a gift card, a little lunch splurge was justified. Unlike Chinese restaurants, rice is included. The rice is really excellent, fragrant with every kernel separated. The lamb shank was very tender and succulent, but the sauce was the hero! Thick and rich and redolent with spices. 07/12/21

Lunch LAMB VINDALOO (HOT) (10.95). "Very tender pieces of lamb marinated in fresh tomatoes & lemon, cooked with potatoes, ginger, hot spices, & fresh green herbs". I ordered it Vindaloo hot, and it was HOT. Tender pieces of lamb with only a few chunks of potatoes. It was tasty and a large portion. They use lemon instead of vinegar, and that's better than nothing. Why is nobody cooking a proper vindaloo with vinegar? The traditional recipe from Goa used pork, and I want that. The half Naan that's included is very light and correctly buttered. 08/16/21

Lunch GOA SHRIMP CURRY (9.95). "The famous shrimp curry goa style prepared with freshly ground coconut & an array of masterfully blended spices". The shrimps were large and cooked perfectly. The curry was a bit thin and not as creamy as the one I had the week before. It was also ordered medium and arrived spicily. I'm taking the leftover curry sauce home and will throw some shrimp in for dinner. I really should remove the spoons. 08/30/21

On the South Indian Specialties menu, they have MASALA DOSA (11.95). "Thin crisp crepe, stuffed with potatoes & onions". They also have ONION DOSA (11.95). "This crisp crape, stuffed with onion & potatoes". What's the difference? The first one has more potatoes than onions and the second one the reverse. I went with the ONION DOSA. Served with chutney. It was not mentioned, but you still get a cup of Sambar soup. This was the best Sambar soup I have had, but all my prior experiences have been soup that was included in a buffet. This was in another league altogether. The LARGE dosa was excellent, crisp, and savory. The potatoes were well seasoned, but all the onions were raw, and I didn't expect that. I like my raw onions, but not in this quantity. 09/27/21

Appetizer SHRIMP PAKORA AND FISH (8.95). Said the online menu. The printed menu read "SHRIMP PAKORA OR FISH PAKORA(8.95)". "Extra large shrimp marinated in mixture of mild spices & fried crisp". Now it made more sense. Not sure how marinated these guys were, but the shrimp was cooked perfectly with a very mild thin coating. 10/18/21

I also ordered the MULLIGATAWNY SOUP (3.95). "Vegetable & lentils prepared in north Indian style". Excellent soup that was really tasty. 10/18/21

All the text inside quotes are a direct cut and paste from the online menu. They need to do some more proofreading.

Address: 6 Central St, Stoneham, MA 02180 Phone: (781) 438-8200

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.

--Aesop