Priya, Lowell, MA

Priya
1270 Westford St., Lowell, MA

It's on Drum Hill in Lowell. It's also underground. Perhaps it's underground because they want you to forget the hassels of the outside world and allow yourself to be swept away by delicious all-you-can-eat North and South Indian dishes.

Note: I would like to apologize in advance for the big areas of blank space. I need to fix these formatting problems I'm having. It appears fine when I'm composing and previewing it, but It throws in these huge gaps between the pitcures and texts. So if you see blank space, just keep scrolling.

The Offerings:

This is the buffet line. It appears that they set it up like a supermarket salad bar.

Chutneys/Sauces:

Above: Salad. Below (Clockwise from top left): Mint Chutney, Mango Chutney, Raitha, Tamarind Chutney, Coconut Chutney, and Pickle

-mint: Their take on mint chutney was thinner than what I usually see. It looked like salsa verde. I could taste more cilantro than mint in this one. My friend, who accompanied me on this trip, noted that it would taste good with tortilla chips. This chutney wishes it was part of Mexican cuisine.

-tamarind: It was thin and tangy. I loved it. I can't bring myself to ever shrug it off at an Indian buffet.

-mango: My trusty companion and I both agreed that it tasted like mango and honey. It had the consistancy and sweetness of apple butter and other decadent jams.

-coconut: I didn't try it. Shame on me.

-raitha: It tasted like it has at other buffets. This tangy yogurt sauce generally tastes the same everywhere I go.

-pickle: Well, its flavor was less arresting to my tastebuds than the pickle at India Palace. It was still strong though. This one contained lemon rinds which, (one can assume) gave it a very lemony flavor.

Salad: It was simple, and standard for Indian fare. A garden salad tossed together with the usual cilantro, veggies, and lemon wedges.

Dosa: The dosas were quite large in size. They were sligtly crispy in texture and generously filled. They were served one per guest.

Bread:

-naan: They recently began serving naan to the table, rather than leaving it up at the buffet. I don't know if they changed the recipe, but it was oil-brushed and slightly crispy on the outside. Perhaps this is just because they're fresher. I didn't run out of naan while wanting more, so, given that I'm generaly wary of this setup. No harm, no foul, here.

Soup:

-sambar: The sambar was spicy and had this savory taste about it that I'm guessing was a hint of tamarind. If you're trying to stay my judgement, it can be dont so by adding tamarind to anything.

Appetizers:

Top: Sambar. Bottom: Idly

-onion pakora: Being that It was battered onion, it did bear slight resemblance to the fried onion appetizers of American cuisine, but, being that it was battered with lentil instead of flour-based batter made it taste even better. Of course they tasted great with tamarind chutney (in my biased opinion).

-idly: Ah, out first experience with these South Indian snacks. However I would try to explain these could better be done by clicking the link. They are good for soaking in sambar. When eaten alone, without being dipped in a sauce, they can be pretty dry.

Entrees:

Clockwise from top left: onion pakora, tomato rice, butter chicken, and basmati rice.

Clockwise from top left: broccoli/carrot poriyal, aloo gobi, tandoori chicken, and chennai chicken.

-tomato rice! Flavored basmati rice is a beautiful thing. It adds extra flavour to whatever you're eating. This rice was so damn savory.

-broccoli and carrot poriyal: I'll note again that I'm not as enthusiastic towards the drier dishes, but that just me. That said, this dish seemed to be seasoned with coconut, which was nice on my tastebuds.

-aloo gobi: This dish, consisting of spiced potato and cauliflower, was suprisingly spicy. The sauce was thicker and drier than the usual curry. Overall, a tasty dish.

-mushroom saag: It was the usual spinach-based curry, but with mushrooms instead of paneer, which I usually see at buffets. The sause was spicy, but not too spicy (medium-spice, as it's referred to in Indian Cuisine).

-chennai chicken: The chicken was soft, boneless, and juicy and the sauce was both sweet and savory at the same time (for which I'm a sucker).

-butter chicken: What a delight. It was similar to chicken tikka masala in that the sauce was creamy and tomatoey, and the chicken appeared to have been cooked on kebabs and marinated in the same manner that the tandoori chicken was, but this sauce was musch creamier, which I'd be willing to bet, was because of extra butter. My cohort was also taken back by how delicious this dish was.

-tandoori chicken: Their tandoori chicken was extra juciy and spiced; probably the best tandoori chicken I've had yet.

Dessert:

Top: (Entree) mushroom saag. Bottom: (Dessert) gulab jamun.

-gulab jamun: Oh my, what a dessert. Think of these as pancake balls floating in cardamom syrup. These ones were completely drenched in the syrup and melted in my mouth. I had about 6 of them.

Price: $9.93 (on a weekday, including 5% MA meals tax). Not bad at all.

Priya really knows how to win customer loyaly. With this card, (which they give everybody that comes in, no stings attatched), every sixth buffet is free.


Final Score: 4.8/5

So far, Priya is the place to beat, with India Palace being a close second. The cuisine is tastefully varied, with a mix of South and North Indian cuisine There's dosa. They've improved the naan They offer frequent dines rewards (which I've never seen at an Indian buffet). The selection is slicgtly smaller then other places I've been to, which holds it .2 away from a perfect 5; so, so close.