Haandi Indian Cuisine

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Restaurant of the Week: Haandi

By David Allen on June 18, 2009 5:47 AM | | Comments (4) | ShareThis

This week's restaurant: Haandi, 7890 Haven Ave. (at Town Center), Rancho Cucamonga.

India is a mild curiosity of mine, and Indian food likewise, but I'm barely conversant with its basics. Most of my dining is done at lunchtime, and most of our Indian places do nothing but buffet at lunchtime. I don't like buffets much.

Recently, however, I thought to try dinner at Haandi, which is in the Deer Creek Center on Haven north of Foothill. The interior is plush, with lacquered tables and booths divided by etched glass. Indian art is on the walls and Indian music videos play on a flat screen TV.

The restaurant's backstory is intriguing; owner Sartaj Singh is from India but studied cooking in Italy, and so he owns an Italian restaurant (Antonino's) and an Indian restaurant (Haandi), both in Rancho Cucamonga. You can read about him on the RC Now blog here. The Haandi location began as a second Singh-owned Italian restaurant (Primavera) and still looks vaguely Italian.

But what of the food?

Chicken tikka masala ($12.99), chunks of tandoori chicken in curry sauce, and shahi paneer ($10.99), cheese in tomato sauce with ginger, were both delicious. And colorful: one dish yellow, the other red. The papadum (free), a crispy flatbread, came with green and red condiments. So most of the color wheel was represented at the table.

The papadum is an acquired taste, but the naan ($2.25), a pita-like bread served hot, was more to my liking. Many other menu items sound enticing, including lamb and seafood dishes, and there's plenty here for vegetarians.

I returned Wednesday for lunch and to take a photo of the sign. Of course the buffet is a given; it's what everyone does, so you don't even get a menu.

Well, the buffet ($9.99) isn't bad: salad, saag, bhindi masala, chicken tikka masala, vegetable samosas and tandoori chicken, among other items, plus kheer, a rice pudding, for dessert.

But I'm looking forward to my next dinner at Haandi.

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4 Comments

Cynthia said:

Hooray! I've been reading your restaurant reviews for awhile and wondering when you'd finally try this place out.

My family has been going there twice a week for lunch for almost 3 years now. Even when we briefly moved to the San Fernando Valley we made occasional treks back to RC just to eat there. Even our 4 year old and 2 year old love their food. (No, we're not indian.) We're just that addicted.

Dinnertime is great because you can ask for the food extra spicy if you love that sort of thing, but the lunch buffet is quite flavorful but not hot at all, and to us a great deal to try a lot of different dishes. The dishes rotate thruout the week. Haandi was also recently featured in AAA magazine, not bad for a little local place next to a bowling alley! Oh, don't forget to try the murgh makhan (butter chicken), it's quite good.

June 18, 2009 9:55 AM
meg said:

Thanks for trying it out and reporting back! We've been meaning to go, but since we live in P-Town, Haandi is not so handy.

June 18, 2009 10:06 AM
MMmm Good said:

So glad you finally visited this place!!!! I love, love, love the buffet :) The staff is very friendly, they keep your iced tea refilled and seem to check on you just at the right times, and their food is delicious!!! (I'm not Indian either, my parents immigrated from Mexico.)

Have you tried the Afghani place on Carnelian and Baseline next to Smart & Final? It's also pretty special :)

[I'll have to try that sometime. -- DA]

June 18, 2009 1:41 PM
Bob Terry said:

These are the types of restaurants that we need to visit in this economy...the owner/operators. Sartaj's brother Hartaj (Harry) runs this place and is so humble and friendly. I have no agenda against chain restaurants, but Haandi & Antonino's are exceptionalHaandi Indian Cuisine

7890 Haven Avenue, Rancho Cucamonga; (909) 581-1951

Dinner for two, food only   $35-$60
SettingSuburban storefront filled with images and sounds of India
ServiceSerious and proficient
Best DishesVegetable samosas; chicken korma; mushroom masala curry

 

As the world's largest democracy, India's influence in the world is rapidly expanding, but its multifaceted cuisine is often under-appreciated in America. However, those willing to discover its subtle use of spices, healthful qualities, and dramatic regional variations are usually hooked for life. Diners can explore dishes throughout the subcontinent at Rancho Cucamonga's Haandi Indian Cuisine.

 

In the image Chef Hartaj Singh (top center) presides over the menu at Haandi Indian Cuisine in Rancho Cucamonga. Diners are treated to tantalizing Indian dishes, including tandoori salmon (right), pistachio ice cream (bottom center), and mushroom masala curry (left).

Haandi is owned by chef Sartaj Singh, whose formal culinary training in Italy prompted him to open nearby Antonino's. At Haandi, his brother, chef Hartaj Singh, shows off the cuisine of their native country in a handsome restaurant carved out of a suburban shopping center. With cozy booths, lacquered tables, and images of the Taj Mahal juxtaposed against a plasma screen showing Indian pop music videos, the family-oriented eatery is casual and affordable.

The sizable menu concentrates on Northern India's specialties. Among starters are familiar samosas, fat deep-fried pastries filled with either ground meat or a creamy mixture of potatoes and peas; gobi pakora, cauliflower dipped in chickpea batter and fried; and onion bhajia, India's answer to onion rings.

Patrons can order a wide range of curries in any degree of spiciness, but insisting on "mild" risks taking the soul out of Indian cuisine. Vegetarians never feel left out here, and mushroom masala curry, bathed in a rich golden sauce, is one of the best meatless options. Chicken korma, flavored with herbs from Kashmir, arrives in a rust-colored yogurt-cream sauce with raisins and nuts. The tandoor, a clay oven that heats to 800 degrees, seals in the flavors of yogurt-marinated meats and is used to bake naan, India's signature flat bread. Seafood is also cooked in the tandoor, and Haandi serves tandoori salmon, mahi mahi, sea bass, and shrimp.

For dessert, consider rice pudding or pistachio ice cream to douse the heat of any dishes you may have requested on the spicy side.

— Roger Grody

HAANDI INDIAN CUISINE ***** BY INLAND VALLEY DAILY BULLETIN

FRIDAY, MARCH 13,2009
DINING GUIDE

HAANDI INDIAN CUISINE
*****

It'll be difficult to find a better Indian restaaurant in Southern California. From an array of samosas and pakoras to such scintillating dishes as Shrimp Goan in a coconut cream sauce, Chicken Tikka Masala, Mango Lamb Curry, and Pillau Rice with assorted vegetables, the intensity of flavors and the lingering tastes that go on forever make this restaurant one of the standouts in the Indian Cuisine firmament. Basmati rice accompanies all entrees and portions are larger than commonly seen at most Indian restaurants. But it's the 15 different masalas (spice blend) that set this jewel in crown apart from its competitors.
7890 Haven Ave. #15-16, North of Foothill Blvd, Rancho Cucamonga, 909-581-1951 

We all love food right? Haandi in Rancho Cucamonga is Great!

09-13-08
Robert Huntsinger - Empire Realty Upland, CA - Full Service at a Discount


If you are in the area of Foothill and Haven in Rancho Cucamonga you must check out the Haandi Indian Restaurant.

It is a great Indian restaurant that features a varied menu in which they specialize in Tandoor clay oven dishes. Their curries can be made mild, medium or hot to match your tastes, bring a big appetite as they give you plenty. My whole family loves the varied nan, bread for you north Americans.

Located at 7890 Haven in Rancho Cucamonga, near the corner of Haven and Foothill by the bowling alley, this is a must try for locals and those passing through. You can visit them on the web at http://www.haandi.net.

Empire Realty - Premium Full Service at a Discount Visit us on the web EMPIRE REALTY. Oh Yea, and great food suggestions!

 
 
 

 

 

http://www.aaa-calif.com/westways/0209/life/bonappetit.aspx

 http://www.busjournal.com/content/archives/0602/rest_reveiw.htm

 

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2006/9/prweb434224.htm
   

 http://losangeles.citysearch.com/review/42620779

 
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g32940-d780080-r14307921-Haandi-Rancho_Cucamonga_California.html