TELERAMA GUIDE SORTIES - 12th arrondissement - 2010

The Jodhpur Palace improves with every passing year. Long orange curtains have warmed up the atmosphere and the beautiful terrace planted with olive trees is as pleasant as ever.

I savour some delicious tandoori starters – chicken, lamb and kebab (minced lamb), fritters (aubergine, onion, prawn, cauliflower) and superb gamba prawns accompanied by various sauces (mint, sweet and spicy), all served with tasty cheese nan bread.

All around, people look at me like a nabob in the middle of an orgy.

My main courses arrive: tender Punjabi lamb (tomatoes, coriander, hot spices and delicate chicken with dal (made from lentils and spices), with one dish of rice with spices and another with peas!

While I feast on this, my neighbours scrutinise me, not realising that I am hard at work before I give my verdict: this restaurant is excellent.

 

LE POINT - 10 June 2010 - Paris 12th arrondissement special – The serious Indian restaurant

Jodhpur Palace offers an exotic but sober setting on the ground floor of a modern block. Traditional Northern Indian dishes (prawn pakora, vegetable raita, lamb kourma and chicken tikka massala) are lovingly cooked with finesse.

The cheese nan is exquisite. The service is prompt, although the reception staff sometimes make mistakes (bookings are taken rather haphazardly).

 

20 MINUTES - Guide to Paris - Tuesday 5th

This Indo-Pakistani restaurant has just been awarded the Golden Fork, which is really saying something...

Tucked away in a very rural suburb in the 12th arrondissement and surrounded by a huge terrace, this venue is doubly good for your well-being.

The décor full of gilt and engravings sweeps you away on a journey as soon as you enter. We both enjoy fine cuisine to remember: lamb curry with spinach, moughlai chicken and tandoor-grilled gamba prawns.

 

ENTREPRENDRE - July 2004 - Fine dining and the art of living

Indian cuisine with every sauce imaginable – this is barely an exaggeration of what awaits you when you go to discover the wonderful cuisine on offer at this elegant and delightful restaurant – and I hope that you will very soon.

Located in the 12th arrondissement on Allée Vivaldi, you might say that music is a central part of the programme offered by the owner, Baldev Singh. He knows how to keep time and hit the right note for you. Here he offers real Indian cuisine, which he prepares with special care to ensure that the ingredients are well-preserved and that the flavours release the full force of their aromas.

The cooking has soul: mutton, chicken, prawns, fish, meat, all subtly marinated while playing with spices, vegetables and sauces.

Diversity abounds and the servings are as copious as you could wish for. The background music lets you indulge in a flight of fantasy and imagine that the meal you are experiencing could be taking place in one of the wonderful big gastronomic gardens of India.

 

LE FIGARO – December 2006 – Northern India in Paris

Baldev Singh set up in this quiet, smart district in the 12th arrondissement in 2000. The second venue has 120 places as opposed to 35 at the first venue, the Jaipur Palace (Paris 20th arrondissement). Jodhpur is a city in Rajasthan, in Northern India. It also has a cuisine with its own specialities, which are served at this restaurant: hariyali murgh tikka (marinated chicken pieces with spinach, spices and coriander, cooked in the tandoor); hara bhara kebab (very special: grated cheese fritters, spinach, peas and potatoes, peppers and cashew nuts); lamb bhojpuri (lamb curry, potato, peppers and cashew nuts); and giant gamba prawns with a variety of accompaniments, cooked in the tandoor (clay oven). Not forgetting the must-have nans (bread made with white or wholemeal flour and cooked in the tandoor, the most famous still being the cheese one) or the tandoori starters (slow-marinated meat in yoghurt, skewered and roasted in the tandoor) served with their three sauces (sweet with tamarind, savoury with mint, coriander and yoghurt, or spicy with vegetable cubes).

French-influenced wine

There is a wide choice on the menu at this restaurant, where the elegant décor was created as an homage to the royal palaces of 14th-century Rajasthan (today converted into luxury hotels).
The spaces of the huge L-shaped room lend themselves well to this: stained glass windows in beautiful high ceilings, decorative panels in finely worked wood, mahrab (mouldings decorating the rib vaults in the shape of flowers and hearts), a sculpted wood bar, white fabric tablecloths, orange curtains...

When it comes to the "Indian" wine, the influence of the French oenologist is clearly far-reaching, since the label on the La Réserve 2003 Crover Reynard (22€) from the Bangalore region (made with Cabernet Sauvignon) states "produced under the supervision of Michel Rolland".

 

L'ART DE VOYAGER - Jodhpur Palace, Indian refinement

A stone’s throw from the city hall in the 12th arrondissement, you’d never expect to find an Indian restaurant with a dining room lavishly decorated with craftwork from the sub-continent, full of gilt, turquoise and purple.

This venue mainly offers tandoori food: dishes are marinated in yoghurt and spices for several hours, and then roasted in a clay oven.
Dishes prepared in this way include sublime gamba prawns, chicken, hock of lamb and salmon.

The sitar background music is easy on the ear and Mr Singh offers a refined welcome.

 

LE PARISIEN – 1 February 2003 - Jodhpur Palace, the soul of India

Many regular diners at Indian restaurants end up tiring of the dishes and flavours, which are all rather similar. At the Jodhpur Palace, nothing like that can happen, as the cooking there has soul, with a real tandoori clay oven, a kind of enormous jar filled with hot coals.

Reception You enter a kind of palace, set in a modern building. Mr Baldev Singh and his friendly team welcome you amicably to this bastion of Indian gastronomy.

Cuisine Why not start by sharing a dish of six gamba prawns finely macerated in a bouquet of spices and grilled in the tandoori. The samosas (pastries stuffed with vegetables), accompanied by delicious sauces, are light and crisp, as are the vegetable and fish fritters. The meat and fish dishes with massala sauce (a mixture of spices), palak (with spinach), or dal (with lentils) are flavoursome and the spicy aromas are never excessive.

Value for money
The best value in the area! The Jodhpur Palace offers full set menus starting from €9 at lunchtime, and from €19 in the evening. An Indian Cabernet Sauvignon (20€), worthy of a good Bordeaux, will make a pleasant accompaniment to your meal.

 

LE QUOTIDIEN DU MEDECIN - October 2002 – Gourmet India

Un excellent restaurant dédié aux saveurs et aux arômes subtiles de la cuisine indo-pakistanaise

An excellent restaurant dedicated to the subtle flavours and aromas of Indo-Pakistani cuisine.

Having recently opened near to the Coulée Verte in a part of the 12th arrondissement currently undergoing renovation, the Jodhpur Palace cannot fail to charm lovers of Indian specialities.

Classic and plush, and in no way ostentatious, the décor paying homage to the crafts of Rajasthan is an invitation to well-being in itself, as is the reception you will get from the very civil and charming owner Baldev Singh, who modestly offers the best Indo-Pakistani cuisine at unbelievably affordable prices.

The dishes here are surprisingly refined. The condiments, even the strongest ones, are knowingly measured out and perfectly adapted to European taste buds.

You are sure to enjoy the tender lamb pieces slow-marinated in spices and cooked with charcoal, the delicious quails which come piping hot from the tandoor, the traditional clay oven, after having marinated in a yoghurt sauce, the hock of lamb or chicken (expertly boned and skewered), or the simple aubergine fritter with wonderful spices. Next come the biryanis: meat, prawn or vegetable dishes with no fewer than twenty spices, served with fragrant basmati rice. Lamb curry with spinach, moughlai chicken cooked with cashew nuts and pistachios, crème fraîche, egg and spices. Finely minced leg of lamb with peas, giant gamba prawns macerated in a bouquet of spices and aromatic herbs, then cooked in the tandoor, or fish pan-cooked in coconut milk.

Without restraint, we soaked up these delicious dishes with Indian parata and chappati bread, a real treat made from unleavened dough and wholemeal or white flour with cheese, then baked in the oven.

Without remorse, we rounded off this calorie-filled feast with sweet desserts, washed down with flavoursome, steaming hot Indian tea.

 

PARIS ENTREPRISES - August/Sept 2005 – Gourmet capitals

Some restaurants are run by magicians. This is the case of the owners of this restaurant, the Singh brothers – one works in the dining room, the other in the kitchen. Not content with having been awarded the Golden Fork for Indian gastronomy in 2005, they also manage to offer high-quality cuisine at unbelievable prices, sweeping you away beyond the menus on a journey to India.

Start your trip with tandoori gamba prawns macerated in a blend of spices and avocadoes, or a murgh tikka (chicken marinated with ground cashew nuts and crème fraîche, cooked in the tandoor). Then enjoy a lamb punjab, a moderately spicy lamb curry with tomato and coriander, or one of the delicious biryanis (basmati rice prepared with twenty or so spices) with chicken, lamb, prawns or vegetables. Finally wander back with an oh-so-creamy Indian ice cream flavoured with cardamom and crushed pistachios. You will be accompanied on your trip by cheese nans or nan massalas (with vegetables and spices) and a Le Rabault 2003 rosé Sancerre, discovered in the short wine list. Impressive.

 

PARIS PRESTIGE – Top spots

India is full of wonders and gives us a thirst for discovery. The same kind of thing happens at the Jodhpur Palace, when you enter this charming restaurant with its refined and picturesque décor. An exotic fragrance wafts forth from this beautiful venue, which gives you the additional feeling of really being part of the story thanks to the warm welcome you receive from Mr Baldev Singh and his friendly team.

The cuisine is rich in flavours and scents, flavoursome and tasty. Particularly worth trying are the samosas, mutton mughalai, chicken kourma, curried prawns and fish massala, all served with basmati rice or mixed dal.

Music soothes the soul: here it captivates and enchants you, satisfying your curiosity.

 

PRESENT - 5 October 2006 - A Maharaja’s dream

Everyone who read Kipling and dreamed about it when they were little – and still do – knows that India has wonderful food. But be careful: there are more and more “Indian” restaurants in Paris which have nothing to do with India and are run by Pakistanis with no connection to the country. However, there are also a handful of excellent Indian restaurants in the capital. These include the Jodhpur Palace, which I warmly recommend and which, in 2005, was rewarded with a “Golden Fork."

For the time it takes to eat your meal (and it is a good idea to go in the evening, when the restaurant is resplendent in gold), you fall under the illusion of being a maharaja. There’s the opulent décor, warm welcome, impeccable service (diligent and discreet), which is already a good start. But also, most importantly, there’s a choice of flavoursome dishes which, if you are new to this type of cuisine, will allow you to discover all its richness and variety.

Apart from the à la carte selection, which we will talk about later, two set menus are on offer. The first is €21 with a choice of three starters: hariyali murgh tikka (marinated chicken pieces with spinach and ginger, grilled in the tandoor oven), prawn pakora (prawn fritters), samosas (deep-fried pastries stuffed with vegetables), a choice of three main courses: murgh karahi (tandoor chicken cooked with tomatoes, spices and coriander), lamb dopyaja (rack of lamb, fried onions and a variety of spices), fish kourma (fish with almonds, cashew nuts, raisins, pistachios and crème fraîche), and a choice of desserts (including the famous Indian ice creams). The second menu, at €28, offers an even more impressive range of specialities.

For the à la carte selection, there are many tandoori starters. Try the batera tandoori (quails marinated in spices and cooked over charcoal). Dishes range from chicken to lamb in all their forms (massala, harahi, kourma, etc.) through seafood and biryanis (preparation of twenty spices with basmati rice). A great opportunity to go on a journey to Goa, the Punjab (excellent lamb curry), Hyderabad, Kashmir or Madras (a very hot prawn curry).

All this comes with nan bread, made with white flour or wholemeal flour (my favourite is the keema nan, with leavened dough, mince and butter) and, if you are feeling adventurous, an Indian rosé that keeps all its promises.

The Jodhpur Palace is located next to a large park on the site of a former Merovingian castle. A wonderful opportunity for a stroll after your tiffin - but don’t expect a tiger hunt or a trip in a dogcart with a charming maharani...

 

VALEURS ACTUELLES - June 2001 – Business restaurants

In a district full of charm, get ready to embark on a gastronomic trip to India, rich and fragrant in equal measure, which you will remember for a long time afterwards. This Indian palace in a refined setting not only offers the great classics of this cuisine, but also tandoori-curry specialities: don’t miss the famous tandoori gamba prawns and the fritter assortment, a real treat! Then there’s also the chicken tikka, lamb punjab or bengan, or the fish kourma. The Indian bread cooked in the tandoor is simple and delicious. Quality cooking to delight the palate as well as the eyes.
The spectacle of colours, finely flavoured spices and fragrances is sure to please, and goes very well with the Indian wines. A real joy.