Masala House Indian Bistro opened a location along the Mileground in Morgantown.

"Masala House Indian Bistro has been serving delicious authentic Indian food to residents since 2018, and the success of our operations may be measured by our popularity among Indian nationals and other expatriates, student and natives, all of whom appreciate the fine taste of Indian food as well as the reasonable prices. ​ It's not just us saying that - our restaurant has received independent accolades and rave reviews from the press, notable the 'Editor's Choice,' 'Outstanding Indian, and 'Best Indian' awards from the largest expat magazines. ... Masala House Indian Bistro is your best destination for great tasting, authentic Indian food, with all your favorite Northern Indian recipes, highlights from the Southern Indian style of cooking. In fact, we have so many choices on our menu that it is sometimes difficult to decide what to eat! This makes our special-value lunch full meals a tempting option, and an excellent way for you to try a little - or a lot! The popularity of our food and service has allowed us to expand from our first small restaurant in Pittsburgh PA to the Morgantown WV area. ​"

"Indian" food can be a pretty broad term to describe a large variety of foods available across the country, which of course has variances depending on culture and location. Masala boasts flavors from both Northern and Southern India - but what does that mean? I turned to Food52 to get an idea of the differences between the two. 

North:
Prominent dishes: You’ll find lots of breads and curries in the North. Much of what you eat in the restaurants in the West—such as naan bread, rotis, samosas, curries such as palak paneer (spinach and cheese) and aloo ghobi (potato and cauliflower), and the like—is North Indian.
Spice mixture and powder: Garam masala is the predominant spice mixture used.
Sour ingredient: Sourness is a prevalent flavor in Indian food. Amchoor (dried mango powder) is used as a souring agent in curries.
Dried herb: In the North, some sauces are accented with the use of dried fenugreek leaves.
Hot drink: In the North, you finish a meal off with tea or chai.

South:
Prominent dishes: Generally speaking, South Indian cooking is based around rice, lentils, and stews. Dishes such as dosa (a lentil and rice crêpe), idli (steamed lentil rice cakes), saaru/rasam (tomato, tamarind, and lentil soup), and huli/sambar (spicy lentil and vegetable stew) are all from the South.
Spice mixture and powder: Huli pudi (sambar powder) is often used to spice dishes.
Sour ingredient: Tamarind is used in stews.
Dried herbs: Dried curry leaves flavor some of the soups.
Hot drink: You’d finish off the meal with a special type of coffee made with chicory.



So, back to Masala House - there's plenty of parking, and while the space inside isn't huge, it wasn't busy when I stopped by so we were able to spread out a bit. They have a buffet table, but it was not operating while I was there. 



Masala offers a special thali meal at lunch and dinner, which affords the opportunity to try a little bit of a few different dishes. Thali the meal refers to many different dishes (both vegetarian and non-vegetarian), served in small bowls called (Katori in Hindi) arranged on a Thali, or a platter. A flatbread, rice, pickle, salad, and dessert are also included, as is bread (like chapatis).



So while I absolutely love eating like this, I am the worst at writing down what things were. I know the goal is to have white rice, an appetizer, naan, vegetarian curries, meat curries and daal. So there was a mix of salty, sweet, sour, spicy flavors. And no, not all Indian food is spicy. I'm mostly a wimp when it comes to spice, and the folks are more than happy to make the dish according to the spice level that you specify. 

Everything I had I enjoyed - but I especially loved the pea and mushroom dish, as well as the tandoori chicken. So much flavor. Plus kheer - one of my all-time favorite desserts. Have you been?

Grade: A