Shrimp Moilee

IndeBlue Restaurant: An Indian Restaurant in New Jersey

sunrise in new jersey

Sunrise at Mt. Laurel

Masood and I spent a week in New Jersey, to work at our client site, one of the largest health care system in the state. It was quite an experience.

new jersey

The woods behind the offices.

ducks in new jersey

A picture I had to take. It’s not something we see often in the U.A.E.

Because of work, we sadly did not find time to explore New Jersey or the neighboring Philadelphia. We did try — leaving work by 5:30 pm and then driving around town. But that meant rush hour and traffic. And being distracted by Walmart, Target, Anthropologie (please open up a branch here in Dubai!) and Macy’s.

Oh, and have you heard about the “Jersey left”? That means that if you want to take a left turn on the road, you have to take a right turn first. It was so crazy the first time we discovered it. It was around 8 pm, we just landed from Boston, and we were on the far left lane thinking on taking the next left turn at the signal to reach our hotel.

When the light turned green and we eventually reached the junction, turned out we can’t take a left. So we drove straight ahead and took forever before finding a U-turn because we did not know we had to take a right turn first.

It was not fun.

What was fun was having a dinner date at IndeBlue Restaurant in Collingswood.

indeblue
Picture from IndeBlue FB page.

 

Established in 2009, IndeBlue is run by a Mumbai-trained chef named Rakesh Ramola and his wife.

Here’s their promise: “Indeblue offers a fresh, modern take on Indian cuisine as well as traditional Indian favorites. We showcase fresh meats, local produce and house-made cheese and breads. We take pride in offering a variety of vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free menu items that are both creative and full of flavor.”

Picture from IndeBlue FB page.
Picture from IndeBlue FB page.

 

We found this restaurant by accident. We were driving around town looking for halal or vegetarian restaurants. By 9 pm, we somehow drove into this shady-looking neighborhood with dark alleys and barking dogs. My imagination went overdrive and I thought I even saw shadows lurking between old apartment buildings.

A little scared and very much disappointed, we decided to head back to the hotel (which turned out to be an hour drive away, that’s how far away we traveled in search of halal food). It was on our way back that we took a wrong turn and saw IndeBlue restaurant.

Not a halal restaurant, but it’s a place that serves very good Indian food.

Corn Soup
Corn Soup ($6)

The food was delicious. The soup has this nice consistency that I really liked – it wasn’t too thick or thin, not too rich, and the texture wasn’t too smooth in a good way that pleased the taste buds.

Vegetarian Thali
Vegetarian Thali – Mix vegetable curry, dal makhani, paneer curry, papadam, raita,
onion fritters, naan, saffron rice, green chutney & tamarind chutney ($18)

Everything in Masood’s vegetarian thali was perfect. IndeBlue makes their own fresh cottage cheese every single morning. Love the dal makhani!

Shrimp Moilee
Shrimp Moilee – Saucy shrimp cooked with curry leaf flavored coconut gravy served with saffron basmati rice ($18)

I ordered seafood. During our entire stay in the US, I ordered seafood 90% of the time. I went crazy over grilled salmon and shrimps. I was in seventh heaven.

This shrimp moilee is interesting. This curry is a traditional shrimp or fish preparation in Kerala. The whole spices play an important role in the aromatic nature of the curry rather than imparting actual heat.

Naturally sweet coconut milk and the fragrant whole spices make this mild curry very delicious and rich. Plus, I think the chef gave this dish a different twist by tempering it with mustard seeds.

Although I finished all the shrimps from the curry, I was only able to eat half of the sauce because it was too rich and creamy.

indeblue indian restaurant

 

Service was really good. I feel bad for forgetting that gentleman’s name, but he was very helpful with our orders and, even though it was their closing time, he made sure Masood and I were enjoying our meal and had everything we wanted.

I haven’t visited their Philadelphia branch, but Collingswood has outdoor sitting option as well as ample parking spaces.

For more information, directions, and menu list, visit IndeBlue Restaurant’s website and Facebook page.

12 comments

    1. Cooking at home? What is that? 😉

      Yes, I am back home but not cooking. My sister-in-law is around, and Allah bless her kind heart, she’s taken over the kitchen responsibilities, spoiling me in the process.

      But since you requested, I’ll cook something soon. Khush? 🙂

      1. wah ji wah, mazey! dining out has really spoiled you. I must form a North Atlantic Treaty Organization part 2 – summon all the food bloggers and pass a bill that we must ban Nadia’s activities outside home for while so we can get her back to her kitchen and have some home made food posts.

        Pasta banana pls. kuch b banana bas spicy hona chahiye, yum yum.
        Wo jo tum mai or kitchen mai karar tha 🙁 tumhe yaad ho k na yaad ho..?

        1. Naheeee!!! You can’t be that cruel *tears welling up*

          Agar kitchen se related hai to mujhey yaad nahi hai 😀

          But pasta it is! I’ll post soon *hugs*

  1. I loved the first and second picture so much! I miss clean, clear sunsets where the colour is rich and pure.
    And I miss simple, clean paths so much, so the second picture made me crumble.

    You know how much I love Indian food and my quest for a good Indian restaurant in Egypt is still on! This place looks fantastic. I love ordering butter chicken or garlic chicken. And I love garlic naan. Wish me luck on finding something here soon. 😀

    1. Simple clean paths AND the perfect weather *sigh* I miss that aspect of the US too. Nothing like peaceful, uninterrupted long walks in the afternoon.

      Yes, I do remember your quest for that good Indian restaurant in Egypt. Good luck with that. If not the restaurant, you can always cook at home – and with the right ingredients, it will taste much better.

  2. Anthropologie is a really cool store!
    Whenever we go to the States we always try to find 1 vegetarian Indian restaurant, usually they are pretty good.

    1. ‘liya, yes, it is! Anthropologie has the cutest items and the most gorgeous store layout and interiors 😀

      What’s your favorite Indian restaurant in the States and where is it located?

  3. love the first three pics, Nadia. and those Walmarts, Targets and Macy’s distracted you so, eh? natuwa ako sa Jersey left, hehe. anyway, Masood always brings you to nice restaurants. i think that somehow even things out, ahaha. you’re back in UAE! 🙂

    1. Nakakaloka ang Jersey left! It took a couple of days to get used to it (but we still hated it).

      I’m the kind of person who rarely shops, but in the US I had so much time (read: zero house chores) that there was this strange magnetic pull that attracts me towards all these shops and malls. I bought so much make-up, it will last me 2 years if I use them every day.

  4. hello, Nadia… gusto ko ang plate ng vegetarian thali, parang full meal? ahaha. alam mo naman, peasant diet ang alam ng lola mo rito, hihi. anyway, dumaan lang uli, ni-review ko US posts mo. parang ang gaganda ng naisulat mo about that 6-week stay and you seemed to have enjoyed yourself. this one, parang elegant and quiet dinner. parang ang ganda ng lugar? inggit ako, ahaha… 🙂 musta?

    1. It’s a full meal that will keep your tummy happy & content for hours!

      I’m good, ‘San. Just returned from a very quick trip to India. There’s still so much about my US trip that I want to share but I can’t seem to find the peace and quiet to do so.

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