Written by Matt Schorr
Clarksville, TN – Aroma Indian Cuisine makes good on its name from the moment you pass through its door. The scents of curry and other assorted spices greet your olfactory senses right away, bringing the delicious fragrances of ginger, garlic, and onion, not to mention a few others I can’t immediately identify. They mingle together and surround you, creating a sort of aromatic cocoon that makes your mouth water and your stomach rumble.
I discovered Indian food after arriving in Tennessee, and while I won’t suggest that any culture’s cuisine is my favorite, I will admit to whispering, “Where have you been all of my life?” while sampling tikka masala and vegetable korma for the first time. (My gosh, those dishes are awesome.)
I like to think of myself as an amateur ethnic food connoisseur. Or perhaps a culinary explorer. Either way, the emphasis would be on “amateur.” Whatever I call myself, the opportunity to try unique dishes always excites me, and when those dishes hail from another part of the world, that excitement only grows.
And when those dishes are spicy, it’s a trifecta of dietary elation.
Aroma, located at 3395 Highway 41A South in the Sango Village plaza, delivers on all of this. As I said, you can’t help noticing the enveloping scent of curry and spice when you enter, and that’s complimented by warm colors, images from the Subcontinent, and traditional dinner tables.
The lunch buffet showcases their promised authentic tastes of India via a long table lined with hot plates and trays. Options include vegetable pakora, tandoori chicken, paneer achari, butter chicken, and more. The servings are hot, flavorful, aromatic, and – in certain cases, of course – spicy. Deliciously spicy. Spectacularly deliciously spicy.
It’s the sort of spice that pleasantly warms your belly and makes your eyes water. Thus far, I’ve only ever found spice like that in Indian cuisine.
(All due respect to American hot sauce, but I’ll take tikka masala over Bubba’s Butt Blaster any day.)
Should you need a palate cleanser between dishes, though, Aroma provides every table with buttery, homemade naan bread. Fresh baked, soft, warm, and crafted by traditional techniques, I daresay Aroma’s naan may be the best I’ve eaten in my admittedly limited experience. It even comes with options like garlic naan, cheese naan, and more.
(I haven’t tried it yet, but I’m eager to taste the kashmiri naan on my next visit.)
(Also, the tandoori roti.)
The dinner menu deviates from the buffet presentation and directly showcases such highlights as chicken curry – deeply savory and rich, with warm, bright, and sweet counterpoints – and chana masala – boiled chickpeas cooked with onion, ginger garlic, fresh tomato puree and homemade spices.
Dinner specials include lamb karahi, also known as Karahi Gosht. It features lamb cooked with ginger, garlic, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, and spices, and it strikes a balance between the sweet, the spicy and the hot.
You might also consider goat saag, a North Indian winter delicacy with marinated goat meat cooked with herb and spice flavored rice, and served with raita.
However, if I may offer myself as a culinary tour guide to those who’ve yet to experience Indian cuisine, I recommend introducing yourself to it with Chicken Makhni, also known as “Butter Chicken.” Although cooked in its own blend of spices, this creamy dish tends to be sweeter, milder, and a little tangy.
So, if spicy food makes you nervous, let it be known this particular dish won’t leave your mouth burning or your eyes watering. (Nor will it send you racing for the bathroom like the aforementioned “Butt Blaster.”) The spicy kick is there, but it’s gentle. I promise you can handle it.
If you prefer vegetarian dishes, though, I suggest vegetable korma, garden green vegetables cooked with ginger garlic in a rich creamy sauce with cashews and nuts. As with the butter chicken, it’s milder than other dishes, with a luscious and sweet flavor.
In the battle of spice dynamics, Korma has a more subdued approach, calling on fragrant notes to create a nuanced backdrop. There’s no fear of spice-induced perspiration with this one.
And incidentally, if you have children, there’s also a Kids Menu with familiar American fare like French fries, chicken nuggets, and – for the bolder adolescents – orange chicken. Bold, zesty, and satisfying … but only for the bold youngsters.
A wise man once said he believed the best way to experience other cultures was through their food. That man then proceeded to eat grasshoppers, crickets, and stir-fried ants … but I still think he had a point. Few things define a place better than the dishes it serves, be they tangy, sweet, spicy, or in Aroma’s case, all of the above. It’s a humble establishment located on the quieter side of Clarksville, with a unique menu all its own.
Yet another unique and defining characteristic of our unique and not-so-little town.
