Shahi Palace spices up Sioux Falls food scene

In a city where the definition of culinary diversity is tacos and sesame chicken, Indian food might as well be from Mars. Not that all Sioux Fallsians fear different foods, but we understand the Midwestern, mashed-potato-lovin' palate runs deep.

Last Friday night, the Jennys decided to challenge their roots and their taste buds at Sioux Falls' newest ethnic restaurant, Shahi Palace, located at 2527 S. Shirley Ave.

Despite being peak dinner hours on a Friday night, our party of four was seated promptly in the modern dining room. But those looking for traditional Indian décor should look elsewhere because Shahi Palace has less cultural character than Bracco.

Gossip about town led us to believe it would be hours before we saw our server or a drink, but our server had water glasses filled before we even opened the menu. Either the rumormongers have a serious vendetta against Indian restaurants or the service at Shahi Palace has greatly improved since opening.

The elder Jenny, having just recently visited India, fancied herself somewhat of an Indian-food aficionado, while the younger Jenny, an India virgin, had no clue what to expect.

Fortunately, the menu offers something for everyone – even those who don't even use pepper because it's "too spicy". Contrary to popular belief, Indian food isn't all hot, and the chef at Shahi Palace offers to make any dish as mild (or as hot) as a guest would like.

We ordered a mix of appetizers and entrees, with the intent of sharing in a family-style way that truly encompasses the Indian-eating experience. 

The first thing we ordered, Chicken Tikka Masala ($12), is probably the most popular Indian dish in America. Shahi Palace makes their Tikka Masala with boneless chicken, served in a sweet tomato sauce and basmati rice.

Including a vegetarian option, we ordered Dal Makhni ($9), lentils sautéed in butter, onions and tomatoes. This was perfect to scoop up with the Garlic Naan ($2.50).

In addition to the entrees, we chose the Shahi Combination Appetizer ($7), which allowed us to try the vegetable samosa, vegetable pakora, paneer pakora, chicken pakora and seekh kabab. Finally, we rounded off the dinner portion with the Mulgatawny soup ($3.50).

Although the combo appetizer does offer the chance to try several unusual choices, all but the seekh kabab are fried, which can be a bit overwhelming.

If you want to pick just one appetizer, the vegetable pekora wins for the vegetarian option. The mixed veggies are dipped in a chickpea batter and fried into a rather unattractive, but tasty, ball.

For the carnivorous appetizer option, we'd choose the seekh kabab. This spiced lamb kabab moves away from the fried batter (you're welcome arteries).

We decided to finish dinner the Indian-way: kheer ($3) and chai ($1.50). Kheer, a type of rice dessert made with milk, is served with pistachios on top. Pistachios that would definitely send one of the Jennys to the hospital.

Oops.

Fortunately, our server took pity on the pistachio-sensitive Jenny and brought out a nut-free kheer (that's what she said?).

This redeemed our server after a night of bumbling through the menu and asking us to repeat ourselves. We imagine the education for servers of authentic Indian cuisine in South Dakota must take some time.

All of the dinner entrees were flavorful, served hot and overall, exceeded our expectations of Indian food in the Midwest. The Jennys recommend everyone step out of their comfort zone (back away from the Taco Bell) and give Shahi Palace a chance – it's not as alien as you might think.