It’s not like Indian food is new around here, even if the truly exciting authentic options are still limited. Granted, the emergence of Tiffin in the past year has set a tasty new local standard for the classics. And a handful of far-flung suburban outposts, such as Devi in Exton, produce genuinely worthy South Indian cuisine.
But no one in Philadelphia had successfully woven the intricate spicings and vibrant regionalism of the subcontinent into a vision for the modern American diner without dumbing the flavors down. Until now.
Chef Marcie Turney, who co-owns Bindi with partner Valerie Safran, has taken obvious Western liberties with some creations that might give pause to some traditionalists — like the Indian parents of Penn students who have been brought to scout a hip spot for their kids’ graduation meal.
Have they ever tasted smoked salmon cured in jaggery (palm sugar), herbs and cumin over lotus chips with green apple and sour lemon pickle? Probably not. They’ve also probably not encountered pani puri dough puffs, usually laden with a watery tamarind-potato mix, topped instead with morsels of duck and shredded jicama. Add a splash of the spicy-sour cranberry water, though, and the essential elements are there — intensified by the tender chew of gamy meat, which brings echoes of its fenugreek, fennel and mustard seed Bengali rub.
