Mirchi Indian Restaurant quietly opened in Woodlawn four months ago, situated just next door to a Red Roof Inn off of Security Boulevard.
Though the owners are from Punjab, the expansive menu offers both Northern and Southern dishes—which are a welcome addition to the scene, as most of Baltimore’s Indian restaurants tend to have Northern menus.
Mirchi’s menu is a broad one, with butter chicken, vindaloos, curries, biryanis, and a wealth of naans and parathas. Among the highlights are the dosas—the gorgeous, crispy, crepe-like breads that are folded, often around fillings, and accompanied by small dishes of sauces.
Mirchi’s dosas, which come in eight iterations, are extremely good. They’re huge, paper-thin, golden disks with filigreed edges and terrific flavor, even when broken off and eaten plain. That would be an error, however, as the sambar—the mildly spiced lentil and vegetable stew that’s traditionally served with dosas—is excellent, particularly when paired with the masala dosa filled with potatoes, curry leaves, and whole chiles.
Another notable item is the restaurant’s namesake, the cut mirchi, which are crispy chile fritters that are a popular street food in Andhra Pradesh. Imagine jalapeño poppers cut on the bias and served with more sauces.
The biryani are also very good and come in an admirable 10 variations. Biryanis—vibrant heaping bowls of rice, herbs, spices, and onions layered over sauced goat, fish, chicken, etc.—are big, celebratory dishes, happily shared and paired. The restaurant even has occasional all-you-can-eat (AYCE) biryani nights, which seem to be an embarrassment of riches.
More riches come on the weekends, when there are AYCE buffets available, set up on long tables displaying pretty high-backed golden pots. Across the roomy, light-filled dining room is a long full bar, which might come in handy to accompany all the goat vindaloo, daal makhani, chicken lollipops, lamb korma, and saag paneer in those golden pots. At which point it might be helpful to remember that there is a hotel open just across the lobby.