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The
Gleaner May 3, 1999 A Passage to India
It is not every day that a former flight attendant/writer/housewife and a mother becomes a restaurateur. But that's just what Rajni Sud, a partner in the latest authentic Indian restaurant, "A Passage to India," in Ocho Rios has done. "I had toyed with the idea for a while and after doing nothing for so long, decided to give it a try," she told the Flair team, special guests at the three-month-old restaurant. Rajni is very excited about the business as was evident by the way she stopped for a chat at each table. Flair's tour of the rooftop restaurant revealed clean, spacious surroundings, friendly chefs and a peek at the two tandoors (clay ovens) used to make breads and tandoori dishes. Tandoori cooking is a healthy way of cooking marinated meat, grilled on skewers, then left to hang so fat drains out. "Patrons are free to watch food preparation," she said, explaining the open concept in the construction of the kitchen. Passage to India stresses healthy eating and the menu, which was specially created by Rajni, includes many vegetarian dishes. There are daily specials and some dishes are changed weekly. The decor is Indian in influence but utilises Jamaican craftsmanship and products. For example, restrooms for male and female are labeled 'sahib' and 'memsahib,' respectively. A big part of Rajni's job involves educating patrons about the dishes they are eating. "Everyone is health conscious now," she says. Cilantro, for example, is a vital ingredient to many dishes and can be grown locally. Future plans include the addition of Indo Chinese infusion dishes, happy hour and weekly Sunday buffet.
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