There’s a wedding tonight on Bleecker Street in the Village, and you’re invited. No problem if you can’t make it. There’s another wedding tomorrow night and another the night after that. In fact there’s a wedding every night at Madam Ji Ki Shaadi (which translates to “Madam Ji is getting married”).
The concept is the creation of Chef Abishek Sharma, who runs a catering company focused on destination weddings, plus two other Indian restaurants in Manhattan.
Real Indian weddings, which these nightly cultural and culinary forays are intended to emulate, are elaborate and colorful affairs, heavily steeped in tradition and filled with music, dance, rituals, and food. It is not uncommon for the celebrations to run for several days.
To get in the spirit, when you arrive for your 7:30 seating (there is a second at 8 p.m.), you are offered an optional bindi, the red dot worn on the forehead as, among other things, a symbol of wisdom and spiritual enlightenment.
You are also escorted to the bar where you are presented with a golgappe — a crisp-fried semolina sphere that your server cracks open and fills with a blend of potatoes, raw onions, chickpeas, and spices, plus a few drops of a flavorful liquid known as pani.
Next comes “the Taste of Seven Vows,” which the menu notes are “starters inspired by the seven sacred wedding vows in Indian marriages.” Included are a spicy and sweet chili and chicken bao that will rival any version of the steamed bun in Chinatown; a skewer of moist, lightly charred tandoori chicken; and a savory beetroot chaat.
The main course, headed “Band, Music, Food,” arrives on a large circular golden tray replete with dishes that typify an Indian wedding feast. Among the offerings you will find tender chunks of slow-cooked goat served in a rich reduction of the braising medium, moist murgh makhani (butter chicken), vegetable truffle harvest kofta croquettes in a spiced cashew sauce, and an exceptionally creamy version of the condiment dal, done here with black lentils and kidney beans. Naan, chutneys, and rice complete the platter.
Dessert, proffered under the heading “Happily Ever After,” is seasonal. The current selection, warm spiced carrot pudding, strikes me as more a moist cake than a pudding, though good for that. The sweet is paired in any case with a dollop of kulfi, India’s answer to ice cream.
In addition to the wedding tasting menu, priced at $65 a person with an optional wine and cocktail pairing at $35, the restaurant offers an à la carte menu from 5 to 7 p.m.
As to the question “Who is Madam Ji?” the answer is there isn’t one. “Madam ji” is a respectful, Hindi term of address for a woman, similar to “madam” in English. It is a common way to address women, particularly in India.
Madam Ji Ki Shaadi, 154 Bleecker Street, 212-875-1405.
See also
