Good Thursday morning and welcome to day five of Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week, where we are spending time with Mandy Pruthi, the owner of Sitar of India.

Each day this week, the Thread and Visit Tuscaloosa will highlight the city’s most in-demand dining locations and the hands that prepare our finest food in features published every morning.

Hungry for more? Over 40 participating eateries are also offering unique items or special discounts on their most popular orders all week long! Learn more and get connected at the Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week website now.

FOOD WITH A DEGREE IN FLAVOR

When plans for the now-finished demolition of AMF Bama Lanes forced Tuscaloosa's Sitar of India to close, it would have been easy for Mandy Pruthi to call that the end of the city's only Indian restaurant.

Her son, entrepreneur Rajvinder Singh, first opened the business as Maharajah of India in 2004, and any restaurateur will tell you that 17 years is a fine run in Tuscaloosa. But Pruthi wasn't ready to hang it up yet, and after a brief closure, Sitar re-opened three years ago at 220 15th Street East.

There, Pruthi and her staff aim to introduce people to the cuisine of her home country and show them there's something for everyone on the menu.

"I would like people to know what Indian food is," Mandy Pruthi told the Thread. "When we first opened, we didn't have many customers, but over the years we have built a large local clientele that loves to come and eat Indian food now. Many people are scared and think it will be spicy or something, but it's not - it's just flavor, all those spices we use, they mix together and give flavor to the food."

Scott Edwards, a consultant who helps the Sitar staff navigate modern social media, said the cuisine isn't all that different from that offered by nearby neighbors in Asia, it's just better.

"Indian food is like most Japanese or Chinese foods grew up, went to school for flavor and got a degree," he joked. "The flavor here is so much more layered and so much more complex."

The dishes can feature some heat, sure, but they can also be sweet, herby and packed with umami - Edwards said no matter your level of familiarity with the menu, it's extensive enough to find something you'll love.

"If you like sweet and sour chicken, you've got to try our chicken Manchurian," he said. "It's just like it, but with more depth of flavor. We want people to know that there's an equivalent to what they're probably used to they can try here, to get their feet wet."

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ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS PREPARED BY EXPERTS

Most traditional Indian entrees include a protein such as chicken, lamb or a even house-made cottage cheese called paneer served in a flavor-packed sauce over basmati rice.

All items except the naan are gluten-free, and Pruthi said Sitar features the largest vegetarian menu of any restaurant in the area.

Alongside Mandy, Sitar's staff features a curry chef, Vicky, who employs dozens if not hundreds of herbs and spices to make the different gravies.

Pruthi said Vicky is a phenomenal talent whose family are celebrated caterers back in India, and that the chef makes his curries by muscle memory and taste alone, not by strictly following a recipe, which makes every sauce served feature a unique but ever-evolving banquet of flavors.

"He's really, extremely good," she said. "We're blessed to have him here."

Another cornerstone of the cuisine is naan, a flatbread baked by chef Devendra in the kitchen's tandoor oven, where a constantly burning fire keeps internal temperatures screaming hot.

Mandy Pruthi said both chefs are experts at their craft, and the restaurant doesn't feature any canned goods, anything frozen or any chemicals - it's all made by hand, in-house, with fresh ingredients prepared daily.

"I am proud of my cuisine because it's all made fresh," she said. "We don't use any chemicals or anything. It's very good and healthy too, and people should come and try it."

The team is rounded out by manager Saurabh, who takes care of guests particularly after the buffet closes and Sitar converts to its dinner menu. Sau is filling in for a well-loved manager at Sitar, Matt, who has worked there for 16 years but is currently back in India visiting his native country.

Those are the only secrets to Sitar's long success, Pruthi said - extremely talented people working with the best possible ingredients to make genuine Indian cuisine.

Pruthi and Edwards say there are two kinds of people - those who love the Indian cuisine served at Sitar and those who haven't tried it, and their mission is to convert as many as the latter into the former as they can.

They offer an easy entry to the experience with their lunch buffet, which is served Tuesday through Sunday and comes with homemade chai tea. On Wednesdays, it features special grilled items and Fridays come with an assortment of fried food. Edwards said the weekend buffet will also soon feature an array of Indian desserts at no extra charge.

Pruthi is a highly educated and articulate world traveler with a master's degree in English and experience managing a clothing store, convenience stores and even a two-year stint at DCH as a nurse - she could be doing almost anything she wants in Tuscaloosa, but she continues to run the restaurant and allow west Alabama a taste of her home culture.

"I love doing it. This is my passion," she said. Although Pruthi doesn't cook in the restaurant, she wanders its floor daily, talking to patrons and welcoming them inside. "I love talking to people. I love to meet different people who walk in, to get to know them and meet so many different people."

During Tuscaloosa Restaurant Week, Sitar is serving a Chef’s Special Kabob Platter, an absolute feast featuring a plate of tandoori chicken, tandoori shrimp, chicken tikka, malai tikka, chicken and lamb kabobs.

All that meat also comes with a sampler of vegetarian appetizers including veggie pakoras, samosas, mozzarella sticks and egg rolls.

The $40 special includes naan or bhatura bread, plus rice pudding or fried, doughy Gulab Jamun for dessert and a Pepsi product or chai tea to drink, so the Restaurant Week Special is a sure bet to get full up on outstanding food. For a $10 upgrade, the special can be served with another plate of rice and a second dessert or drink for a couple's feast.

"We selected those items because we wanted something for Restaurant Week that might appeal to people who have had never had Indian food before," Edwards said. "Everybody in the South loves good grilled meat, and that's essentially what this is, a barbeque. We started with some things that might be a little different if you try them, but they're familiar enough to try them."

The food is good enough that Pruthi and Edwards are sure anyone who tries it will be back for more and get more adventurous with each visit.

Sitar of India is also available on all local delivery apps and available for catering events off-site. They're open every day but  Mondays at 220 15th Street East.

This profile is the fifth in a series as part of Visit Tuscaloosa's Restaurant Week 2024, which is presented this year by UA Online.

Stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread for more features every morning this week. We'll be back Friday morning with Grover Ryans at Urban Bark & Kitchen.