Mood Indian Restaurant Philadelphia

Wow - my fiancée and I just moved onto Randolph and were wondering what to do about dinner last night around 11pm. A quick search turned up Mood Indian, located right around the corner and open until 1am. "1am?" I thought, sure that it was too good to be true. A quick call confirmed that they were in fact open that late. We headed over and grabbed a table at the quiet, charming but understated restaurant and ordered the vegetarian sampler appetizer, garlic naan, malai kofta and palak paneer. The appetizer, consisting of one samosa, several pakoras and two fried cheese curds, was delicious and perfect size for sharing. I usually exclusively opt for the green chutney for my dipping sauce but it was the brown tamarind chutney that caught my attention this time, decidedly more spicy/tangy then I've had at other places. A few minutes passed and out came the naan and two main dishes, accompanied by a colorful bowl of basmati rice. The flavor of the sauce in the malai kofta was defined more by the spices instead of the cream that I am used to and the potato & vegetable croquettes were delicious. And you could really taste the spinach in the deep green palak paneer, a firm signifier of the authenticity of the food when compared to the tasteless green sludge you often get at other restaurants. You could smell the butter as soon as the garlic naan came out of the kitchen and it was cooked perfectly. After eating to our hearts' content (and still having plenty to take home), we let our waiter know that we had just moved around the corner and were greatly looking forward to making the restaurant a regular stop in the future. He insisted that he bring us dessert on the house and brought out a bowl of rasmalai. Now I had never had rasmalai before and words cannot describe the experience I had trying it for the first time. It was absolutely unbelievable. The cottage cheese crumbled and the condensed milk was the perfect sweetness. We savored every bite, paid the very reasonable bill (dishes average about $12) and were off, gushing praise with every step towards the door. I cannot recommend Mood Indian enough. The food is perfectly spiced, fresh, and authentic. The menu is expansive (plenty of options for veg) and the prices are a steal for the quality of the food. The fact that this place is open until 1am every night is honestly dangerous now that we live around the corner. Do yourself a favor and bring a friend or two to Mood Indian.

The BEST Palaak Paneer I have ever had. The Chicken Mahkni and butter naan are also amazing! The service was top notch �