Maharaja

Located a 40 minute drive from Tel Aviv, lies a jewel of an Indian restaurant located in Ramle. Deby Mumgurdookhit, who arrived in Ramle as a new immigrant in 1995, set out to change the status quo about the common Israeli complaint of the utter dearth of quality Indian fare in Israel. “I had not a penny to my name, very little Hebrew, but I knew how to cook, and I saw an opportunity to rebrand a restaurant – then owned by Indian Israelis – and I took it,” she says, referring to Maharaja. While raised in Mauritius, Mumgurdookhit hails originally from the Jewish community of Bombay, and her cooking reflects the traditions of her mother and her grandmother. “The malay kofta, a spicy, creamy curry with paneer cheese balls, and the aloo gobi, a dry curry of potato and cauliflower, are particular favorites with the students and young people who drive from Tel Aviv and Kfar Saba to eat here,” says Mumgurdookhit. “We also serve a delicious thali, a daily selection of different curries served with chapati flatbread bread and rice. It is also very popular.”