Marla Jadoonanan,
Marla’s Indian & Caribbean Cuisine
By Mike Mitchelson

For many restaurants, the path to success is establishing itself as a neighborhood fixture — a place that has a slew of regular customers, stopping in often.

Marla’s Indian & Caribbean Cuisine on Lake Street in Minneapolis generated that “neighborhood” vibe in short order when it opened in August 2005. The evidence was apparent on a recent, frigid February afternoon, when the restaurant was closed between its lunch and dinner service.

There was Joe, a small business owner in the area, and Sita at one table. At another table was Chantal and Anjali—also known as the Queen B on her radio show on B-96 FM. They sat and leisurely finished their meals, absorbed in conversation. Regulars, all of them, exclaimed Marla Jadoonanan, chef and owner of the restaurant. “Robert Bly, (the poet and author) often eats here when he’s in town,” she added.

There is a simple reason to become a regular. “The food was good, so I kept coming back,” Joe said. Joe and Sita pondered their favorite Marla’s dishes, citing the coconut chicken and “anything with lamb.” For the Queen B, it was chicken vindaloo. With regulars comes feedback on the food—something Jadoonanan welcomes from not-so-regular guests, too. “That’s how we find our strengths.”

Jadoonanan become a restaurateur after an 18-year career as a nurse. She decided, at age 40, to do something new. “I always had a passion for cooking,” she said. “I said to my husband, Ian, ‘Instead of buying a sports car, let’s open a restaurant,’” she said. Ian works during the day for the Minnesota Department of Transportation and works the front of the restaurant during the dinner rush. “He’s been very supportive.” So have their two teenaged children, who also work in the restaurant.


Chef and restaurateur

Jadoonanan’s “passion for cooking” was more than just a deep interest. She began cooking when she was about eight years old, with her older sister, growing up in the Republic of Trinidad and Tobego, an archipelagic state off the coast of Venezuela.

The two cooked with local women for village socials in Trinidad. “Both of my parents were great cooks,” she said. “And when (the family) gets together now, it’s a competition.”

Indian and Caribbean cuisine might sound like an unusual combination, but it’s perfectly natural on Trinidad and Tobego. Slaves and indentured servants were brought to the islands from India and African nations by the colonial powers. Those Indian and African regions themselves shared similar dishes. The Caribbean pelau rice dish, made with pigeon peas and choice of meat, has its African and Indian varieties—the Indian called polao. The dhalpourie roti, a flatbread wrap filled with yellow split pea filling with a meat or vegetable filling is known on the Fiji islands and Sri Lanka, Jadoonanan said. Both items are available on her restaurant menu. “The roti are equivalent to hot dogs (in popularity) here,” she said. “For the Caribbean food, I took simple dishes that are eaten every day.”

Her Indian food is particular to the Northern region, where her family lived before being displaced to Trinidad.

Jadoonanan also offers vegan and vegetarian fare, which she prepares with care using designated cutting boards. For other meals, she also avoids using fats such as ghee (clarified butter) if she can. “With all these great spices, you don’t need all that junk in there,” she said. “I’m very particular about how I cook for my customers.”

She’s particular down to the meats she uses—she is not Muslim, but meats at the restaurant are halal. “It costs a little more, but I grew up to respect people’s religious beliefs.”

Whether vegan or omnivore, it’s fresh vegetable for all the cooking, and no “commercialized Indian flavors,” she said. “Here, you are getting authentic flavors.”


Trinidad to Nor’deast

Jadoonanan arrived in Minneapolis in 1980 to live with her brothers and older sister after her father passed away. Living in the then-predominantly white Northeast neighborhood after the cultural mixture of Trinidad was not as difficult an adjustment as one might guess. “Most just thought I was Italian in Northeast,” she joked. Mixing in was a bit different when it came to bringing a meal for a potlock, however. Told to bring a hot dish, Marla brought a dish made with jalepeno and habenero peppers.

With her outgoing personality, she always fits in, she said. Desegregation bussing had just begun, bringing an influx of Hmong, Laotian and African Americans to the Edison. Jadoonanan was involved in school activities from the start, founding the school’s International Club, holding events with traditional dress and other activities. “We learned a lot about each other,” she said.

She also helped start the girl’s soccer team, and worked with the school’s newspaper. Most memorable interview: Jesse Ventura at his North Minneapolis gym. “He was very nice,” Jadoonanan said. “My brothers and I would watch those wrestling matches in the 1980s,” she said, laughing, listing off American Wresting Association names like Jumpin’ Jim Brunzel and Rock N’ Roll Buck Zumhoff.

When it came time for a career, her brothers steered her toward nursing to follow in her older sister’s footsteps. “I wanted to be a school teacher,” Jadoonanan said. “But I did (nursing) and I loved it.”

Now in her second career, the restaurant went through its hiccups like any other, but she and Ian, who is also from Trinidad, were prepared to handle them. “We’re both perfectionists,” she said. “Running a restaurant is not hard for me. And Ian, he likes to see a clean place.”

The business is now strong enough to allow thoughts for growth. “I hope to do a little bigger in the future,” Jadoonanan said. “Not too big — a comfortable size — and introduce more of the Caribbean foods.” She also has some ideas for a few traditional Indian items that would transfer well into a kind of healthy fast food option.

She does like her location, however. With diners becoming more adventurous, she’s seeing customers wander down from the offerings at the intersection of Lake and Hennepin in Minneapolis. She’s also noticed more immigrants coming in. After subsisting on American burgers for a time, “they’re looking for food from home — healthy,” she said.

Marla’s Indian & Caribbean Cuisine, 1123 West Lake St., Minneapolis, 612-823-2866. www.marlascuisine.com.