Marla Jadoonanan and her husband Ian bought Natraj Indian Kitchen at the corner of Lake St. and Emerson Ave. on August 1 and re-christened it Marla's Indian and Caribbean Cuisine. Marla, friendly, warm and enthusiastic, clearly loves running her new restaurant.

Marla has kept Natraj's Indian menu and added authentic Carribbean dishes that her family enjoys. She's also added some vegetarian Indian items and some items that are a fusion of the two cuisines. She also plans to add daily or weekly specials.

Marla has no previous restaurant experience except for helping her brother Harry Singh in his restaurant (his Caribbean restaurant is located on Nicollet near 27th St). But she loves cooking. She considers her brother her mentor. Marla's current kitchen collaborator is Tamkalawan (Moises) Singh, the former Natraj chef.

Marla worked as a nurse for 18 years at Fairview hospital, from which she resigned recently. Now she's at the restaurant most of the time--12 hours a day, six days a week.

Her husband comes in evenings after his day job. "This is what I love," Marla explains, "both the front of the house and kitchen. How do you explain that? Nirvana? It's like being a new mother. I wake up ready to go. And my kids are very understanding." Her 13 and 16-year-old children work in the restaurant on Saturdays. "I need their help and they do a wonderful job," says Marla.

Marla grew up in the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago. At 15 she moved to Minnesota to join her two brothers. "From Indian, Creole and Latin flavors to Minnesota blah," she laughs. Her husband Ian came from Trinidad 18 years ago.

Marla notes that combining Indian and Caribbean cuisines is a unique restaurant concept. Many parts of the Caribbean have a large Indian population, however. They were brought by the British as indentured workers to work the fields after the slave trade stopped.

Marla has spiffed up the restaurant's interior by installing new carpeting, drapery, and table covers. There are also new interior murals to add a Caribbean flavor to the existing Indian murals. The exterior of the building was recently painted and in the future will sport murals as well.