Indian food satisfies both sweet and spicy palates, offering plenty of choices for diners. Its wide variety also allows for a number of dishes that are suitable for vegetarians. The cuisine draws on many regional influences, making it difficult to pin down its exact origins.
The country’s many regions, cities, and towns have developed their own flavors and styles. Street foods are a key aspect of Indian culinary culture, with each area boasting its own delicacies and popular snacks. Some are so good that they have made their way into upscale Indian restaurants.
In addition to the many familiar dishes like butter chicken and tikka masala, India is also famous for its curries, which are simmered with rich sauces containing vegetables and often meat. Some of the best curries are found in street food stalls or dhabas (roadside restaurants), such as aloo gobi, a hearty vegetable dish from India’s western state of Gujarat infused with toasted spices and coconut milk.
Tandoor-style cooking is a staple of Indian food, resulting in meaty, juicy flavor with a distinctively smoky aroma. It’s not uncommon to find tandoori chicken, lamb, or shrimp on a restaurant menu. Those who want to go beyond the typical can try a tandoori mixed grill, which combines chicken, fish, and shrimp.
This cozy spot in a corner of Bushwick beneath clattering elevated train tracks serves up both authentic home-cooked Indian cuisine and its more casual, street food cousins. Its large tables and plush banquettes make it a great choice for groups, and its expansive menu is just as comfortable to share as to linger over. Besides favorites such as biryani and kebabs, you can find less well-known dishes on the menu, like adai aviyal, a curry from Kerala with multiple vegetables, and bisibelabath, a vegetarian-friendly rice casserole from Karnataka.
In a space decorated with colorful floor-to-ceiling murals of elephants, the Taj Mahal, and other Indian landmarks, this casual eatery is a fun place to sample the plethora of flavors offered by this vast country. The menu is vast, too, with an emphasis on the cuisines of India’s southern states. The extensive vegetarian selection includes idly in its many forms, rava dosa, and uttapams, as well as a robust curry lineup, including Kashmiri lamb kolumbu and fiery Chettinad chicken from Tamil Nadu.
A newish West Village joint from the team behind upscale Indian restaurant Spice Symphony, Semma is an energetic and intimate space where guests can dine on traditional Indian dishes with modern and playful twists. Chef Vijay Kumar uses the tandoor oven to create signature dishes that push the limits of flavor and spice. Some of his best creations include roasted cauliflower with tamarind glaze, paneer tikka masala, and the oh-so-popular tandoori spicy chicken wings.