A recent study by The Picky Eater analyzed the world’s most popular cuisines and dishes. Picky Eater’s survey determined that Italian cuisine (highlighted by pizza, pasta, and risotto) is the most popular cuisine in the world, followed by Japanese and Indian food. The study also revealed that Chinese restaurants are the most common worldwide, representing an average of 9.5% of all restaurants in “top-visited cities,” followed by Italian cuisine concepts (roughly 8.5%) and Indian establishments (8%). Indian restaurants have not propogated as widely in the United States. A 2023 study by the Pew Research Center closely indicates that Indian restaurants account for only 7 percent of all restaurants serving Asian food in America. That’s starting to change.
Although the first Indian restaurant ( the Hindustanee Coffee House in New York City) opened its doors in the late 1800s, it wasn’t until the 1960s and 1970s that Indian cuisine began to gain wider recognition, as more Indian immigrants came to the United States and opened restaurants and grocery stores. Today, Indian cuisine is a well-established part of the American culinary culture–one that is poised to explode largely thanks to innovative second- and third-generation Indian-American chefs developing new dishes and unique concepts.
Five reasons are attributed for the ongoing growth of Indian cuisine in the United States. (1) Indian cuisine has a robust flavor profile that appeals to adventurous diners who crave aromas and flavors that entice them. (2) It appeals to vegans and vegetarians. Indian dishes are perfect for anyone avoiding animal products as well as those who many have gluten allergies. (3) It does not have added preservatives. Indian recipes are made from scratch with no added preservatives. This results in healthy, well balanced menu items which are a must for a more health conscious diner. (4) Indian food has healing properties. Ingredients such as ginger, garlic, turmeric and fennel seeds work wonders on your digestive system and aid your immune system in staying strong. (5) Indian food appeals to the young. Millennials and early Gen Z’s now make up most of the population and largely dictate culinary trends. They tend to be much more adventurous in their dining choices.
Not mentioned as one of the reasons Indian food has the potential for significant growth is that it is is largely undiscovered by the public. Its potential to continue growing in popularity is limitless. Most diners familiar with Indian cuisine, however, tend to frequent Indian restauants that offer low-cost buffets. That has somewhat hindered the growth of Indian food as well as having been a boon for business. Buffets offer a low-risk, low-cost introduction to Indian food. Indian buffets tend to serve relatively “innocuous” dishes that have similarities to foods with which American diners are familiar (tandoori chicken, for example). Sadly some diners never “graduate” from the buffet and haven’t discovered the flavorful treasures in the menu. You probably wouldn’t be surprised to read that I almost never (unless it’s the only option) eat from the buffet.
While the Duke City has celebrated excellent Indian restaurants for decades, there are far fewer of them than they are of other ethnic culinary cultures. Yelp lists twelve Indian restaurants in the Albuquerque area, including two food trucks. Yelp’s list is actually longer, but it would be a stretch to call some of the additional listings “Indian.” The roster of Indian restaurants in the metropolitan area is expanding. June, 2024 saw the launch of both Kabab & Curry and Maharajah. During our years in the Duke City, I don’t recall any more than one new Indian restaurant launching at any one given month in the Albuquerque area.
Kabab & Curry may be brand new to the Duke City, but in some ways it’s very familiar. So are the proprietors, the Singh family. You might remember them as having owned the wonderul India Palace which shuttered its doors in 2013. Daughter Sonie explained that her parents were brought out of retirement from the boredom of social isolation during the Cabona virus. Sonie continues an India Palace tradition, that of customer orientation. When people asked me where to go for a romantic dinner, I often recommended India Palace because of the warm, attentive service. Sporting a perpetual smile, Sonie may become the face of Kabab & Curry.
3 June 2024: Kabab & Curry offers a bounteous lunch buffet. My perusal was solely for the sake of taking a picture, but I knew it would appeal to my Kim. Alas, my bride isn’t much of a culinary explorer. She sees the buffet as an opportunity to ferry back to our table as much tandoori chicken as her plate will hold. Well, that’s not entirely true. She also loves the grapes, watermelon and especially the mango custard. The pairing of mango custard and grapes is a winner. By the way, you can find a wonderful recipe for mango custard on Alonna Smith’s My Indian Stove blog. Alonna is a local treasure with a real passion for Indian food.
3 June 2024: Though my entree choices may vary, one standard during every visit to an Indian restaurant is mango lassi, a popular Indian beverage. Mango Lassi is a delicious and creamy blend of mangoes and yogurt with a touch of cardamom. At many of the restaurants in which we’ve had a mango lassi it’s served at room temperature. It is nonetheless a very refreshing and absolutely delicious drink with healthful properties (containing lactobacilli, a healthy bacteria that lubricates the intestines) you won’t find in American soft drinks.
3 June 2024: Predictably, my Kim’s buffet plate centered around Tandoori chicken which gets its name from the bell-shaped tandoor clay oven which is also used to make naan, the fabulous Indian flatbread. Tandoori chicken obtains its reddish hue thanks to a marinade that includes Kashmiri red chili. Kashmiri red chili powder is made from dried, ground Kashmiri red chilies, which have a vibrant red color and a mild level of spiciness. It’s got to be mild for my Kim to be able to eat chicken with which that chili is seasoned. Make sure you try Alonna’s recipe.
3 June 2024: The buffet also includes naan, either garlic or plain. A number of other very interesting and versatile Indian breads are also on the menu. Those include khasta roti, onion kulcha, laccha paratha, aloo paratha, poori, keema naan, kashmiri naan, spicy naan and bullet naan. One commonality among Indian breads is just how wonderful they are. My Kim pairs her naan with tamarind chutney, a sweet, savory and sour (cherry-like) condiment. With profound apologies to my mom and sainted grandmothers, naan may be my very favorite among the world’s breads. That’s saying a lot. Alonna has easy-to-make recipes for yeasty or non-yeast naan on My Indian Stove.
3 June 2024: As a bona fide turophile, cheese is a passion I acquired from my dad. Though my preference is for super sharp, cave-aged cheeses, I’ve got a fondness for paneer, the so-called “Indian farmer’s cheese.” Paneer isn’t aged and though it’s a soft cheese, it doesn’t melt. It’s made from full-fat buffalo milk or cow milk. It’s made by curdling milk with a vegetable-derived acid such as lemon juice. Among my favorite appetizers at Indian restaurants is paneer pakora, a popular Indian fritter in which soft battered paneer pieces (usually cubed) are fried. Kabab & Curry serves it with their delightful mint chutney. Each order comes with four large cubes of paneer pakora. Though I’m always happy to share with her, my Kim doesn’t like some cheeses. So, it’s all mine!
3 June 2024: In my travels, my perusal of Indian menus skews rather heavily toward paneer-based dishes. Buffets tend to feature only saag paneer (a popular vegetarian dish featuring pan-fried cheese (paneer) in creamy spinach). Only a few Indian restaurants I’ve visited offer paneer Karahiwala, an iconic Pakistani dish reminiscent of stiry-fry cooking. This flavorful dish is made in a karahi (iron wok). Cubes of panner are cooked together with tomatoes, green peppers and spices to form a spicy curry that will absolutely blow you away. It’s not overly piquant but definitely has personality. Palate-pleasing personality! This dish was very popular in Indian restaurants throughout England, but doesn’t appear to be very comment in America’s Indian restaurants. Kudos to Kabab & Curry for a wonderful version of a favorite–which, by the way, tastes even better when reheated (portions are generous).
17 July 2024: I had to do a double-take when studying Kabab & Curry’s menu and espying a kofta dish. Kofta is most often thought of as a Middle Eastern dish and indeed, it’s almost ubiquitous in restaurants serving kababs. In Middle Eastern restaurants, kofta is most often served as skewers of ground beef and lamb mixed with fresh parsley, onions, garlic and warm Middle Eastern spices. At Kabab & Curry, the kofta is served in a very rich curry (emphasis on very rich). Each saucy, spiced meatball is absolutely delicious, but basmati rice is definitely needed to cut the richness of the curry. The meatballs are minced (probably in a food processor), resulting in a truly melt-in-your-mouth meatball.
For those of us who frequented India Palace, Kabab & Curry is reminding us why we loved it so much. With restaurants like this one, Indian food will continue to gain new fans in the Duke City.
Kabab & Curry
3617 Wyoming Blvd., N.E.
Albuquerque, New Mexico
(505) 292-2059
LATEST VISIT: 17 July 2024
1st VISIT: 3 June 2024
# OF VISITS: 2
RATING: 23
COST: $$
BEST BET: Paneer Karahiwala, Paneer Pakora, Garlic Naan, Mango Lassi
REVIEW #1400
For my inaugural visit I sampled the buffet. It had a nice variety, including butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, aloo matar, a mixed vegetable korma, saag paneer, yellow dal, tandoori chicken, vegetable pakora and naan. Definitely some of the usual suspects but the preparation was unique. Everything was on the mild side which allowed the spices to come through. Unlike my asbestos tongued friends, heat is not a flavor for me. I think I may have actually tasted the seasonings in some of these dishes for the first time! It was delightful. I first noticed the spices in the butter chicken; in my experience in other buffets a bland, if pleasant, preparation. One bite and I knew that this one was remarkable. The spices popped out and the chicken was tender. The saag was also a little different than I’m accustomed to. I thought I liked my saag with lots of spinach and I was initially disappointed when I saw the lighter color. It was creamier, but in a rich, tasty way. The spinach didn’t predominate; it was more like a spinach spice. The third dish that grabbed my attention was the aloo matar. This one had lots of potatoes, sliced as if they started their life out as baked. Not the preparation I’ve normally seen, but since I’m a potato head, I loved it. Unlike Gil’s Kim, I’m not fond of tandoori chicken from a buffet. Tandoori meats are best delivered straight from the oven to the table, imho. (That and $5 will get you a Starbucks coffee, like Foodie Star said. Although you might need to cough up $6 or $7 in my case.) I am also not likely to grab naan from the steam counter. Fortunately our hosts ferried some fresh and hot to our table, both regular and garlic. Though I haven’t been to an Indian buffet before Kabab & Curry’s recently, I think the price for their buffet is on the high end. I hope that doesn’t dissuade potential diners from giving them a try. One taste of their appetizing food will bring you back. I left with a happy, more than full stomach, and at the end of the day, isn’t that what it’s all about?
We hit Kabab & Curry on day 2 and were more than impressed. We went for dinner to get a real taste of their cooking by ordering off the menu as opposed to dipping into a lunch buffet.
The spicy dishes weren’t as spicy as I generally like, but the flavors were positively sublime. Our hosts and servers were most gracious and it was an A+ dining experience!
We didn’t move to ABQ until 2020, but I remember going to India Palace when I would come to Albuquerque on business trips and it was my favorite at the time. I’m now not surprised to learn the same family is behind both operations. It’s great to have them back! We will definitely be back…. both for dinner and to try that lunch buffet.
It’s located just north of Comanche, not Constitution.
I misspelled Alonna’s name six times and she forgave me.
You are very fortunate to have forgiving, tolerant friends. Goof.
You misspelled more than that
LOL. BTW, we’ve been to Kabab & Curry twice now. We did a test drive Friday a week ago to make sure we wanted our friends to join us there. We were very impressed with the food. On the 7th, a lot of people were trying them out, which strained the table service, but we enjoyed the food enough to return last night.
We have tried lamb saagwala, chicken biryani, chicken tikka, paratha, Kashmiri naan, aloo saag, and my husband has to have their pickle, which he loves. The lamb was lovely and tender and I like their saag. Would try it with chicken next. This dish is great for the heat-shy.
The highlight for me was the biryani with flavorful tender chicken and fluffy rice. The rice was borderline too hot for me but I couldn’t stop eating it. Service the second time around was friendly and attentive. I would say my only disappointment was the laccha paratha, which was not the layered, shatteringly flaky bread I was expecting.
Thanks Gil for all the shoutouts and yes, you are forgiven.
Hey Gil,
Thanks for all the shoutouts! Great introduction with an overview of Indian restaurants in the U.S. The other exciting aspect of the growing number of restaurants is that we are no longer just being served North Indian food.
We are lucky in NM because we have a number of restaurants serving South Indian dishes, e.g., dosas and biryani with South Indian flavors, etc. In New York and larger cities, the chef/owners are even offering dishes from specific Indian states. It is very exciting.
We are going to Kabab & Curry tonight so I will report back. Thanks again! Alonna