Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Shalimar Restaurant- Indianapolis, IN



Tandoori chicken, cubes of paneer (cheese), a pakora and a piece of naan are in the background:


Mushroom saag is in the foreground and the yellow sauce to the right was a delicious vegetable curry (all on top of jasmine rice).




The second plate had to include our big favorite, tikka masala (the orangish dish on the right):




We realize that when most people talk about "comfort food" they are talking about macaroni and cheese, meatloaf, mashed potatoes with gravy, and dishes like that. We are native Hoosiers who had mothers who cooked very traditionally but, somehow, Indian food has become our favorite comfort food. It's such a big favorite that we can't believe that we haven't blogged about an Indian restaurant before; we probably have the Jyoti canned Indian foods and Trader Joe's naan to blame for that because they've made it easier to have Indian food at home than it used to be.



Anyway, while we know that we should probably try some of the other Indian restaurants in town, we always seem to find ourselves at the Shalimar lunch buffet. We just know that we can count on a delicious saag (either mushroom or paneer), tikka masala, and tandoori chicken. We sop it all up with traditional or garlic naan. Those are our big favorites that we can count on but we also try bites of whatever other dishes of the day that tempt us. On our visit this past weekend, there was a delicious vegetable curry and a decadent fried bread (poori). We know that a lot of our readers are into ethnic foods but, for those of you who haven't had Indian food, give it a try. The vegetable curry was very mild and, for the dishes in this buffet, spices are expertly used for adding flavor- not heat (of course, when ordering off of the menu, you can specify mild, medium, hot, or extra hot). There are signs above the dishes on the buffet explaining what everything is so it is great for a newbie. The service for beverages and taking away plates is always very courteous and attentive. For all of these reasons, when we have a craving for the comfort food of an Indian lunch, we head to Shalimar.



(Our 2 buffet orders and 1 iced tea came in just over $19 but always check Nuvo or Coupons4Indy for $1 off coupons.)

Shalimar on Urbanspoon

8 comments:

Sarah said...

I don't think you're missing out at all by only going to Shalimar, I think it is among the best in town!

Unknown said...

I'm in complete agreement about comfort food; chicken tikka masala is just as comforting as macaroni and cheese, if not more (of course this is purely my opinion)...Shalimar is a good place, but I still think my favorite is India Palace.

WYA! said...

India Palace- we'll have to check that one out. From the website, Shalimar and India Palace have the same owner so we're sure to like it.

Anonymous said...

Looks good. I was just thinking, "Indian sounds good, not really sure where to go" I am now wondering when I can sneak a long lunch this week.

Kevin said...

Passage to India is my favorite, next to India Palace. Dosas!

Fred, Libby, Ozzy and Estelle(Stella) said...

Shalimar is definitely our favorite with India Palace hot on its tail! ;)

Charles said...

I have been to Shalimar twice, and both times the temperature was so high it made eating uncomfortable. I hope things have changed for the better. If so, I may give it another chance.

I really wish there was an Indian buffet during the evening somewhere. I think it might do quite well here.

Kirsten said...

I agree with Kevin - Passage to India is amazing, particularly on Sunday nights. If you haven't sampled their dosai, you really, really, really, really should. Heavenly!