Taste the New Menu at Indian Cuisine, Taste of the Himalayas

San Angelo’s only Indian food restaurant introduced their new menu this month. Indian Cuisine Taste of the Himalayas is tucked away in the Southwest Plaza shopping center off of Knickerbocker Rd., it offers a piece of India right here in west Texas.

For some, the thought of Indian food may bring to mind extremely hot and spicy food, which may or may not be appealing to you. At Indian Cuisine you can special order any item off of the menu cooked to your specifications.

So, if you are not a fan of hot and spicy, your options at this restaurant are not limited.

“We have a regular customer who loves the lamb curry with no added spice, not even salt. We make it for him special according to his preference,” said part owner Raj Neupane. “Our food is made the way the customer requests it to be prepared, no hot and spicy is no problem.”

As you enter the restaurant you will find a large dining area on the upper level and a smaller, more secluded one on the lower level where tables and chairs are gathered around a functioning fireplace. The wall treatments are simple and the theme throughout is heavily influenced by Indian culture.

If you are unsure of what your preferences are, trying the buffet is your best option. The buffet offers a wide variety, an adequate mix of hot and spicy entrees that will soothe the palate offered fresh daily, both for lunch and dinner.

“We added the menu about a month ago, before it was buffet only,” Raj said. “But I found that customers like the idea of personalized meals, so we added the menu to accommodate for that. One of the most popular things on the menu is the lamb vindaloo.”

Lamb vindaloo is a traditional hot and spicy recipe with succulent pieces of lamb and potatoes cooked in a delightfully fiery sauce. This is a dish off of new menu, Raj says, that can be prepared to your liking. “It does not necessarily need to be fiery for everyone,” he said.

Spinach is a commonly disliked vegetable, especially amongst children. It is often said, anything fried is good, which applies to spinach as well. If you go, try the spinach pakora or fried spinach, and you will think of spinach differently from that point on.

“I hate spinach,” said one customer. “But I could eat this stuff like no tomorrow, it’s addicting.”

Indian Cuisine serves fresh Naan bread made from scratch right out of their own tandoori oven. “The inside of the oven is clay,” Raj said. “The inside is coated with spices to give the Naan flavor.”

Even the beverage menu offers something unique. “Mango Lassi is our best seller,” Raj said. “It combines mango pulp with a yogurt-like liquid that has a creamy texture, garnered with a mint leaf.”

Currently, the restaurant does not hold an alcohol license, but has applied for one. In the meantime, customers are able to bring their own bottle of wine or whatever tickles your fancy to coincide with your meal. Reservations for large parties can be made in advance, but the dining room is large enough to accommodate large, unannounced dinner parties.

Indian Cuisine offers a 20-percent discount to all college students, and now through the end of June you can take advantage of a special: buy two buffets receive a third for free.  All of the meals are reasonably priced and you could feed a family of four for under $50 easily. Plus, if your order is over $40, dine in or take out, you receive a $5 discount. The restaurant is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch and from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner.

Indian Cuisine Taste of the Himalayas gets high ratings on Yelp and you can enjoy their new menu at 3520 Knickerbocker Rd. in San Angelo. You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter. For reservations or take out call (325) 617-5721.