By Jordan S. Carroll
Indian is my favorite ethnic cuisine and Taj India is my favorite Indian restaurant. Most people go to Shalimar or Kashmir, but I return time and time again to Taj India.
Saag paneer ($7.50) is one of the best menu items offered at Taj India. It is a curry made from spinach and cubes of soft cheese, and has just the right taste and consistency. As with most places, you’re given a big metal boat of it and plenty of rice. I don’t think I’ve ever left Taj India without a full stomach.
Nav-ratan korma ($8.95), a curry featuring assorted vegetables, herbs, cashews, and raisins, is also a good menu choice.
As far as appetizers go, the aloo tikki ($2.25) and the vegetable pakoda ($2.50) are delicious. Aloo tikki is a particularly spicy potato cake; vegetable pakoda are onion, spinach, and potato fritters. Taj India offers a lot of good breads, too, but the aloo tikki and vegetable pakoda are superior.
For dessert, the mango shake is the way to go. I can never get enough of the mango shakes; really, it even comes out of the straw slower than I’d like.
Indian food is great but a lot of the dishes, at least initially, don’t look very appetizing. The vegetable pakoda taste great but they look like something a gremlin might hatch from. The saag paneer also gets a few odd looks from people who haven’t tried it.
If you are new to Indian food and harbor these phobias, it may be best to show up at Taj India between 11:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. for the buffet. Saag paneer, aloo tikki, vegetable pakoda and many other items are available through the buffet. It isn’t as good as dinner, but you can try out a lot of different foods for the low price of $5.99.
The best thing about the food overall is the vegetarian-friendly selection. It trumps all the other local Indian restaurants and most every restaurant on vegetarian fare. Anyone, vegetarian or carnivore, can look at a menu and have plenty of options.
In addition to good food, Taj India offers great service. The staff is prompt, attentive and gracious. They just feel more personable than the staff at other Indian restaurants and you get the feeling that they really care about your business.
The only downside to Taj India, other than the fact that it’s far away from campus, is that it’s closed between 3:00 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. This is presumably because of the buffet-to-dinner changeover but it’s still very frustrating.
Taj India is located at 9904 Linn Station Rd., off of Hurstbourne Parkway. Students get a 15 percent discount through December. Buffet hours are Tuesday through Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Dinner hours are Tuesday through Thursday 5:30-9:30 p.m. and Friday through Sunday 5:30-10 p.m. They are closed on Mondays.
