Restaurant Review - Delightfully veggie
Fulfilling, meat-free fare found at Indian Delights
If you live here in this great Southern metropolis and haven't yet discovered the abundance of simple and inexpensive Indian vegetarian restaurants in Decatur, it's time to wake up and smell the curry. Indian Delights is located in a purple-trimmed shopping plaza on Church Street. With its overbearing fluorescent lighting and stark decor, this restaurant is pretty much an ambiance-free zone, except for a very colorful and bucolic mural covering one wall of the dining room. Still, the place ain't much to look at.
The menu is varied and altogether affordable. A counterside display case helps put a visual to some of the victuals. Appetizers run about $3 a pop, while most of the "Main Delights" are $4.50 to $4.75. One delight I delved into was the No. 14: stuffed paratha and vegetable biryani ($6.75). Paratha is a griddle-fried East Indian bread, which, in its simplest form, is dough that has been brushed with ghee, folded and re-rolled. This particular version was stuffed with potatoes and was so good I felt compelled to pull my car over to finish up my to-go order.
Lovers of Indian bread will not want at this restaurant. Deep-fried puri (also commonly known as poori), and roti (griddle-fried flat bread) play a feature part in most of the entrées.
The interesting assemblage of appetizers and side orders includes both hot and cold dishes. There are some common dishes, like samosas (2 for $2.50), a deep-fried pastry stuffed with potatoes and peas; and vegetable pakora ($2.75), a chickpea, spinach and onion fritter.
More unusual items include pantra ($2.99) — taro root spread with chickpea paste and topped with coconut and cilantro. Though lovingly prepared, it was deemed an acquired taste by my dining partner.
One winning appetizer that a friend turned me on to was the Bhel puri ($2.99): puffed rice (think Rice Krispies), puri pieces, baked potato and onions with a zingy cilantro, green pepper, garlic chutney.
Other delights on the menu include soups, snacks, drinks (which include a few varieties of lassi) and a stunning array of desserts.
Indian Delights is the kind of dining experience every reluctant vegetarian should be encouraged to explore. It's the kind of place that makes you realize a meal without meat doesn't have to be dull or unfulfilling.
Indian Delights, 1707 Church St., Scott Village Shopping Center, Decatur. 404-296-2965.Open Tues.-Thurs. 11:30 a.m-8p.m., Fri. 11:30 a.m.-9 p.m., Sat. noon-9 p.m., Sun. noon-8 p.m. Entrées range in price from $4.49-$6.75. Cash and Checks accepted.