Indikitch | Bringing you the taste of home.The following post is in partnership with Indiktich, a restaurant offering a wave of fast-casual Indian food full of real flavor, and no hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, or GMOs. Visit their website to check out their menu and feast at one of their five locations in New York City.
When eating out as a young family, it can be challenging finding a restaurant that mimics the taste of homestyle cooking by using fresh ingredients while being family friendly. Indikitch, which has five locations in NYC is looking to change that. Specializing in casual Indian fare with a customize-your-own dish component, their brand ethos emphasizes their belief of serving real food that’s full of flavor.
“We believe in all-natural non-GMO ingredients, in food made from scratch and the old way of doing things made new again. No hormones, no preservatives, no cutting-corners, no compromises.”
A few weeks ago we were invited to have lunch at their Flatiron location and I happily accepted as I’ve been hearing quite a buzz from my friends regarding the eatery and it’s menu options. We found the restaurant within minutes and walked in just as they were opening. The light flooding in through the windows with the spices and aroma filling the air was a familiar memory of home.
With a large selection to choose from, IndiKitch makes it easy for you to put together your perfect meal. There are reminders of menu items all around the restaurant featuring some of the top picks. The menu offers you four options: Feast (think casual thaali style, some of everything, making it a full meal), Biryani, Kati Roll or Salad (all with your choice of protein). Protein choices include chicken tikka, pork, paneer, lamb kofta, and mushroom. I mean, you’re spoilt for choices! You also get to pick your level of spice ranging from no spice to extra spicy. Because we eat Indian food often and are used to spice, my husband and I went with ‘spicy’ one notch lower than the max knowing our little one would be able to share if needed.
For children, the ordering and prep process is an absolute treat as they can choose everything from behind the glass and watch as their meal comes together. Our little one was excited to pick her rice and salad options and watch them go down the assembly line to check out. We opted for a feast dish, a salad, extra rice and samosas for the three of us.
My husband called dibs on customizing the feast and chose the kadai option with chicken tikka, garlic naan, yellow daal with basmati and the carrot kuchumber salad. I chose the salad with paneer and our little one opted for saffron rice, chicken and a side of samosas. After all, who can resist samosas? For drinks we ordered a mango lassi, blood orange lemonade and a ginger lemonade.
Within seconds of digging into his feast my husband commented on how homely the food tasted and how the spice level did not disappoint. Our little one was happy with her rice selection and couldn’t stop sipping on her mango Lassi. The salad was something that I chose on a whim and wasn’t expecting to be wow’d. What I got was something that I can’t talk about without craving! Flavorful marinated paneer cubes on a bed of crisp romaine lettuce, red cabbage, cilantro, pickled onions, tawa spices, coconut & coriander pestos. The lemon yogurt dressing put it over the top as did the chickpea chips. I also got a side of beet kuchumber that if left alone I would finish an entire bowl of. It was easily one of my favorite ways to enjoy a salad.
The portions are large enough to fill you up without feeling stuffed. We enjoyed the fresh flavors as opposed to the heavy, cream laden dishes you find in most Indian restaurants. As parents we appreciated the quick turn around from ordering to having our meals prepared. The staff was kind and accommodating to all of our little ones extra inquisitive inquiries and requests. This could be a great lunchtime option or a weeknight dinner when you’re craving homestyle food but don’t have the time to cook.
If you’re looking for freshly prepared, quick, homestyle Indian food, Indikitch is a must try. They now have four locations, making it even easier to access fresh, flavorful Indian food. While this review was done in partnership with Brown Girl Magazine & Indikitch, all opinions expressed are my own. Photo courtesy Pooja Dhar.