Lack of Diversity in Indian Restaurants in the US

Vikram Arumilli asks the question:

If you could open a restaurant, what kind of restaurant would it be, and what would you name it?

I think he dismisses the obvious option right away: an Indian restaurant - but not your typical Indian restaurant. You know what I mean. They come in two flavors. The North Indian restaurant has pindi chana, navrattan korma, saag paneer or mutter paneer, subzi, and yellow daal. The South Indian restaurant has idlies, dosas (way too greasy versions), vadas (again too greasy) and sambaar. No restaurants want to stray too far from the tried and tested formula. Prashant Kothari discusses this in this older still very relevant post.

But I know and you know that there is a whole universe of wonderful Indian cuisine that never shows up in the standard menu. All that good food you Mother, Mother-in-Law, Grandmother, Grandmothers-in-Law and auties could make. My Mother-in-Law can make at least two-dozen wonderful South Indian dishes that I have never seen on a restaurant menu. She makes these little stuffed eggplants with spices that is just incredible. And how about adding some delicious South Indian style vegetables (poriyal) to the menu.

For North Indian cuisine, why not be a little different? Why not offer chapathi instead of tandori naan, just to be unique. Hot chapathi freshly roasted and served right off the griddle would be a wonderful treat. And why not try some new dishes? There are dozens of different daal dishes, why only serve chana and yellow daal? I remember a restaurant in Minneapolis called Delites of India. They served only North Indian Vegetarian food. Their chef, Om Prakash, made several wonderful dishes I haven’t seen since even after eating in easily 50 different restaurants. He made dhansak, saag chana, dum alloo and many other unique dishes.

Here’s another idea: give your restaurant a fun Indian theme. How about cricket? Have pictures of the Indian cricket stars in giant mural-sized portraits on the walls and a few bats, balls, and stumps decorating the periphery. It will remind the Indians of home, and the pleasant times that Indians had watch the cricket matches. Maybe broadcast live cricket matches on the big screen television (you might have to show delayed matches most days because of the time difference).

As for the name of the restaurant: I like "Laxman's Knock".

The point is, if you want to make a success in you business venture, dare to be unique!

This post has done one thing: It has made me HUNGRY!

Update

If you have a favorite Indian dish that you would like to see served at a restaurant, please comment about it.