Naan & Curry

FOOD

The buffet’s opening end usually gives diners the familiar building blocks of an Indian buffet: fried starters, chutneys, salad, rice and several hot dishes waiting just beyond them. Samosas and vegetable pakora fit naturally here. A samosa is a crisp pastry filled with spiced potato and peas; pakora are vegetables coated in seasoned chickpea-flour batter and fried until craggy at the edges.

Tandoori chicken is marinated with yogurt and spices, then cooked at high heat so the outside develops darker roasted edges while the interior stays distinct from the sauced dishes around it. On a buffet dominated by curries, that dry-roasted preparation matters. It is especially useful on an early plate with basmati rice, mint chutney and something cooling from the salad side.

Chicken tikka masala is the easy reference point: roasted chicken in a creamy tomato-based sauce, mild enough to show how much richness can come from dairy, tomato and warm spices rather than chile heat alone. Butter chicken occupies similar comfort-food territory with an even rounder, buttery sauce. The Henderson buffet has also featured shrimp tikka masala, bringing the same tomato-and-cream format to shellfish instead of poultry.

The vegetarian dishes truly can stand on their own. Chana masala turns chickpeas into a substantial curry with tomato, onion and spices. Daal makhani uses slow-cooked black lentils in a darker, creamier preparation. Palak paneer combines mild cubes of fresh cheese with a spinach-based sauce, while potato-and-vegetable dishes can add a drier, less creamy counterpoint. These are useful dishes for understanding how differently an Indian buffet can build body without relying on meat.

Rice and naan connect nearly everything on the line. Plain basmati is light and aromatic enough to absorb sauce without becoming another dominant flavor, while biryani, when included in the rotation, is the more seasoned rice option. The bread is more immediate. Fresh butter or garlic naan arrives warm from the kitchen rather than spending the entire meal on a steam table, and the soft, blistered bread makes a natural second-round tool for finishing tikka masala, lentils or chickpea curry.

The buffet can stretch beyond the safest standards. Lamb preparations have been part of the lunch selection, and the kitchen’s broader menu supports a much wider curry vocabulary: korma, vindaloo, rogan josh, goat curry and several paneer and vegetable dishes. Not every one belongs to the buffet on every visit; that rotation is part of the point. The lunch line samples the restaurant’s repertoire rather than trying to reproduce the full dinner menu in chafing dishes.

Dessert is a shorter final pass. Fruit and Indian sweets have both been part of the buffet, giving the meal a cleaner exit after creamier curries and fried starters. The regular menu includes gulab jamun, syrup-soaked milk dumplings scented with cardamom and rosewater, and ras malai, soft milk dumplings in sweetened saffron-cardamom milk. Whether the day’s buffet ends with one of those or another rotating sweet, the sensible progression remains the same: small first plate, curry comparison, fresh naan, then one last look.