Indus village on San Pablo.
We had dinner at Indus Village Pakistani Restaurant on 1920 San Pablo. It is the new restaurant by the owners of the Grocery store next door.
Pleasantly decorated (only the lights are too bright). You order and pay and they bring food to the table. Keeps prices low!
Tandoory chicken (my landmark dish!)was moist and well seasoned. The onions needed much more cooking though.
Kuna Gosht is a mutton shank simmered in a pot. Very soft and slow cooked. Not too fatty and just the right ammount of spice.
Palak aloo is spinach and potato. Best saag dish I have had in any indian place in the bay area. Cardamom pods, not overcooked...The best dish for the night.
Rice was perfectly cooked...large portion...
Naan. They never brought it to the table...
Daal-a-khas are lentils which were quite tasty.
A nice new find in an area with many possibilities!
By marlon
on Aug 28, 2005 12:53 PM
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Indus Village Pakistani Restaurant is awesome!!! I've been there three times in the last week and I can't get enough of it!!! In fact, my obsession with it has gotten so bad that I'm even contemplating returning there again today, making it four times this week. Everything I've tried there has been terrific: mutton, chicken tikka masala, spinach curry. However My overall favorite dish is the eggplant curry. I hear the goat is great too. And the mango lassi is unique and wonderful, with I believe a dash of rose water added to it. Yum, Yum, Yum!
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Yes ... that's the word, I agree ... awesome !!! Exclamations necessary. And let me repeat your last words... yum, yum, yum.
Not just the best Indian food in the area, but probably some of the best food period in the area.
The menu says the spices are hand pounded. Indus food, the Halal market next door is the supplier which they say keeps the prices down. No kidding. A chicken tikki leg is $2.99. The combos run from $4.99 - $7.99 with most prices in the middle.
I ordered the Masala Combo ($6.99). Even if I wasnt on a diet this would be enough for two meals. Diet-wise it will provide three meals for me.
It came with a large round piece of naan, lots of rice, a huge portion of spinach with potatoes and a generous serving of chicken tiki masala. None of that business of a few small pieces of chicken drowning in sauce. There were six big pieces of chicken.
What I loved best about that chicken was the smokiness. The Saag Aloo really is a must order. The spicing is complex (perhaps some cinnamon?) and there was some sort of pepper pod.
Also ordered the recommended kuna ghost with one of the most tender, fall off the bone lamb meat Ive had in a long time. All sorts of spice and long slivers of fresh ginger. Again yum, yum, yum.
The only thing that was average was the naan. Fresh, hot and nicely browned from the tandoori, it just didnt ring any bells for me like the other dishes. Unless you order a combo, the naan must be ordered separately. Chai tea is free with two large urns in front of the restaurant. Unfortunately they ran out of the eggplant.
It is really a colorful place with two murals of Indian villages running along both walls. There are multicolored chairs with wooden dowels that look like the type one would find in a brightly colored childs room. The kitchen if full of big bubbling pots and people busy slicing and dicing.
They have a dessert I havent seen before Gajar Halwa red carrots cooked in milk, cream and Indian sugar - $1.99. Same price for the Kheer (rice pudding). The rasmali, cured cheese patties in sweet creamy syrup is $2.99 and listed as a must try.
I am still eating my 1/3 dinner. Its been about an hour. Its just because the food is that good. With each bite I think, thats just amazing and I let the spices and flavors dance in my mouth for a while. It is also some of the spiciest Indian food Ive had. On this cool East Bay night Ive broken into a sweat.
The website is listed on the menu but isnt working yet. Ill put it in anyway in case it comes up soon. There is a big overhead menu in addition to take-out menus and restaurant menus. For some reason, the restaurant menu has fewer dishes that the take-out.
Anyway, highly recommended highly. Thanks guys.
Located on San Pablo near University, almost across the street from Everett and Jones BBQ. Skip the BBQ. You will eat less expensively and more deliciously at Indus village.
Well, Im glad that crabby crabcake guy on the Not About Food board doesnt read the Bay Area board because I loved this food and I dont often like Indian food.
Oh wait, another bite of lamb wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.
Link: http://www.indusvillage.com/
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yummmm...reading these posts have me trying to come up with a productive excuse to be around West Berkeley in the near future
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Why, weren't you planning to shop for Levelor blinds? There's a store on San Pablo right in the middle of all this chow delight. Not to forget Spanish Table, of course.
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Ohhh, yeah...the blinds. They need, uh, replacing...yeah, there, that's the ticket hehe.
Levelors or not, I'm definitely making it a point to make it out there in the near future :)
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Nice to hear that it's so good. The food at their grand opening party was not memorable except for the goat or mutton curry, so I'd been in no hurry to go back. I love their market.
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Maybe following Chowhound suggestions were the magic trick. Thanks for the suggestion ... goat curry and the eggplant dish next. Any dishes to avoid?
Just to be sure, brunch today was leftovers. Everything was still good. There is almost a fruity quality to that spinach. All the dishes have different flavors and are distict from one another. Somthing that doesn't hit me in most Indian food.
I can always use my out "I don't know nothing about no Indian food". However, other than Curry Corner in Hayward, this is the only Indian food I've found worth eating. I really don't get Naan N' Curry, other than the naan. It's just same tasting soupy dishes. The spinach was horrendous and bitter. However the naan is worth a stop.
Any good tips for the market? I was too busy to check it out yesterday.
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There are 5 Naan 'n' Curry locations, last time I counted, maybe more by now. While the menus are just about the same among them, the cooking skill varies considerably. Which one did you try?
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Indus is great, I try to go at least once or twice a month.
The Saag Gosht (Spinach and Lamb) is incredibly tasty, very flavorful and complex with just the right amount of cooking.
The curried eggplant is heavenly.
The Goat Biryani has just the right amount of spiciness and a rich full flavor.
Everything is great honestly, so I'm just mentioning my very favorites.
Highly recommended.
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Brain masala on special today. Really good--if you didn't know what it was you might think it was the best scrambled eggs ever. Worth a detour.
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