From the spicy pickle achari, to baked-rice biryanis and piquant curries, a new set of restaurants in and around the Magic City are hungry to teach the ABCs of flavorful cuisines from the Indian subcontinent.
So far this year, three such restaurants have opened in Mountain Brook and Hoover. Three more—including metro Birmingham’s oldest Indian restaurant, 38-year-old Taj India—have opened or relocated since 2022.
Add in more established restaurants like Silver Coin Indian Grill, Bay Leaf Modern Indian Cuisine and Bar, and Kabob-Licious, and more than a dozen eateries in the Birmingham-Hoover metro area serve food from India, Pakistan, Nepal and other countries located between the Himalayan Mountains and the Indian Ocean.
Cornell Wesley, head of the City of Birmingham’s Office of Innovation and Economic Opportunity, calls it a tasty dividend of diversity among the students and faculty at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“There is a direct correlation between the types of cuisines and the different cultures and collisions that are now taking place in the food community because of the student body makeup and how diverse it is,” says Wesley.
This introduction to the newer Indo-Pakastani restaurants describes their overall menu and suggests a specialty dish to try.
2037 Cahaba Road, Mountain Brook
Owners Bhuwan Bashel and Bir Thapa bring dishes from India, Pakistan, and Nepal to Mountain Brook’s English Village district. Options include tandoori (yogurt-marinated meats seared in a hot clay oven), curries and other stewed dishes, noodle entrees, and Nepalese momo dumplings.
Try this: Goat Dum Biryani, a fragrant dish with sauced bone-in le restro bar and grill meat and basmati rice baked together. Biryanis originated in the Hyderabad region of central India; Curry Corner’s options also feature vegetables, paneer cheese, chicken, goat, lamb, and shrimp.
The Plaza at Riverchase, Hoover
Desi, which means “land” or “country” in Sanskrit, is a catch-all label for people from the Indian subcontinent. Tadka refers to a cooking method of tempering whole spices in oil to enhance their aroma and flavor. Desi Tadka restaurant bills itself as a restro bar and grill, a place serving drinks and food akin to a European gastropub or Japanese izakaya.
Try this: Bhatti Ka Zhinga, a North Indian dish with marinated shrimp, is among a dozen tandoor-baked options including some with unusual proteins like salmon, and locally atypical marinades like verdant hariyali made with green chili, cilantro, and mint leaves.
1694 Montgomery Highway, Hoover
Hyderabad is the capital of the Telangana state of South Central India, once an important trading center for pearls, diamonds, and other gems. Now it’s home to a culturally and religiously diverse population, which is reflected by the broad spectrum of flavors in Hyderabadi food.
Part of a national chain, Hyderabad House Alabama specializes in rice-based biryanis, using vegetables or meat (typically mutton or lamb) that are cooked with yogurt, onions, and spices. Its menu also offers the standard array of curry masalas, tandoor-baked goodies, and breads.
Try these: Dosas are thin, crisp, and slightly sour, made from a batter using ground rice and lentils. Some dosas are rolled into a tube, creating a dramatic presentation. Among the 10 versions at Hyderabad House are dosas stuffed with curried potatoes, chicken, lamb, or other flavors. Idli is a pillowy-soft steamed bread made from rice flour and spices. Both originate in South India.
5426 US 280, Hoover
The upscale restaurant, which opened in late 2023, is perched high on a hill above U.S. 280 (another Indian restaurant once resided there). The menu is evenly split between vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes including lamb, goat, chicken, and seafood.
Try this: Vijaywada Biryani, which is cooked in the style popular in the city of Vijayawada in the Andhra Pradesh state bordering the Bay of Bengal. This biryani traditionally features chicken marinated in lemon and spices, baked with rice that is studded with pungent curry leaves, fried onions, and the precious spice saffron. The restaurant also makes versions of Vijayawada Biryani with egg or paneer cheese.
3120 Clairmont Avenue, Birmingham
For many Birminghamians, Taj India provided their introduction to the flavors and cooking styles of Northern India. The original location on Highland Avenue opened in 1986 and relocated to the Forest Park area in 2023. Its lunchtime buffet always draws a crowd. You’ll find all of the standard curries, tandoori, rice dishes, breads, and snacks on the menu.
Try these: Thalis are combo platters featuring a half-dozen small portions of appetizers and curries, bread, rice, and other accompaniments. Tajs offers two vegetarian thalis and two with a mix of meat and vegetables.
22 Green Springs Highway, Birmingham
The post-pandemic era ghost kitchen provides catering and food for pickup or delivery. As the name notes, rice-centric biryani is the main attraction, including versions made with bone-in meat, boneless meat, shrimp, vegetables, paneer cheese, and egg.
Try this: Ulavacharu Biryani hails from the coastal Andhra Pradesh state in East India. Ulavacharu is a thick soup made with horse gram legume, which is combined with vegetables, spices, and basmati rice before the biryani is finished in an oven.
