Ever since I watched the film “The Hundred-Foot Journey” I had been dreaming of the delicious aroma of Indian curry. To satisfy these cravings, I headed to Samrat Indian Restaurant.

Hidden in a slightly dodgy building located on South Crouse Avenue, opposite CVS Pharmacy and up three flights of stairs, is an amazing array of delicious Indian cuisine.

I arrived in time for the lunch buffet and was greeted by a sweet, elderly Indian woman. She seated me in the center of the room, which was crammed with glass tables, sparsely positioned Indian paintings on the walls and old Valentine’s Day balloons floating along the ceiling. After pouring me a glass of water and taking my order for a mango lassi, she told me to help myself to the buffet.

I was instantly faced with the problem of too many options. The food smelled so good, I wanted to grab the ladle and scoop mounds of curry onto my plate.

There were veggie samosas — a deep-fried mashed potato filling wrapped in thick dough — tomato soup, white rice and plain nan bread and chopped raw vegetables. There was also a dessert bar with mango, rice pudding and a small round donut called gulab jaman soaked in sweet syrup similar to maple syrup.

I devoured a veggie samosa, dipping it into the sweet brown sauce provided in the salad bar, although I saw others dipping them into tomato soup. I recommend sampling a little bit of all the desserts before you go for your second serving of lunch. Otherwise you’ll probably find yourself way too full. The rice pudding was rich and creamy, and if you dunk a gulab jaman donut into it, it’s a sweet bowl of gooey perfection.

Then, there was the curry bar.

The restaurant’s most popular curry is the chicken tikka masala, a bright burnt orange colored curry. Cooked in a clay oven, it contains large chunks of boneless white chicken meat, thick and creamy butter sauce, fresh tomatoes and a warm fusion of coriander, cumin, cardamom, nutmeg, paprika, cayenne and ginger spices.

Unsurprisingly, I agreed with the popular opinion that it was also my favorite option in the buffet and went back for an entire plate of it. Apparently I was not alone, as it was refilled twice in the buffet while I was eating. I mean, it is all you can eat, so why not?

The mixed vegetable curry was swimming in thinner gravy with oil bubblies floating around the top. I spied carrots, potatoes and celery but decided to pass on it as its green neighbor, the saag paneer, seemed to be calling my name.

Saag curry is thick and hearty, loaded with spinach, mild spices and homemade cheese cubes. The combination of the creamy saag, which means leaf-based dish, with the spiced tikka masala smothered over rice and wrapped in soft nan bread was a match made in heaven.

The dal yellow curry was mild and simple in flavor. With yellow lentils, onion, ginger, garlic and fresh cilantro, it was gentler on the tummy and taste buds.

In addition to the curries there were two other main dishes. Chicken tandoori legs and the Channa Bhatura, a spicy, vegetarian chickpea mash paired with soft fried puff bread. The chicken legs were marinated in yogurt and spices overnight and then cooked in a clay pot. The marinade colored the chicken a red color, and I found this one to be a little dry and boring in comparison to the rich flavors of the other curries.

The Chana Bhatura was pretty spicy. The chickpeas are cooked in curry sauce with fresh tomatoes, garlic, ginger and hot spices. The idea with this dish is that you rip the fried puff bread open and fill it with the chickpea mash to tone down the spiciness. I didn’t realize this until after I had eaten a large forkful of the chickpea curry itself and shocked my taste buds.

To soothe the spice I downed my mango lassi. It was a bright yellow color. I had been expecting it to be a kind of smoothie but this was more like drinking a thick mango yogurt juice. Sipping on it was like drinking liquid mangos, and for a moment I could pretend I was somewhere warm and exotic.

When dining at a Samrat buffet, be warned — overconsumption at this delicious food is highly likely.

Published on March 16, 2015 at 12:01 am