Popularity of Indian restaurants is on the rise in Las Vegas Valley

If you’re craving some curry in a hurry, it’s easier now than ever. If Indian cuisine seems to have become more prominent on your culinary radar, it’s probably because of the record number of south Asian restaurants opening across the valley.

A non-scientific survey by the Review-Journal counted as many as 25 Indian eateries in Southen Nevada. While most of the openings have been stand-alone restaurants, some are extensions of current operations, such as the second location of Mint Indian Bistro on Durango Drive and Saffron Flavors of India adding two sister restaurants.

“I see Indian being mainstream very soon,” said Kris Parikh, owner of Mint.

Rick Moonen, nationally known chef/owner of RM Seafood and Rx Boiler Room at Mandalay Bay, agrees that Indian flavors are heating up local menus. “Especially with the richness of the blends of spices. You see it being popularized by movies, maybe on the cult level or a little above. And turmeric; people are so connected now with the anti-inflammatory nature of turmeric.”

Rajesh Patel, owner of Saffron Flavors of India on North Tenaya Way and co-owner of Turmeric Flavors of India on Fremont Street, said he still sees many people coming in who aren’t familiar with Indian food, but they’re in groups with others who are.

“They’re not sure if they’re going to like it or not, but they end up loving it,” he said.

Raja Abdul Majid, owner of Origin India Restaurant and Bar and a former Londoner, said current conditions remind him of what he saw in England in the ’80s and ’90s.

“The same thing is happening,” Majid said. “There is an Indian restaurant demand.” He said Origin India does a lot of work with Strip hotels, and has seen a much greater demand in terms of special events and private dining.

Then there’s the fact that the online and mobile food-ordering service Grubhub recently found that orders of garlic naan had increased 398 percent in Las Vegas in the past year.

Majid added that the fact that Indian food generally is vegetarian-friendly and appeals to the health-conscious adds to its appeal.

Parikh said he decided to open the 275-seat location on South Durango Drive because his 80-seat, 8-year-old restaurant on East Flamingo Road couldn’t keep up with the demand, with hour waits common.

“We were actually outgrowing that place for about four years,” Parikh said. The owner of a technology company, he had data on his customers and decided to locate in the western valley. When he looked at the location in December 2014, he said, “we realized there was a void on the west side.” That changed by the time they opened; among Indian spots now on the west side is Curry Leaf on South Fort Apache Road, which is operated by Patel’s brother-in-law.

Parikh said size and location weren’t the only considerations when he planned the new Mint.

“We knew if we had a bigger place and a state-of-the-art kitchen, we could do some of the things we’d been saying ‘no’ to,” he said, such as large special events. And Parikh said the smaller location makes some procedures problematic, such as cooling cooked food quickly enough to meet health district regulations. The new spot has a device that can cool food from 180 degrees to 70 in an hour.

There are numerous other state-of-the-art touches at the new Mint. It’s the only restaurant in town to have a tandoor right in the dining room. The tandoor, a clay oven used to prepare the naan flat bread and specialties like tandoori chicken, is in the buffet area and its traditional structure has been clad in stainless steel tiles to match the stainless-steel vessels on the buffet. Those vessels, which have glass lids, are heated by magnetic induction, another high-tech touch.

Parikh said customers going through the lunch buffet line can indicate what kind of naan — plain, butter or garlic — they’d like, and it’s served right to their plate, instead of being placed in a basket and brought to the table. There’s a wok for the recently introduced Indo-Chinese food, also known as Hakka Chinese, and a machine makes non-fat vegan frozen yogurt.

“You should not lose out on the experience because of your diet,” he said — a philosophy underscored by the large number of vegan and gluten-free dishes.

Then there’s The Lassi Bar, with Mint’s popular rum lassis, other cocktails and beer and wine. An automated device nearby serves six beers and two wines by the ounce.

Parikh said he can see a time when Indian food will be part of the regular weekly schedule for more people, just as Italian and Mexican dishes are now.

Majid, too, is keenly aware of the growing popularity. For the past few years he’s operated at the Consumer Electronics Show; this year, he said, his three booths drew the longest lines ever.

Patel describes himself as an accidental restaurateur. He said he opened Saffron in October 2010 because he had developed a building and, with the economy down, tenants were a little hard to come by.

“It was actually a suggestion by a friend,” he said. “We wanted to see if it would work or not because in the northwest there were no Indian restaurants.”

And, much in the same way Parikh innovated at his second restaurant, Patel introduced a new style when he opened Turmeric in late October.

“Traditionally, Indian food is shared, family style, where at Turmeric we try to do it plate by plate, individually,” he said. Instead of, say, chicken tikka masala with chunks of chicken, they serve it as a whole chicken breast atop the sauce.

“We’re taking a challenge and we’re taking a risk, but we wanted to do something different,” he said.

And he welcomes the growing popularity.

“The more, the better,” Patel said. “It puts more people with the flavors of Indian spices. I think it’s always good for the industry and good for our market.”

And great for all those people who love garlic naan.

Contact Heidi Knapp Rinella at hrinella@reviewjournal.com. Find more of her stories at www.reviewjournal.com and follow @HKRinella on Twitter.