Incredible Indian Food At Indus Restaurant

When I landed in West Palm Beach, Florida last week, I was tired, dehydrated and worst of all famished. I had journeyed almost across the country, hopping planes to reach my final destination. My grandma picked me up and made the short drive to Indus Indian Restaurant. A couple weeks earlier I had purchased a groupon in which I paid $15 for $30 worth of food. This restaurant opened fairly recently and I read amazing things about it online, so I was excited to try it. It definitely lived up to my expectations.

As we walked into the restaurant, I was surprised to find the interior had such a modern, upscale design, since it was located in the middle of a typical strip mall with nothing too exciting nearby. I felt completely out of place walking in with dingy clothes. Luckily, we came early, when the restaurant was empty, although the service was almost too good.

Even before we decided to order, the waiter kept coming over to our table. I don't think he was trying to be pesky, but I needed time to scan over the menu and decide what I wanted. Fortunately, the menu had a "V" next the options that were vegan, so that helped narrow it down. My grandma doesn't eat Indian food very often, so she gave me complete power in choosing the dishes. Thus, I first ordered the assorted appetizers, which came with a samosa, vegetable pakoras and chili gobi ($9).

The pakoras were so delicious and the filling was sweeter than the pakoras I'm used to. The filling seemed to be a mixture of corn and pumpkin. The chili gobi had a slight spiciness from the chili inside and was a great contrast to the pakoras. The samosas had a very savory, spiced mixture of chickpeas and potatoes. The outsides of all the appetizers were well fried and very crispy to constrast the soft interiors.

The sauces were also delicious and complimented the appetizers well. There was a great balance of very sweet and very spicy within the sauce rack.

The waiter also brought out some papadum crackers. I love these and they are great to eat throughout the meal as they help balance out the spiciness in my mouth. These were great and very crispy and had a light flavor.

Next, we ordered the tomato rasam soups ($4). Unfortunately, the waiter seemed to mess the order up, as the soup tasted more like the garden herb lentil soup ($5). Regardless, it was very tasty.

This seemed to be a mix of a spicy tomato soup and a lentil soup. The soup was filled with bitter yellow lentils, which were balanced out by the sweet tomatoes floating around. The cilantro provided a coolness to counteract the spiciness. There was also a great tang to the soup, similar to that of my beloved rasam soup.

Next, our entree came out. We ordered the Aloo Gobi: Cauliflower and Potatoes cooked in ginger, garlic and cumin tomato sauce ($12).

The dish was very delicious and so different from the Aloo Gobi I'm used to. The tomato base added a sweetness which contrasted the heat from the spices. The cauliflower and potatoes were very soft and almost melted in my mouth as I ate them. The seasonings on top added a great crunch to the dish.

The dish also came with rice which was very good and lightly seasoned.

I love that they garnished the rice and it mixed really well with the Aloo Gobi.

Overall, I really enjoyed the restaurant, although without a groupon it is definitely expensive.  With tax and tip we only spent $25 on what would have cost around $40. Nevertheless, the food and the eloquent dining experience more than justify the price.  The waiter was over attentive in offering to serve us our food and coming back consistently to check that we were enjoying our food. Indus also has great drinking deals that I would have taken advantage of, had I not been so fatigued. From 4-7 pm every day, they have half priced drinks and women who opt to sit at the bar get their drinks for free! The restaurant also has a daily buffet which has vegan options and cost $10.  I will be sure to return to Indus Restaurant the next time I'm in Florida.