Curry Cravings

If I could add one and only one restaurant to our offerings in downtown Suffolk, I would probably pick an Indian restaurant. It's easy to find good Indian in the DC area (Bombay Curry Company, anyone?), but not so much in Suffolk. We've got sushi, Italian, Mexican, and Chinese takeout, but no Indian. And sometimes a girl just needs a little curry, ya know?

So when Topher & I want to satisfy our cravings, we visit Rajput in Ghent. Topher first took me there a couple of years ago for my birthday. (It was the first birthday we'd celebrated together as a couple, and Topher set the bar for gifts very high: he gave me a first edition of To Kill a Mockingbird, my favorite book!)

We went back this past February for Valentine's Day, which fell on a Sunday, so we got to indulge in their amazing Sunday lunch buffet. All-you-can-eat paneer masala, chicken tandoori, lentils & chickpeas, basmati rice, naan, and kheer (rice pudding with raisins, nuts, and rosewater) - it was a perfect date for us.

Last week Topher's friend Matt and his new fiance Allison were in town for a visit, and we ate lunch with them at Nawab on Military Highway. (They have another location in VA Beach near Hilltop.) Nawab has a lunch buffet, so we gorged ourselves on vindaloo, curry, biryani, eggplant bhartha, and palak paneer, finished off once again with kheer.

A couple of nights ago I "cheated" on Topher and went to Rajput with my dear friend Stacy. It was delicious as always! But I felt kinda bad that Topher missed out. I was brave, though, and ordered my entree "medium-hot" (level 3 out of 5) - Topher would've been proud.

What We Ate:

• appetizer: vegetable samosas (stuffed with potato & peas)
• our entrees: chicken korma (mine) and chicken tikka masala (Stacy's), served with basmati rice and naan
• to drink: mango lassi (a sweet yogurt drink) - I would've liked this to be a little bit colder, but it was still very refreshing.

The Scoop:

Rajput Indian Cuisine is located at 742 W. 21st Street in the Ghent neighborhood of Norfolk, VA 23517. They serve lunch M-F 11:30am-2:30pm and Sat-Sun noon-3pm; they serve dinner Sun-R 5-10pm and F-Sat 5-10:30pm. You can make reservations online or by calling (757)625-4634. (I think their food is a little better than Nawab, and the decor is definitely nicer - it's better for an evening out.)

Note: The images above were found here.