12112 W. 87th St. Parkway
Korma Sutra
If you Google the name “Korma Sutra” you will find several Indian restaurants throughout the United States and other countries who have adopted this play on words with the ancient Sanskrit text Kama Sutra. This is an ancient guide on the subjects of relationships and lovemaking, among other topics. It is probably apropos for this restaurant in that the owner seems to take great pleasure in his job and in making customers happy. Even if I were not somewhat of an Indian food fanatic, I was struck by the way the service here makes it even better.
Apparently there is a buffet for lunch time but when I came for dinner there was a large selection of Indian items from which to choose. Normally I like to find restaurants that serve South Indian food which I usually find very interesting. Here it seems to be strictly North Indian, but I found the food to be much better prepared than at a number of restaurants. Diners can choose their own spice level and the food can be as hot as you want, but the flavor I found here is not something you can just order at will.
Appetizers
Samosa appetizersUpon being seated I was treated to what would be the first of many free items to go with the meal. In this case it was samosas with a papadum cracker. Normally I pretty much skip over the freebies but the samosas were quite good.
Drinks and Side Dishes
Garlic naan
Normally I do not let restaurants talk me into upgrading from a plain naan, but in this case the Garlic Naan was well worth it, and is something I would definitely recommend.
I had ordered Chai which came with free refills. My review of it is that it was very good but did not have as many spices as I would like to have. At this point, however, came another free item, a delicious Mango Lassi that I quickly made my primary drink. Like the garlic naan, the lassi is something that I do not usually order because it is not normally as good as the one here.
The Food
Korma sutra korma
The Korma Sutra Korma is said to be the specialty of the house. This seemed like it would be a good choice, and it turned out to be so. The korma is a yogurt dish with vegetables and almonds–not spicy but I thought it was excellent. By the way, they can make the food more spicy if you request it. My sense of it was that it was very fresh and helps to give Northern Indian food a good name, something that seems to be lacking at many restaurants.
Desserts
Rice pudding
The dessert phase was where the owner seemed to be going wild. I was brought free samples of rice pudding, ice cream, and other items I did not write down, and I was very happy with all of them. I learned that after eating a meal here I would still have room for dessert, but on the other hand the desserts were so good that I would make room for them.
Wrap-Up
Even with all the free items it was still a somewhat expensive meal. There was not a single item I wanted to skip, though, except maybe the papadum.
The owner seemed to want to turn the meal into a party, and went a little bit overboard with the free samples. I appreciated it, though, especially the mango lassi which I took home and made into a bedtime beverage.
I can only think of a couple of Northern Indian places that were this good, namely places in Seattle and Oklahoma City. My meal was better here, though, because of all of the free stuff. I believe Korma Sutra has a buffet for lunch, and this would be another good opportunity to get as much good quality food as you can eat.
RATING: 24
Cuisine: Indian
Cost: $$$
Hours: Open Daily (closed from 2:30 to 5 pm)
Accessible: Yes
Smoking: No smoking
Alcohol: Beer & Wine
Most Recent Visit: Jun. 25, 2024
Number of Visits: 1
Best Items: Korma Sutra Korma, Garlic Naan, Mango Lassi, Rice Pudding
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Korma Sutra Korma |
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Garlic Naan |
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Mango Lassi |
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Ice Cream |
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Rice Pudding |