A Kosher Indian Restaurant in Petah Tikva Wins Over Israeli Diners

Galit Or reviewed "HaIndia HaGdola" in Petah Tikva and described it as a genuine Indian experience hidden in an unlikely corner of the city. She went looking for kosher Indian food that would not apologize for itself, and found a restaurant that was originally built to serve Indian foreign workers but now attracts many Israelis looking for exactly that kind of meal.

According to Or, the restaurant feels like an Indian spice shop, with shelves packed with sauces, powders and spice pastes, gold curtains, gilded figurines and posters of Indian landscapes. The music, Indian tea and Indian whiskey all add to what she called "Air India without the jet lag." She wrote that since the kosher restaurants of Rina Pushkarna, she had not missed Indian food this much.

Or said the food is bold and unapologetic, warning that "Whoever does not like strong seasoning should go home." Among the dishes she highlighted were a fried mix of samosas, pakora and vada served with four different sauces, and salmon masala with coconut, cashews, onion, tomato, ginger and garlic. It came with yellow basmati rice cooked with cauliflower, peas, carrots and cranberries, seasoned with curry and turmeric.

For dessert, she had a chickpea-flour cookie with almonds, cashews and cranberries, plus cashew ice cream flavored with cardamom and saffron. She called the dessert "fun, surprising and interesting." The restaurant is at 8 Stroma Street in Petah Tikva and is certified kosher dairy by the Petah Tikva Rabbinate.