Indian Food in Pokhara: Curry, Tandoori, and Biryani

Indian food in Pokhara is not a niche you have to search hard for. Curry, tandoori chicken, naan, roti, and biryani sit on a lot of the same menus as momo and Thakali thali, ordered by locals and visitors alike as a regular option rather than a special-occasion cuisine.

Curry and gravy dishes

Curry culture is not exactly new to Nepali cooking either. Nepali food already leans on spiced gravies like khasi ko masu, the slow-cooked goat curry built on turmeric, cumin, and garam masala, so Indian-style curry fits in naturally rather than feeling imported. Paneer and chicken curries are common, built on a base of onion, tomato, and a spice blend, simmered until the gravy thickens. Some places lean spicier, some milder, so it is worth telling a restaurant your heat preference when you order.

Tandoori and the clay oven

Tandoori chicken is cooked in a clay tandoor oven, marinated first in yogurt and a dry spice mix, then cooked hot and fast until the edges char and the inside stays juicy. It is a different method from sekuwa, Pokhara's own charcoal-grilled meat tradition, but the end result, smoky, marinated, char-edged meat, lands in a similar place. If charcoal-grilled meat is more your speed, the guide to sekuwa in Pokhara covers that side of things.

Naan, roti, and biryani

Naan is a leavened flatbread baked in the tandoor, soft and a little chewy, usually ordered alongside a curry to scoop it up with. Roti is the simpler, unleavened version, thinner and less rich. Biryani is its own thing entirely, a spiced rice dish layered and cooked with meat or vegetables, filling enough to be a full meal on its own rather than a side. It's a good order when you want something more substantial than a bowl of curry and rice served separately.

Good for group orders

Indian-style meals suit a group order better than a lot of other cuisines, since a couple of curries, a biryani, and a stack of naan can be split across several people without anyone getting stuck eating the same single dish. If you're ordering for a group, or splitting the bill with roommates, that variety is worth planning around. See the guide to ordering food for a group in Pokhara for more on that.

Ordering Indian food for delivery

Curry and biryani both travel well for delivery since rice and gravy dishes hold their heat longer than fried food does. Naan is best eaten within the first few minutes while it still has some softness to it, so it is worth timing your order around when you actually plan to eat. If you like your food properly spicy, say so when you order. For more on handling heat in general, see the guide to spicy food in Pokhara.

Indian food in Pokhara earned its spot on the menu the same way momo did, by being ordered often enough that it just became part of the regular rotation.