The Curry House

If you are near downtown Albany and have taste for filling ethnic cuisine then head over to the Curry House on 1112 Madison Avenue. The Curry House is a quant Indian-Pakistani restaurant stationed in between local bars and bagel eateries. When I made the decision to eat at the Curry House, my interest was specifically because I know I would eating something well-seasoned, healthy and of course different. Most Indian or Pakistani ethnic based restaurants in the area are either too far away to appeal to local patron, too expensive for quick eat-and-dine, or they just don’t exist. The Capital Region is diverse area, but ethnic eateries that aren’t Chinese-American restaurants are completely outnumbered because of the “easy and recognizable” food interests of most of the consumers. 

The Curry House, 1112 Madison Avenue, Albany, NY.

Deciding to eat at the Curry House over the nearby Subway, I entered the restaurant. The seating locations, although few, are set up in a banquet fashion to encourage a comfortable eat-in experience or in my case wait while you take-out. Upon entering I was greeted by two employees at the Curry House, one whom I presumed to be the waiter and another cashier.  I was given a laminated menu of the specialties dishes, and also told about one of the meals that were a favorite amongst the traditional college student population: the shrimp curry and the salmon curry. Since I don’t eat shrimp, and was not in the mood for fish I graciously declined, and was directed to order food mostly on from the vegetarian specials.

I admit I was tempted to order a dish I was most familiar with, aloo chana. That dish is a curried stew of potatoes (aloo) and chickpeas/garbanzo peas (chana). Growing up in Brooklyn, NY, many of the local ethnic restaurants had their own national spin on the dish and it is the usual recommended go to for people trying Indian cuisine. Living in the moment however, I instead ordered the vegetable biryani because it was simple enough to experiment and would be my introduction to basmati rice.

A typical plate of vegetable biryani, a dish available at the Curry House.

Waiting for my vegetable biryani took about fifteen minutes. While I waited I was offered complimentary naan bread to snack on. The naan was freshly baked and unfortunately for me filled me up too quickly that I ultimately decided to have my main meal to go, I’m a very busy so I try to eat when I can! Although I didn’t get a chance to enjoy my vegetable biryani in the comfortable atmosphere of the Curry House, I did believe I had an eating experience that many foodies can appreciate. The rice was well cooked, not mushy and soft but still not hard and unprepared. The herbs used to season the dish were fresh, included a sprig of thyme on the side (I love thyme). The vegetables included in this variation of the dish were carrots, peas and tomatoes, all which tasted fresh not from can or frozen packaging.

A typical plate of naan. This oven fresh bread was a complimentary side offered to me at the Curry House.

I recommended eating at the Curry House, especially if you want an affordable introduction to ethnic food and especially if you want a variation from the pizza/bagel or Chinese-American restaurants all over downtown Albany. The meal cost around $15, calculating the cost of the vegetable biryani ~$11 and a beverage. The naan was free.