Kabab and Curry

I don't remember when the "Coming Soon" banner went up in front of Kabab and Curry. I do know that it was long enough ago -- and we were awaiting it with such anticipation -- that during a game of Taboo back in October, my brother, who had to get us to guess the term "shish kebab," only needed to say "There's a restaurant on Spenard called this that will NEVER OPEN," and we guessed it immediately.

Kabab and Curry finally did open in mid-December, and by the time we finally made it in for dinner early in February, our excitement had reached unrealistic levels.

Maia Nolan photo

Kabab and Curry's lamb korma, chicken tikka masala and onion kulcha.

We wanted to try the aloo seekh kabab appetizer ($7.99), a fried mashed potato kebab, but our waiter told us the necessary ingredients for seekh kabab had been difficult to procure and had just arrived but hadn't been prepped yet. No seekh kabab for us.

We opted instead for samosas, which took a long time to arrive -- to Kabab and Curry's credit, they offered to comp the appetizer due to the wait -- but were totally worth it: spiced but not too spicy, flavorful but not too rich or greasy.

Kabab and Curry's entrees range from $15.99 to $17.99 and offer standard Indian fare as well as a few dishes I didn't recall seeing before in Anchorage, including more seafood than I've noticed at other Indian restaurants. We went for chicken tikka masala and lamb korma. The korma was nice, with a creamy, flavorful sauce, but I preferred the tikka masala, sweet and savory with chunks of tender, red-crusted breast meat.

We had a hard time choosing bread -- Kabab and Curry's menu lists 16 kinds of naan and roti, all $2.99 -- but settled on onion kulcha. For me, the bread was the highlight of the meal -- soft and a little salty, and dotted inside with crisp, spicy onions.

We were a little intimidated by the dessert menu but let the owner talk us into kheer and ghulab jamun ($6.99 each), neither of which sounded like something we would have ordered on our own. The kheer -- essentially rice pudding -- was perfectly nice, but the real treat was the ghulab jamun, which is described on the menu as "sweat cheese dumplings" in rosewater. We hoped the "sweat" was supposed to be "sweet," but really didn't know what to expect. What arrived was a bowl with two small, dark blobs soaking in perfumed syrup. (Some quick Internet research the next day revealed that the dumplings are made from powdered and fluid milk, flour and butter and then fried.) I'm still not sure how I felt about the texture -- sort of gelatinous and grainy at the same time -- but the flavor was beyond delicious, sweet and floral and popping with cardamom.

Despite the dramatic buildup, Kabab and Curry didn't disappoint. While a few new-restaurant kinks still need to be worked out -- and while Bombay Deluxe's lunch buffet is still the best deal in town, dollar-wise -- it's a welcome addition to the neighborhood.