6 minute read
Austin spice
from Around ATX
by LASA Ezine
By: Yogith Logananthan The History of Indian Restaurants In Austin
Indian food might not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of ethnic food in the U.S, or Austin, in particular, which is better known for its amazing taco trucks, Tex-Mex restaurants and barbecue. Although, Indian cuisine has been influencing what you eat for longer than you know, some staples of the American spice cabinet made their way here from India as early as the 1950’s! Since then, Indian restaurants have been slowly creeping up on their competition, and now, it’s finally their turn in the spotlight.
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Within the last few decades, the number of Indian restaurants in Austin has grown drastically; in the 1980’s Indian food was impossible to find, but now you can find an Indian restaurant anywhere in Austin in less than 15 minutes. Although, as more Indian restaurants open up, it gets harder to stay unique because of Americanization. Also a decade ago, it was difficult to see an Indian restaurant with a To-Go model, but now it’s everywhere; things like this are what keep Indian restaurants afloat, and for this, my sources thank the pandemic.
Hariharan Gopal is the founder of Nala’s; located on Parmer Lane and Highway 290. Founded in 2018, Nala’s specifically features Indian dishes like curries (a spicy gravy combined with a variety of ingredients), biryani’s (flavorful rice layered Indian delicacy) and samosas (fried dough with potato & chickpea filling).
Above is a photo of Hariharan Gopal, he is a founder of Nala’s. Photo by Yogith Loganathan.
“Covid-19 really did some damage in the beginning because people started worrying about dining inside the restaurant,” Gopal said. “The good part is that number one, the government-assisted [they gave restaurants loans] and number two, the To-Go model became more developed; this was helpful
for the customers and it’ll help restaurants in the future.”
By providing an improved To-Go model Nala’s has expanded its customer base exponentially. The pandemic has been a wake-up call for a lot of outdated To-Go models; the pandemic forced Indian restaurants to switch from the standard buffet module, into a multimodular system.
“Many old-fashioned Indian restaurants only have a buffet,” Gopal said. “That’s why it is becoming important to be innovative.”
As Austin becomes more diverse, a plethora of different cuisines are becoming available for Austinites to try, and to stay ahead of the game Indian restaurants have to start innovating. “I believe in the current situation being innovative is a pictorial representation of our restaurant, so we do promotions, distributions, holiday discounts, daily specials and normal discounts regularly,” Gopal said.
On Nala’s website, it’s clear to see that they have daily specials, ranging from BOGO (Buy One Get One) to bulk family combos, such as their Ultimate Chicken Party Pack. On June 27, 2021, Nala’s offered a free $25 gift card to anyone who ordered over $50 online. Although, as much as innovation makes a good restaurant, there are multiple other qualities that a restaurant needs to make it successful.
“[Qualities restaurants need] The most essential quality is a passion for food, the restaurant industry is basically a service-oriented industry, so number one, you have to be very passionate, number two, you have to be hygienic and number three, you need to be very attentive to your customer,” Gopal said.
Additionally, as much as you need the three qualities above, both my sources can agree that
to have an authentic Indian restaurant you need to have
-Pandiyan Kaliyamoorthy
The interior of Nala’s, a local Austin restaraunt founded by Hariharan Gopal that serves authenitc Indian food. Photo Courtesy of MapQuest.
a chef who knows how to use the native spices.
Pandiyan Kaliyamoorthy co-owns Asiana Indian Cuisine with Loganathan Appavu. Founded in 2012, the predominantly South Indian restaurant is located on the corner of the Century South shopping center in Southwest Austin.
“[As a chef] I love the spices used in the cooking and the method of cooking makes the food more delicious,” Kaliyamoorthy said.
It’s too easy to mess up Indian dishes because of the spices, the balance is key; too much spice can result in the dish overpowering other flavors, too little spice can cause the dish to become bland and dull. This is why experience and passion are a must-have in a good Indian chef.
“A good chef has to cook with love and passion like they’re serving food to their family or friends,” Gopal said.
Although no Indian restaurants can actually serve authentic food because it might be too spicy or messy, that’s Americanization. According to the dictionary, Americanization is “a form of cultural assimilation, that stands in contrast to later ideas of multiculturalism,” in English that simply translates to, making cultures more American. changed a lot,” Kaliyamoorthy said. “It has become Americanized with fewer spices to fit the wants and needs of the people here.”
Don’t get me wrong, some Americans like spicy food, but because of the impact European culture has had on America, most Americans are prone to liking creamier dishes. There are hundreds of Indian dishes, but only a trivial amount are actually being served in restaurants.
“Austin’s culture has affected Authentic Indian food because the locals are mostly Americans, so they like more creamy dishes, like tikka masala, butter masala and other less spicy foods,” Gopal said.
This isn’t all that bad though because it actually helps Indian restaurants a lot when finding a chef. The hunt for a good Indian chef is hard and to find one who knows how to cook a menu full of dishes is even harder.
Loganathan Appavu is cofounder of Asiana Indian Cuisine; he has been in the restaurant business for almost 25 years!
“I have hired Indian chefs from different cities and states to come to cook for Asiana Indian Cuisine,” Appavu said. “The demand for Indian chefs is high because of the expertise and experience needed to master certain cooking stations, one of which is the tandoor oven [very hot clay oven, powered with charcoal or gas].”
Nevertheless, Kaliyamoorthy said that he thinks Austin is encouraging Indian food and he thinks the future is bright for Indian Restaurants not only in Austin, but the US. Additionally, Gopal believes that Tesla’s move will benefit Indian restaurants in the long run.
“The future for Indian restaurants in Austin is very bright; real estate is booming and even Tesla’s CEO, Elon Musk is moving to Austin,” Gopal said. “So, all the restaurants in Austin have started making huge profits, as a result, Indian restaurants will also have a great future.” Furthermore, people are migrating to Austin from California; this could potentially cause restaurants to gain more customers (to see exactly why people are coming to Austin go to pg. 28, “Austin in Motion”).
Additionally, as more and more people are getting vaccinated, restaurant experiences are finally starting to go back to normal. So if you’re feeling adventurous, how about you go eat at one of “The Top 5 Indian Restaurants in Austin” (located on pg.12 of Around ATX). Overall, whether Indian restaurants serve authentic food or not, we should still be grateful that we can taste another culture without even leaving the country. Food was always meant to bring people together and because of diverse restaurants, we can understand one another on a whole new level.
“Every single bite you take is like taking a bite out of the rich culture the food came from; every cuisine has its culture woven in the recipe, so by eating Indian food you are experiencing the beautiful culture,” Gopal said.
