Indian Cuisine in East Tennessee

Our friends, Holly and Joel, asked us if we’d like to join them for dinner at a new Indian restaurant in Knoxville.  They know that we like spicy food and exotic spices!  Plus, Joel and Holly have lived all around the world, including Singapore and the Washington D.C. area.  They've tasted some really good Indian food over the years...so we jumped at the chance for a new dining experience…

This is Bombay Palace.  It’s located at the northeast end of the Turkey Creek Shopping area in Knoxville. 

From what I’ve read, Bombay Palace is an Indian/Pakistani restaurant that is a sister restaurant to Taste of India in the Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area.  Indian cuisine seems to be growing in popularity in the Knoxville area.  I can think of at least 5 Indian restaurants in and around Knoxville.

I started out with this Flying Horse Royal Lager Beer.  I usually go for a Kingfisher in an Indian restaurant but I liked the name and it was time for a change!  I liked it every bit as much as I do the Kingfisher label. 

United Breweries Group is an Indian company headquartered in Bangalore India.  The company has annual sales of over US$4 billion and produces about 48% of all beer by volume in India.  A little research provided me with a commonality…both Flying Horse and Kingfisher beers are produced by or under license from United Breweries Group!

Like in most Indian restaurants, we were given a starter consisting of thin naan/bread along with some sauces and condiments to enjoy with it.  We always enjoy trying the different condiments as they tend to wake up the taste buds…in a good way.

Holly and Joel ordered an appetizer…but we forgot to take a photo and I can’t recall what it was… This was our appetizer.  It’s the Chicken Pakora. ($3.95) Basically, these are lightly spiced deep fried chicken fritters.  They were quite nice.  We wouldn’t even have this photo but the waitress brought one of these appetizers out for us to photograph just before we left the restaurant!  For some reason, we at times just start eating before we take a picture! :)

 

There are 12 appetizers listed on the menu at Bombay Palace.   They range in price from $2.95 to $9.95.  There are also 5 soups on the menu and they cost between $2.50 and $3.25.

Jasmine rice came with all of our entrees… We like Jasmine rice as it seems much lighter than the usual Asian ‘sticky rice’.  However, since white Jasmine rice can also be sticky, this texture must have something to do with how it’s prepared…

We love bread!!  Between us we ordered 2 helpings of Garlic Naan. ($2.95) It was great for dipping in and soaking up our sauces!

Indian ‘bread’, roti or naan comes in several varieties at Bombay Palace.  They range in cost from $1.95 for Chapati, (an Indian whole wheat flat bread roasted over open flames), to Keema Naan, Chicken Naan and Piswari Naan. ($3.95 each) Keema Naan is stuffed with ground lamb and spices.  Chicken Naan is stuffed with what else…chicken!  Piswari Naan is stuffed with coconut, raisins and cashews.

Holly ordered the Chicken Tikki Masala as her entrée. ($11.95) This consists of pieces of chicken tikka cooked in a creamy sauce with fresh tomato and exotic spices.  It’s served with rice, mint and chutneys.

FYI…chicken tikka traditionally consists of small pieces of boneless chicken baked in a clay-based oven called a tandoor after being marinating in spices and yogurt.

This is my entrée and my favorite Indian dish above all!  I have a hard time not ordering Lamb Vindaloo, ($12.95), whenever I’m in an Indian restaurant.  Basically, its extra-hot spicy lamb and potatoes cooked in a sharp tangy sauce!  I really like lamb and I do like the heat!  This was very nice indeed…

Yes…I know that all of our entrees look pretty much the same!  With many Indian dishes, it’s all about the sauces that are used with the basic ingredients. 

This is the Chicken Curry. ($9.95) Both Joel and Laurie ordered this dish for their meal.  This is chicken cooked in light gravy with a mild curry although Laurie had hers spiced up a bit.  This dish is served with rice, mint and chutneys.  We had two more happy diners!

At the time I wrote this posting, as per Trip Advisor, Bombay Palace is ranked #11 among the 904 restaurants in the area.  There were 32 Excellent or Very Good reviews and ‘0’ Poor or Terrible reviews.  To check out these reviews, you can go to http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g55138-d3671033-Reviews-Bombay_Palace-Knoxville_Tennessee.html.

For dessert, we had to try a little Kheer/Rice Pudding. ($2.99) This sweet Indian pudding is made from milk and rice and then flavored with cardamom.  It's a real palate cleanser following the many spices used in Indian cooking.  There are 7 desserts on the menu.  One of the more unusual…at least to my way of thinking…is the Gajar Halwa. ($2.99) It consists of grated carrots cooked in milk, sugar and butter, then flavored with cardamom.

We thoroughly enjoyed our dinners at Bombay Palace.  The décor is fairly simple, the service was warm and management is eager to please.  The food ranged from very good to excellent.  My only minor complaint was about the unfettered children from a nearby table who were playing underneath the table next to us.  I gathered that they were regulars…

 We will return…as I want to try their luncheon buffet…  Many thanks to Holly and Joel for the invitation!

Bombay Palace is located in the Turkey Creek Shopping Center at 10901 Parkside Drive in Knoxville Tennessee.  Phone: 865-671-6667.  To view a menu, go to http://www.easttennesseedining.com/bombay.html.

Just click on any of the photos to enlarge them…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave