New Indian Restaurant Brings Sweeping Menu to the West Bank

A new restaurant in Gretna has joined New Orleans’s remarkably small number of options for Indian cuisine, offering a massive menu of kebabs, masala, curry, and biryani. Turmeric opened late last month in the former longtime home of Red Palace Chinese on the Westbank Expressway.

According to NOLA.com, Turmeric is the first restaurant from business partners Sandip Chavan and Vaibhav Chavan (no relation). Open for lunch and dinner and offering the tried-and-true lunch buffet, the long menu covers a full range of Indian specialties, from naan to galub jamun (a fried dessert) to mango lassi. It’s affordable as well, with appetizers like samosas and chicken wings all under $6, and a tandoori mix grill and fish tikki as the two most expensive entrees, $18 and $16, respectively.

Included in New Orleans small list of Indian restaurants are longtime Uptown buffet Nirvana, Marigny cafe Silk Road, and Metairie’s Shyan’s Kitchen and Taj Mahal (plus a couple more in Kenner). In recent years, Indian street food pop-up Tava opened a stall in food hall Auction House Market, and Magazine Street’s upscale Saffron Nola has become a top dining destination since opening in 2017.

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• Indian restaurant Turmeric opens in Gretna, bolstering the small local curry circuit [NOLA.COM]
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