Star of India: Authentic Indian food in Downtown Salt Lake

Makhni Chicken

Indian food is one of my favorites. A couple weeks back, I spent the evening cooking a few Indian dishes along with some other Indian food lovers. Something about the spices, texture, and preparation is all appealing to me. Cooking these dishes take a long time. With this in mind, one evening last week Rachel and I went out for Indian food.

Star of India is located is just west of State St. on 400 S. After dark, the place can be hard to find. It's dimly lit and doesn't have a lot of street frontage. We were only a few feet away on the sidewalk before we saw it. I wasn't sure if it had closed. The interior is a little drab. I think that they got all their booths from the most recent Dee's closing and had them re-upholstered. But for the most important thing, the food, it was fabulous.

For an Appetizer we ordered Nan & Raita. Nan is an Indian bread cooked in the tandoor (clay oven). Raita is a whipped yogurt blended with cucumber, tomatoes, potatoes and mint. Sometimes I eat the raita with a spoon instead of a sauce. It's that good. Rachel could eat the Nan for a meal. This is a delicious bread, doughy in the middle and crispy and the outside.

I ordered Makhni Chicken for an entree. It's a Tandoori chicken cooked in a classic tomato & fresh butter sauce. Very delicious. The creamy sauce and chicken over a basmati rice seems to make everything right. On the side, I had them bring some mango chutney. I would pour this over the dish. The multiple flavor combinations seemed to compliment each other.

I would go hear again in a heartbeat. Be careful, however. The menu indicates that you can order your dishes "Mild / Hot / Hotter / Very Hot / Very Very Hot." I ordered Hot and thought that is was only the second tier of heat so I would be fine. After every bite, I had to take a drink of water.

If you are downtown, please don't hesitate to go to Star of India. Truth be told I have rarely been disappointed by any Indian restaurant in Salt Lake.

Happy Eating.