The Best Indian Restaurants in New Jersey

Most South Asians living in the U.S. are familiar with Edison’s Oak Tree Road, aka Little India. It’s essentially a beehive of Indian eateries and shops, and also one of the largest South Asian business hubs in the U.S. This stretch is located on County Route 604 in Middlesex County, NJ and winds through both Edison and Iselin. The hub caters to a plethora of South Asian palates derived from North, South, and West India. The hub was incepted in the 1980s when some South Asians opened grocery supermarkets there. The area also hosts Pakistani eateries. That being said, besides the eateries here, there are also other notable restaurants in Edison, NJ, plus more Indian restaurants located elsewhere in Edison and the state. The following guide takes a look at some of the best Indian restaurants in New Jersey. 

Moghul 

A fine dining Indian cuisine restaurant, Moghul is located at 1655-195 Oak Tree Road. They offer a buffer-style menu at varying costs for weekdays, weekends, holidays, and kids. Their tandoori and grilled section include cuisine like murgh tikka reshami kabab, fish tikka hasrati, and a vegetarian mixed grill comprising bell peppers, grilled broccoli, onions, and grilled herbs. In true dine dining style, this restaurant has a seafood section with meals like sarson maach and jhinga Goan curry on offer. You can also sink your teeth into some chicken dishes like murgh saagwala, which is essentially de-boned chicken saturated in a spinach puree. 

Moghul also serve garlic naan bread, as well as roti. You can also combine their keema naan with succulent lamb. Rice dishes here include basmati rice, goat biryani made with basmati rice, an array of Indian herbs, and raita. For those with a sweet tooth, why not try their kulfi falooda, a mouthwatering ice-cream packed with pistachio nuts and saffron, coupled with delicious falooda. You can also relish a scrumptious tepid carrot halwa. Wash this down with some a signature Indian beverage like masala tea, or a cocktail from their bar like a pear and cardamom martini. 

Mithaas

This renowned vegetarian restaurant is located at 1655-170 Oak Tree Road, Mithaas caters to your every mood. It was also the first restaurant in the state to take traditional Indian cuisine, and present it in a contemporary manner and setting. They serve Indian street food here too. If you have a penchant for that, there’s no need to hop onto an airplane to India, as Indian street food is brought to you. Traditional dishes served here are Indian mithai, not to mention their mouthwatering Indian desserts. If you’re not in Edison and are craving mithai or sweets, there’s good news for you, as they will deliver yours to your doorstep countrywide. 

Set in a Desi ambience, select vegetable samosas, pyaaz kachori or some crispy masala fries from their chatak chaat menu. You can also choose some tandoori roti, garlic naan, roomali roti, or their stuffed parantha. They also serve a thali that consist of a range of Punjabi veggies you can pair with rotis or rice. Mithaas serves platters like the amritsari platter with a curry made of chickpeas. They also have some bread, a salad, some cheese and pickles on these platters. 

Their North Indian vegetarian curry menu consists of dal tadka and paneer tikka masala. The dal tadka includes lentils, Indian herbs and some ghee. The paneer tikka masala comprises grilled paneer melded with a decadent gravy of onions, tomato, and peppers. If you are into tawa parathas, try choosing their mooli paratha or the chili and cheese paratha. The mooli paratha is filled with tasty veggies like radish, chilies, and some cilantro. 

You can also have a ball at their pao station. Try the samosa pao with peas and potatoes. This decadent meat-less concoction includes flavorful chutney, bread and refreshing mint. 

If you want a taste of the streets of India, try the veggie burger here. It comprises a veggie patty, so it still feels like a hamburger whether it contains meat or not. This delish burger is placed between a soft hamburger bun. They also add cheese slices, mint-infused chutney, onions, et cetera.  You can also go for a shahi sandwich. This has three layers of cheese and condiments like mayonnaise and more. They also serve veggie biryani as part of their street food offers, as well as channa bhatura. This is essentially fried bread decked with pickles and some peas. Kids can also enjoy meals like a kid’s vegetarian patty or burger. 

Their desserts menu is impressive with rasgulla, aka cottage cheese dumplings covered with sugar. They really live up to their name, as these desserts are simply decadent. You can also order malai kulfi, aka ice cream mixed with delicious evaporated milk. They also serve mango kulfi, falooda with pistachio flavored kulfi, and pancakes drenched in condensed milk, often referred to as malpua rabri. 

Then there’s their decadent dry fruit and nut menu. These include cashew fudge, anjeer barfi, which is essentially fudge melded with an array of nuts and some figs. You can also enjoy cashew dumplings packed with nuts here.  

Deccan Spice 

Deccan Spice is an Indian fine dining establishment situated on Wood Avenue, Edison, NJ. You can savor that Desi ambience here too, and you can make reservations for up to 20 diners, according to their website. They also adhere to strict pandemic protocols, and patrons are seated with additional space between tables. Social distancing is also practiced in their common spaces. Their menu is quite expansive. They serve an array of soups at affordable rates. You can choose from their monchow vegetable soup, their mutton paaya soup, their lobster rasa, or a bowl of sour and tangy chicken broth. 

They also offer both non-vegetarian and vegetarian appetizers. The non-vegetarian variation includes prawns with sangria, Apollo fish, tawa fish, as well as crab and karampodi chicken. For vegetarian appetizers, you can select something like a spinach tempur or some pakora, also referred to as a tasty vegetable fritter. 

This eatery takes you to street food served in Hyderabad with their chili. They also serve a variety of biryani dishes. Select a veggie variation or a gobi or goat biryani. You can also choose a tasty lamb biryani or a smoked Koyla variation. Their chef has a favorites menu as well. Here you can choose butter chicken prepared in the same way they do in Delhi, India. Or opt for a Mangalorian style prepared roasted chicken. 

They also serve dal here, as well as a wonderful selection of seafood. Breads here incudes naan, roti, and cheese-infused naan. If you’re not that hungry, you can always just opt for some jeera rice or a papadam. This restaurant also offers catering, as well as wedding offers like wedding lunches. If you plan on getting married and have a penchant for all things sweet, note that Deccan Spice has a huge array of desserts to choose from. This includes rice kheer, gor ladoo, a selection of kulfi, and halwa made with walnuts. 

Saravanaa Bhavan 

They serve a variety of North and South Indian cuisine here, and are located in Wood Avenue, Oak Wood Plaza, NJ. You can order from their wide selection of appetizers like sambar vada. This is essentially a lentil donut, covered with sambar, and decorated with cilantro. Or choose a bowl of rasam, one of the most popular South Asian soups. 

Saravanaa Bhavan also has a bread corner where you can order poori bread, and enjoy this with different types of curry. You can also order parotta bread melded with onion raitha and various veggies. You can also enjoy some channa batura with delicious masala chick peas. They also offer breads that have been baked in a clay oven like garlic naan, as well as tandoori rotis. 

If you’re looking to treat yourself further, opt for one or more of their decadent desserts. You can enjoy gulab jamun served in a syrupy concoction, or savor some almonds and honey. Finish off all this decadence with a delicious butter or rose milk. 

 Persis Biryani Indian Grill 

You’ll find this restaurant on Inman Avenue, Edison, NY. They believe that serving tasty food is a way you get to make human beings happy. The pride themselves in making flavorful, authentically Indian dishes, and strive to satisfy their patrons with their food. 

They offer an array of non-vegetarian and vegetarian appetizers. The non-vegetarian variations include lamb pepper fry, spicy garlic fish, lasooni shrimp and egg bonda, which is essentially egg fried in Indian spices. The restaurant serve tandoori appetizers as well, including chicken sekh kebabs and salmon tikka. 

As main courses, they offer diwani handi. This is a combination of roasted veggies covered with a mouthwatering sauce and garnished with spinach. You can also select their korma chicken with cashews, or their lamb, goat, or chicken curry. They serve a variety of authentically Indian breads too, including onion kulcha. There is also a menu for biryani and their side plate meals, as well as a menu for kids which included cheesy naan bread. If you crave something sweet, don’t fret, as they have just what you need with their kulfi and carrot halwa. You can also savor a sweet, nutty, cheesy dumpling like ras malai here. 

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