OC Restaurant Quest: Nawab British Indian Cuisine in Berkley
(Crystal A. Proxmire, Feb. 4, 2025)
Berkley, MI – In Downtown Berkley there is an amazing restaurant called Nawab British Indian Cuisine that brings fresh, quality ingredients together with authentic, rich flavors. Nawab means royalty, a fitting name for such top notch food.
I wanted to showcase a variety of Nawab dishes, so I got a few things to try.
I eat dessert first, so I’ll start with Rashmali. This is a pair of house-made cheese balls soaked in sweetened milk. So delicious.
Naan is a staple in Indian cuisine. This soft, delicious bread comes in a couple different ways. I picked the garlic and cheese version. There is also garlic and chili, plain, cheese, and Peshwari which is stuffed with nuts, raisins, and coconut.
I loved Nawab’s vegetarian options. The Saag Paneer was packed with freshly cooked spinach in a creamy sauce along with big squares of delicate Indian style cottage cheese. The sauce was rich and comforting, and the cheese felt luxurious to bite into. For those unfamiliar with Indian cuisine, imagine the best creamed spinach you’ve had, and multiply that goodness by a zillion. I absolutely loved it.
The Vegetable Korma was also amazing. Korma has a mild sweet flavor with mixed veggies and coconut in the yellow sauce. What better way to get some healthy veggies in?
I couldn’t resist trying the Mango Chicken, which is actually on Nawab’s Indo Chinese section of the menu. Here there are bite sized pieces of chicken smothered in a sweet and slightly spicy sauce that it true to the mango flavor.
I also wanted to try a chicken dish with the decidedly Indian influence, so I got the half Tandoori Chicken. Even ordered mild, this dish has more spice than the sweeter-sauced entree options. With a beautiful red color, the chicken is marinated in yogurt and spices, then cooked in the tandoori oven for just the right succulent texture.
Entrees can also be made with lamb or goat, so I decided to give the Lamb Balti at try. This was an amazing journey for my taste buds. It’s a tomato-based curry with onions and peppers, with lots of sauce that is best soaked up by the accompanying rice. The lamb was perfectly cooked so that it was soft and pulled apart easily. Everything that I got made my mouth happy.
Other menu choices include Butter Chicken, Vegetable Samosas, Manchurian Soup, Chicken Dansak, Goat Vindaloo, Tikka Masala and many more.
Nawab British Indian Cuisine is located at 3354 12 Mile Road in Berkley. Their website has online ordering, though Doordash ordering has a much smoother interface with pictures and descriptions. Check out their website at https://nawabcuisinemi.com/
Nawab is owned by the same family that owns Star of India in Downtown Ferndale. Check out our review here.
Oakland County Times is on a QUEST to enjoy every local restaurant in Oakland County. This long-term project is a labor of love, supported by our friends at White Castle. White Castle is a family-owned company that is proud to be one of only 20 large employers to make the Fortune Best Places to work list in 2022. With steam-grilled sliders, crispy golden french fries, fantastic slides like onion chips or fried clams, and the best chocolate shakes, White Castle is a by far our top choice for a fast food meal. Check out their website at www.WhiteCastle.com.
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