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Flatiron Indian Restaurant Grills Made-to-Order Meals Over Open Flame

By Heather Holland | January 20, 2014 12:51pm

FLATIRON — A new Indian eatery is getting fired up in Flatiron.

Indikitch, opening next week at 25 W. 23rd St., will offer spicy made-to-order meals, all prepared on a flaming open grill.

“We’re actually cooking in front of the customer,” said Deepak Amin, a partner of Deep Foods Inc., which owns indikitch along with frozen food brand Tandoor Chef.

“We’re not serving warm food — we’re serving sizzling, piping hot food. You’ll see flames going up.”

The customizable menu items include the $8.95 feast platter, which comes with a choice of protein including chicken, fish or paneer, plus rice, naan and a side salad. The menu also features sandwiches and salads, with veggies and meats fired up on the grill and then added to a bed of romaine or a toasted roll with coriander mayonnaise, Amin said.

“If you want it spicy, we add the green chilis into the oil that we’re sauteing," said Amin, 47. "The heat gets infused with the oil. That’s the authentic way to add heat in an Indian curry dish.”

Indikitch will also offer handmade drinks, including mango lassi, ginger sugarcane juice and blood orange lemonade with muddled mint.

The 2,500-square-foot, 62-seat eatery plans to serve traditional Indian beers as well. Amin hopes to secure a beer and wine license in time for the expected Jan. 30 opening.

The menu, which contains no genetically modified ingredients or preservatives, was created by Amin's wife, executive chef and food technologist Dipali Amin. Their family is from Gujurat, India, but now they live in New Jersey, Amin said.

Deep Foods Inc., a company started by Amin's family 30 years ago, has previously worked only on retail products and supply chain management, Amin said.

“This is our first restaurant venture,” Amin said. “This is new for us, but we’re all about food in passion."