Namuskaar, meaning “greetings” in Hindi, is a fitting name for this warm and friendly restaurant, as the staff eagerly greets you with a very warm reception. Usually, Indian food is synonymous with really thick and heavy curry dishes, but aside from the hospitality, people are drawn here for the light Indian food and the customized dishes. “When people look at a menu, they usually know what they want to order, but we don’t know how they like the food. So, we ask every single customer how they want it—mild, medium or spicy,” said the owner Atul Hora.

Tucked away only 200 meters into Sukhumvit 8, Namuskaar is bright pink with ceiling fans but its simple and clean nonetheless. It looks more like a khao kaeng shop, but it isn’t. In fact, its food has great flavor similar to a high-class restaurants with lighter food selections. “Indian food is generally oily and heavy which isn’t good for health.” Growing up with this heavy fare, Atul was inspired to serve light dishes as his first dish were too greasy for his first customer. “I apologized and changed the dish immediately, only the second time around, I changed the recipes and used less oil and other fatty ingredients.”

To create lighter fare, Namuskaar substitutes ghee—unhealthy doses of fermented butter—with vegetable oil and uses less of it to boot. Atul gives an example of a dish called mutton rogan josh (mutton cooked with thin dark sauces, B170). “It’s extremely oily ‘cause the word rogan means oil and josh means more oil.” But Atul guarantees, “Our mutton rogan josh isn’t oily.” And although It’s not quite the same, Atul still stands behind his tasty dishes. “We let the spices do the talking—not the oil.” In the end, the spices are able to pack even more punch because it has less oil to contend with.

The restaurant serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine cooked by a couple of amazing Indian chefs with over a decade of experience each. Spices and basmati rice are imported directly from India. Dishes aren't specially decorated but it’s not about the looks here ‘cause the food speaks for itself. For meat lovers, try the recommended mutton seekh kabab (minced mutton mixed with spices Indian herbs and cooked in clay oven, B170) and chicken tikka masala (barbeque chicken chunks cooked with thick spicy sauce, B170). Vegetarians can enjoy aloo samosa (two pieces of deep fried puff patties filled with minced potatoes and green peas, B30) and keema samosa (two pieces of deep fried patties filled with minced mutton and green peas, B80). Accompany any of the main dishes with the super-delicious stuffed naan (Indian bread with choices of flavors—butter, garlic, onion, potatoes or mix, B50). Don’t forget to drink lassi (a creamy drink made from yogurt, B60) which comes in two flavors—sour flavor or sweet. If you don’t like yogurt, go for Indian tea (B40) or coffee (B50).

After we gorged ourselves with great light Indian food, we insisted Atul take a break and sit down to talk more about his restaurant.

The sign outside said the restaurant serves north Indian food. Why north Indian and not other regions?
To be very honest, the greatest Indian food is from north India. The region is famous for it’s strong agricultural roots. The north is abundant with everything including rice, vegetables and meats. Also, north Indian food is much healthier where as south Indian food is oilier. Its cuisine has a lot of deep fried stuff.

The emphasis here is on “light.” Are you a health-conscious person?
Of course! It’s very important. My mother has health problems because of her diet, so I have to be careful too. I told my chefs to use less oil, and if they don’t, I’d deduct their wages.

Dining Details

Try light Indian food with your choice of spiciness. Open daily 11:30am-11pm, at 9 Sukhumvit Soi 8, 02-255-1869.