India is on my bucket list of places to visit. Until I’m able to travel there in person, I pretend travel through its food.

My book club met at India Oven for dinner. The restaurant, located at 1031 Patricia Drive near Churchill High School, serves the cuisine of North India seven days a week. We ordered a variety of items so that everyone could have a taste.

Our feast included Channa Masala, spicy garbanzo beans; Bhini Masala, spiced okra cooked with onions; Sag Paneer, spinach with homemade farmer’s cheese; Chicken Korma, chicken in a mild cream sauce with cashews, almonds and raisins; Karahi Lamb, lamb stir fried with bell pepper, onion, tomato and spices; Tandoori Roti, wheat bread; and Vegetable Samosas, pastries stuffed with spiced potatoes and green peas. Everything tasted heavenly, but I loved, loved, loved the Sag Paneer and the Chicken Korma. My tastebuds hadn’t been so happy in quite some time. Evidently, India Oven’s food keeps plenty of other patrons traveling back for more.

You could also try a Dinner Special for two that includes Vegetable Pakoras, fresh vegetable slices dipped in garbanzo bean batter and deep fried; Tandoori (grilled) Chicken, Tandoori Shrimp, Seekh Kabab, slice minced lamb broiled on skewers; Chicken Makhami, grilled chicken simmered in a tomato sauce and fresh herbs; Sag Paneer; Rice Pilav, saffron-flavored rice; Garlic Nan, leavened bread baked with garlic; and Khir, saffron-flavored rice pudding. The price is $31.99 or $15.99 per person.

A vegetarian dinner special is also an option: Vegetable Samosa; Sag Paneer; Dal, lentils; Navratan Korma, mixed vegetables with homemade cheese in a mild cream sauce with cashews, almonds and raisins; Pratha, buttered and layered whole wheat bread; Rice Pilav; Raita, yogurt with cucumber, tomatoes and potatoes; and Khir, all for $13.99 per person.

India Oven also has a lunch buffet for $8.95 on Mondays through Fridays and $9.95 on Saturdays and Sundays. Their lunch hours are Mondays through Saturdays from 11 a.m. until 2:30 p.m. On Sundays, lunch is from 11:30 a.m. until 3 p.m. Dinner is from 5 p.m. until 10 p.m. on Sundays through Thursdays and 5 p.m. until 10:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

So until I’m able to see the Taj Mahal with my own eyes, I’ll head back to India Oven to tide me over…with a side of Bollywood!

P.S. India Oven is just down the road from Phil Hardberger Park (West) and Phil Hardberger Park (East), two parks connected by the Tobin Land Bridge. Stroll plus brunch? Lunch plus stroll? Dinner and a stroll?

Denise Barkis Richter, Ph.D., author of “San Antonio’s Passport to Fun,” has been blogging about San Antonio since June of 2010. Follow her at facebook.com/SanAntonioTourist so that you’ll never miss a post. Her love affair with the Alamo City began at Hemisfair in 1968. She moved to San Antonio in 1979 as an 18-year-old college student, and San Antonio has been her home ever since. Denise completed certification to become a professional tour guide in 2019. Please contact her at sanantoniotourist at gmail dot com if you’d like for her to curate a fabulous San Antonio experience for you!