Some the Best Indian Food in Redmond

August 3rd, 2007
By: Steve G

The name Kanishka is derived from the one of the last great Kushan Kings, and he is considered by some to be one of the greatest Buddhist Kings. From the outside, Kanishka looks rather homely and worn out, but the interior is a different story and most importantly, the food is great. Kanishka's lunch buffet offers a wide variety of food including the staples of Indian cuisine, as well as a few unique dishes not usually offered at other Indian buffets. Given the buffet nature, we decided to sample one of everything offered on the buffet, which included the Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikki Masala, Chicken Tawa, Vegetable Masala, Matar Paneer, Egg Curry, Vegetable Pakora, Daal Makhani, and Fresh Naan.

Soon as we sat down and received our plates, we got right to work. Overwhelming, the Chicken Tewa was the dish we most enjoyed. It consisted of chicken mixed with white and red onions, green and red peppers, and tomatoes in a sweet and sour sauce. With our first bite, we found that the chicken was considerably moist and the sweet while the sauce's sour flavor was pleasantly subtle. Like the tewa, the Chicken Tikki Masala also had a great sauce with a spicy, somewhat dry, and smoky quality. While the curry sauce was excellent with its creamy texture and sweet flavor, the chicken itself was not as impressive. Dry and stringy, it had the tell-tale signs of being a bit overcooked. It was a minor oversight, but not a major complaint.

The Tandoori Chicken was slightly dry with a thick marinade that stained a person's finger deep orange at the slight touch. After a few seconds of eating the chicken, it looked like we had just left a finger painting class. While the dish had a mid and pleasant barbeque-like flavor, we found it to be slightly dull.

Spicy and creamy, the Vegetable Masala was mixed with peas, carrots and a sweet tofu. The sauce has thick consistency and taste similar to chowder as a result of the heavy milk used in the sauce. The tofu, harder than normal tofu, tasted almost like meat and resulted in a different and pleasant texture not found in most vegetarian dishes.

The Matar Paneer featured a brown sauce with thin slices of beef, peas, tofu, and onions. It had a strong flavor with some kick because of the spice added to fiery dish. In fact, the spice was so potent that it left us with a long and powerful aftertaste. The Egg Curry was the most interesting dish from our menu and it appeared exactly as the name suggests: standard curry mixed with chopped and whole hard-boiled egg. The result was a strong egg flavor that both Grant and I felt was a little too much, and it did not agree with our stomachs.

We've heard that some people complain about the service being unfriendly, but during our visit, the service was pretty good. While their demeanor may seem unfriendly, they were quick to clean off our dirty plates and refill water with a calculated efficiency that would put many restaurants to shame.

Without a doubt, Kanishka was good and during our time there, we only found a handful of minor flaws, the kind of flaws where only the most ardent critic would complain. And at $8 for the buffet, the value was extremely good and well worth the money spent.