I first heard about Indus Express on Midtown Lunch and was intrigued by their naan sandwiches. You get your choice of filling, like basil chicken tikka or lamb sheesh kebab, and they heat it up on a griddle and wrap in into a big fluffy piece of naan. I had already tried kati rolls at the 46th St. biryani cart but I always found the kati roll wraps to be too thin for my liking. The idea of using naan for a sandwich wrap seemed genius to me.
I met up with Josh for lunch and we decided to split a naan sandwich and a chaat. The special sandwich of the day was a mixed grill, which basically included all the meats available. It was a huge mishmash of chicken, lamb, and vegetables, all really well spiced and stuffed inside a piece of naan bread. I was excited to see them serving seasoned curly fries on the side. Those were a little cold but still tasty, and much better than the soggy homemade potato chips they served previously. There’s also a little salad on the side. It’s a lot of food for approximately $8.
Mixed grill naan sandwich and seasoned curly fries
I’ve had the samosa chaat previously and was horrified to see them microwave the already cooked samosas and then dunk them into the oil for a re-fry. This time I ordered the papri chaat instead, which was like big pieces of thick and crispy chips topped with cucumbers, potato, chickpeas, tomatoes, mango, red onion and cilantro. The whole thing was covered with yogurt and I think tamarind sauce. It was cool and refreshing and very tasty. We couldn’t even finish the portion in one sitting; I took half of it back to work and ate it as an afternoon snack later on. At only $5, this dish is a total steal.
Papri chaat
Indus Express is close to my office so it’s easy for me to pop in and grab a quick lunch. There are lots of tables in the back as well so you can eat in if you’d like. I’ve ordered the lunch specials before but I wasn’t the hugest fan of their curries. Everything was a bit watered down and not as flavorful as the curries I’ve had at other Indian restaurants. The naan sandwiches and the chaats are really good though, and I’ll keep going back for more. They really do make a cheap and filling lunch.
Indus Express
48 West 48th St. between 5th and 6th Ave.
New York, NY