The Kansas City area has enjoyed an expanding Indian restaurant, grocery and food scene in recent years. Part of this may be due to the growing Indian community, especially in Overland Park, but Indian food has turned into a favorite cuisine for many Americans.
As a vegetarian for most of my adult life, I’ve discovered that Indian cuisine has lots of vegetarian options. I eat frozen and packaged Indian foods at home all the time. Dining at Indian restaurants means lots of choices on the menus and the reassurance that the food will probably be prepared with veg friendly methods.
We all get stuck in ruts where we go to the same restaurant all the time and are hesitant or lazy to branch out to new spots. Ever since I moved back to Kansas City in the early 2000s, Taj Mahal in Waldo has been my go-to for Indian buffets and dinners. It’s been a favorite, but I’ve been interested in trying all of the new Indian restaurants.
Rajadhani has been on my short list for several years, mainly because I’ve seen their posts on social media and have been following their page. in recent months, I’ve had two opportunities to dine at their Overland Park location, once for lunch on my own and once for dinner with the Youth Review Crew, their mother, and one of their friends.
Rajadhani has a very spacious restaurant at the southwest corner of 119th Street and Blue Valley Parkway in Overland Park. They have a large dining room and busy takeout area. The staff are very friendly, efficient, and helpful.
For my solo lunch, I had the Channa Masala for my entree. This is a common dish at Indian restaurants, so I’m using it as a baseline for comparisons. It’s a dish featuring chickpeas in a tomato, onion, and spice curry. It’s one of my favorites and I often get the Tasty Bites version for home meals. I got mine at a “hot” spicy level. It was excellent.
I also wanted to try their take on puri bread. This bread format may not be known to most American diners, but Indian restaurants often have it on the menu. It’s a puffed bread, resembling a bread balloon. I became a fan of puri when I lived in College Park, Maryland, in the 1990s. I’d get it every other week at a popular restaurant in my neighborhood, the Food Factory.
For my dessert, I tried the Apricot Delight. It was fabulous. A moist custard cake with almonds and apricot flavors. This is definitely something that I would look forward to in future visits.
On my second visit, with the Youth Review Crew and their friend joining me, one member of the YRC had the Butter Chicken. They really liked it. The other member of the YRC tried the Mirapakaya Kodi Kura. This is chicken cooked in a red chili paste. The staff warned that this was the spiciest dish on their menu, but the teenager decided to go ahead and try it. They handled the spice level like a pro and said that they really like it.
As you can see from the photos below, the restaurant specializes in some beautiful desserts. The Apricot Delight I tried was amazing. They can make you a custom cake. Just provide them with a photo of the cake you desire.
I’m very impressed with the big menu of vegetarian options, but they also have dozens of options for all the major proteins (including seafood and goat). They have an Indo-Chinese menu. A huge biryani menu and pulavs.
Rajadhani does catering, runs regular specials, and has a full bar.
They are open seven days a week and are available via regular delivery services.
12030 Blue Valley Pkwy, Overland Park, KS 66213
Website: https://rajadhaniks.com
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