Kebab ‘n Kurry
This is my mom. Isn’t she cute?
It was her birthday when I took this photo and I think that she was saying, “Can we go inside, before the naan bread’s all gone?”
You can see by the grip of her purse that she was ready to get on with it – the eating of the birthday lunch, as it so happened to be — and ready for me to stop taking photos.
So I did. It was her birthday, and if there’s one day that Mom gets her way, it’s on her birthday. I’m really happy to oblige, anyway. Especially when she picks something that I really love for lunch, as she did recently. Mom loves curries, and so do I.
Kebab ‘n Kurry has been around since 1981, but under the ownership of Winkie and Amarjeet Duggal for the last dozen years. Which is about when I started eating here, best I can remember. I know it was a long time ago. Before, even, I’d gone to India and fallen in love quite deeply with its culture and cuisine, even more than before. I started making my own dal the week I got back. It didn’t taste as good as what I’d found in Delhi, or Rishikesh, or Hardawar. Here, however, it did.
Still does.
Mom and I went for lunch, which meant the $9.99 buffet. Palak paneer, dal, two different kinds of naan (plain and one with peas and potatoes), chicken tikka masala, beef vindaloo. There were other things, too, but honestly, there was so much to choose from, it was all sort of a blur. I went back twice. I loaded up with mint and tamarind chutneys and the yogurt sauce, then drizzled it over the whole lot. Then I went back again. Then we had dessert – kheer babami, cardamom-scented rice pudding; and gulab jamun, pastry balls in honey syrup.
Afterwards, Mom and I went to the yarn store. She recently rediscovered knitting, and is teaching me how to knit my own scarf. So far, it goes like this: I knit a row or two, make a silly mistake, then Mom patiently fixes it. Just like she always has.
I’m so glad I was in Texas for Mom’s birthday again this year. And as silly as it may sound, I’m also grateful for those crazy two weeks of ice and snow. Mom and I were stranded at her little house in the country, but we had a great time. We baked, we knitted, and we laughed a lot, too — something that we’ve always done, as long as I can remember.
Kebab ‘n Kurry
401 N. Central Expwy #300
Richardson, TX
(972) 231-5556
