Chennai Cafe in Frisco serves Southern and Northern Indian dishes during its weekend grand buffets. The live dosa and appam stations, which are flat griddles toasting different kinds of fermented rice pancakes, are showcased for diners’ viewing and eating pleasure. And all meats served are halal. 

Zero in on the noodle section of the menu for Calcutta chow mein noodles, which are stir-fried thin wheat noodles with assorted vegetables doused in soy, vinegar and garam masala sauce, and Khao Suey, a Burmese specialty with a coconut curry sauce. Add egg, tofu, paneer, chicken or shrimp to any noodle dish. All meats served are also certified halal. 

Vrindavan is an upscale vegetarian thali restaurant — for beginners that is a set meal with a selection of different legume stews, rice, chutneys, fresh vegetable salad, pickle, relish, savory buttermilk drinks, and more. Each day features a thali of the day from different regions of India. The Wednesday and Saturday specials of Brijwasi thali include hariyali tikki (potato and mint patties), dubki wale aloo (potatoes in spicy gravy), chana masala (spicy chickpeas), paneer makhanwala (paneer in a creamy tomato cashew nut gravy), and more. Check their menu to see all the daily options. 

Tandoori Pizza puts an Indian twist on pizza. All pizzas are halal, to boot. Choose butter chicken, seekh kebab, chicken tikka, curry or paneer as toppings.

Head to India Chaat Cafe for a good chat over Indian chaat or snacks. Taste the explosion of textures, temperatures and flavors in a plate of Dahi puri, crispy hollow puri stuffed with spiced potatoes and garbanzos, doused in yogurt and chutneys. Or try a platter of assorted pakoras, deep-fried vegetables, paneer, chicken, fish, or jalapeno covered in batter.

This Richardson restaurant specializes in Gujarati-style thali. It serves various freshly made homestyle Gujarati dishes, highlighting a blend of flavors and textures. Try the dal dhokli — savory steamed chickpea flour cakes topped with mustard seeds that come with sweet and sour tamarind chutney and fresh green cilantro chutney. Also excellent is the Gujarati thali, a set meal with long grain rice, legume stews, pickles, vegetables, papads or paper-thin crispy crackers from black lentils, and gulab jamun for dessert with Bajarina rotla, a pearl millet flour flatbread.

If paratha, a pan fried flatbread folded onto itself to create many, distinct layers, is what one craves, one is sure to find at least one at 101 Paratha. The spin-off from its mother restaurant India 101 puts a spotlight on the beloved Indian bread by offering, no joke, 101 choices, including dessert parathas and Singapore style specials. 

EggHolic brings traditional Gujarati street food to Irving. Eggs are front and center with the signature Surti Gotalo, two sunny side-up eggs topped on a rich, spiced tomato gravy with more eggs grated in. Cheese Katori is Eggholic’s take on the Southern favorite deviled eggs, which has boiled eggs split in half with the yolks removed and mashed with a masala that gives it a green hue and topped with grated cheese. 

Fresh off the boiling jalebi oil, lacy orange fritters doused in sugar syrup are the draw to Bombay Sweets and Snacks in Irving. A wide selection of rainbow-colored mithai is available to order by the pound. A box of mithai is an excellent gift for special occasions, festivals and holidays. There is also chaat for those who crave savory flavors. 

Find this restaurant, which turns 40 this year, can be found inside a Hare Krishna temple and community center. Its courtyard is an oasis. It serves filling vegetarian dishes that mix Indian classics and familiar American staples, including a salad bar and homemade whole wheat cinnamon bread. The menu changes daily, and is posted on its website.

Âme in Bishop Arts brings a blend of Indian flavors with French cooking techniques from the mother and daughter team of chefs, Afifa and Sabrina Nayeb. This chic white tablecloth restaurant is perfect for brunch or date night. It is also home to Elephant Bar, which serves cocktails and champagne paired with shareable bar snacks including savory beet samosas, crispy calamari pakora and sweet, creamy pistachio kulfi.