Kabab & Curry House

Mohammed was one of my favorite people. The first time I gave Kabab & Curry a try I was impressed by both the great quality of food and Mohammed’s simplistic attitude about cooking. He didn’t make big batches of food; he made each and every order fresh, like he cared about who was eating it. Sometimes I would call for pickup, and the phone would ring and ring. The next time I came in I’d ask, and he would smile (sweetly!) and say, oh, I didn’t come in! No apologies; he figured we were grown ups and could find another place to go for the night. He played classical music in his store, and he ALWAYS was genuinely happy to see me.
I miss Mohammed and feel like Durham has lost a good person as well as a good cook.

Don’t be fooled by the empty seats in the dining area. This place does about 70% of its business in take-​out orders, as the owner (and chef) told me tonight. Their phone rings off the hook. For about $ 10, I get a huge serving of the most legit, super spicy chicken biryani that I’ve found in the area. Enough for at least two meals. I love this place.
It’s probably not as «nice» as, say, a Sitar or Tower, but it’s more down-​to-​earth north Indian food, and very high quality. I love these guys. (And seriously, try the biryani.)

The food at this place is amazing! I can’t believe I had never eaten at this place during my four years as an undergrad in Durham. This place is definitely superior to the other Indian options in the area (Dale’s and Sitar).
I had a couple of old college friends visiting from SF and we decided to grab dinner here last Friday. One of my friends raved about the food, but warned that the service could be really spotty. This is definitely true — it was really hard to get the waitress out to take our orders, but the food came out at a decent pace. The owner is a really really friendly guy and chatted up each of us like old friends as we went up to the counter to pay.
The interior is really small and has a spartan cafeteria atmosphere, but the food here is definitely the best part of Kabab and Curry House! I got the Chicken Tikka Masala medium spicy and it was just the right amount of heat and the sauce was amazing. Dinner entrees are incredibly cheap and come with a huge plate of rice. I had the Paneer Naan, but the Garlic Naan was also delicious! I also tried the Lamb Vindaloo and a pea based Paneer dish and they were both really good. I would also recommend the Vegetable Samosas — the crust was perfectly crispy and the sauces were both very good.
I saw a bunch of people getting large take out orders when we were here — just what I may have to do next time I come here.

We got takeout from here last night. The entrees were are good and came with generous amounts of scented basmati rice. The eggplant bhartha was a new Indian dish for me, and I really enjoyed it. The mashed eggplant was buttery smooth with a slightly sweet spice mix. Chicken saag was quite nice as well, though ordering it medium made for a firey, sweaty experience. We had also ordered chicken karahi, but when we opened the container at home, it turned out to be lamb. Whatever it was had a decent slick of chili oil/​grease on it that was mentally off-​putting, but the lamb was tender, and the medium spiciness was even stronger here than in the saag. I think next time I’ll go for something between mild and medium.
While the entrees were great, the naan turned out to be a disappointment, which is why I’m only giving 3 stars. The other reviews are mostly nice about the naan, so I’m not sure what happened with ours. Maybe it didn’t travel well? Instead of being pillowy soft with lots of fluffy air pockets, our naan was dense and compact. It reminded me more of chewing on pizza dough. Honestly, the frozen naan at Trader Joe’s, defrosted in a microwave, was preferable to this.
I enjoyed the entrees enough to give them the benefit of the doubt — I just won’t order naan next time I do takeout.

Don’t believe any and all of the reviews less than four stars. This place was amazing. We used to eat Indian a lot more frequently but we don’t live near any good places anymore.
We were in Durham for a show at the DPAC and decided to come here after. Best.decision.ever.
The owner was very friendly and seemed like he wanted to customize our dishes. I am always hoping Indian food will meet our expectations of places we have been before. This place blew our expectations out of the water. You could tell it was authentic Indian food. Who cares about what the place looks like if the food is good?
We had the chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo, garlic naan, and a rice pudding that the owner brought out as a complimentary dessert for us. It was beyond what we expected.
Any time we come back to Durham we will be visiting this place!

I ordered delivery at 1240pm… it’s almost 2 and i haven’t gotten anything. I called the restaurant and the guy said «the driver isn’t here… i don’t know where he is, sorry. «
I finally called to cancel my order and all he said was «ok».
I’m hungry =(

Kabab and Curry House is the place for delicious Indian food but not so good for impressing a lady. Parking is behind the building and some individuals may feel not so safe. Do not let this deter you because the food is delightful.
The décor and atmosphere is a bit lacking and is the same color as the masala. The guy running the place was terrific and could not be more helpful, I’m pretty sure he is the head chef so he knows of what he speaks.
The food was great and everything is $ 8.95. Not everything but almost. I can speak personally for the chicken tikka masala and it is delicious and comes in large quantities. The naan tastes fresh like it is made in their own tandoori and I hear the mutter paneer is out of this world. For next time. All entrees comes with rice so you should have plenty of great food. Don’t focus on the look of the place, go, try the food, you’ll probably be impressed.

Kabab & Curry House is truly a hidden gem in Durham. The restaurant isn’t located in the best part of town, and you kind of have to make peace with the hole in the wall nature of it. Once you get past that, both the food and prices are great.
The owner/​chef is very friendly and will make your order to any specifications you ask for. I’ve only seen one server there, but she rarely says anything and I’m not sure how good her English is. Occasionally I’ve seen a teenage boy working behind the counter who I assume is the owner’s son, and he has always been friendly as well.
As for the food, the lamb dishes are all excellent and probably my favorite dishes here. The lamb karahi and the lamb kababs (side dish) are excellent and reasonably priced. After the lamb dishes, anything with paneer is also great. I think the chef pan-​fries the paneer chunks before adding them to the curry, and they are delicious.
I tend to like the smaller family owned Indian restaurants around here, but Indian food is quickly becoming very competitive. It seems like an Indian restaurant is opening up every month or two somewhere in the triangle, which of course means there is a lot of competition for small businesses like this. I hope Kabab & Curry House can manage to stay open for years to come despite all of the new competition.
If you’re intimidated by holes in the wall, you should try calling in an order and picking up food to go. There’s a larger parking lot that you’re not really supposed to park in, but I usually park there to make it easier if I’m just picking up an order. I’d definitely recommend Kabab & Curry House for Indian food in Durham, and especially if you’re looking for a quick take-​out place.

I gave this place more stars than I originally intended because the owner/​manager was very friendly and nice. I can tell he’s a neighborhood guy who likes to get to know his patrons. I appreciate that kind of friendliness.
We walked in here and it was dead. No one was there but we were hungry. A woman came out to take our orders. She was a bit on the quirky side but friendly nonetheless.
We got our orders taken. They had forgotten one of our naan orders. No prob, it came out quickly after we reminded them. The curries were great! I had the lamb korma. the curry was flavorful and poured over rice, was perfect! The lamb was good, just not amazing. My friend’s tikka masala was spot on. the chicken was also cooked perfectly. not dry at all.
The garlic naan was VERY fresh and very good. I’m glad I had reminded them to bring out our second order!
Why I hesitated to give them 4 stars was because the service was a little… absent minded. Luckily, we were chatting it up and having a good time. We asked for to-​go boxes for our left overs. I noticed the same waitress had given two to-​go boxes to the table next to ours. I think 15 minutes passed and finally I asked again for boxes. She brought them right away and apologized when she realized she had forgotten.
Not a big deal since we weren’t in a hurry. Overall, the food is great. I didn’t think I’d be able to find some authentic Indian food out here in Durham, but here it is at Kabab & Curry House!
P. S. they said to park directly in FRONT of their restaurant. the lot next door is for the other business (however, I noticed the neighboring business is closed at night, so it’s pretty vacant anyway)

Oh my heavens. This place.
You should know that my very kind and much nicer than me boyfriend has strongly suggested that I carefully edit this review. I rarely listen to such advice but I think I have to this time. I do not want to find a bloody lamb head in my bed.
First of all, it’s kind of depressing at the Kebab and Curry. Very cool green and white checkered floors but otherwise it’s basically a hole where humans gather under bright lights that illuminate the grossness of everything. It is so depressing there that some prisoner drew a lopsided smiley face on the polyester tulips for the next unlucky soul. Actual inmate drawing shown in photo.
Across from our table was a young woman who was not wearing any shoes. I mean to say that a grown up lady in her 20’s was sitting cross legged in her chair while eating curry and quite literally lacing her fingers into her toes to play coyly with them. I am unsure of why anyone in the world would ever do this but this is the second time I have seen this behavior since moving to Durham. I am not what you would call a foot person. In fact, other than puppies, kittens, babies, and my beau, I am foot phobic. So, while this young maiden toyed with her toes, my very eyes betrayed me in some sick magnet effect. I am growing seasick as I type this.
I want to talk about the server but I am not allowed. I can say this word and this word is: surreal. I can also say that the server will indeed make it into my writing someday. I am not going to edit it. So there.
The beau watched as the water pitchers were taken into the bathroom and magically came out filled with water so we did not drink the water. I know that water all comes from the same place but I don’t want to see that it comes from the bathroom.
The food was decent in an interesting turn of events. The mister’s Chicken Korma was pretty tasty albeit low on the chicken and high on the Korma. My Chicken Tikka was pretty nice but it was a bit hard to fathom how 5 chunks of red meat with a few slivers of green pepper and onion on a plate that is ¾ just OK yellow rice could possibly cost nearly 9.00. The garlic naan tasted as though it was frozen in a package first. The only reason I gave Kabab & Curry House 2 stars was because the food is pretty decent. Overpriced for what you get, but decent. Maybe take out is the way?
The owner was witty and friendly when we paid, asking how the food was. I think he could see the wildness in my eyes and I kind of mumbled something that sounded like I had a mouth full of marbles. He was just so EARNEST.
And I say again.
This place.

This is one of those places that you can’t judge by looking at the outside nor the inside. It’s situated right next to a check cashing place which contributes to the sketchiness. The inside is drab and lacks detail. The saving grace of this place is the food. The Indian food here is packed with flavor.
Service had been good until our last visit. We had been given a 45min wait for our takeout order which was fine because we weren’t in a hurry. Unfortunately it took nearly an hour and a half. The owner had been having issues with his Tandoori oven and had ruined severals batches of naan. Had I known that the delay was due to problems making the naan, I would have probably foregone the naan or picked an alternative. I think because he was so entrenched with the problems in the kitchen, he didn’t think to explain the situation. If it happens again then I’ll be a little less lenient. All of our other visits had been just fine.
On the latest visit we had the Saag Paneer which was very good. We also had the Vindaloo and found it to be a little too tangy (I think from lemon juice?). Korma and Chicken Curry are also some of our go-​to favorites.
This is more of a takeout establishment but they do have dine-​in tables (just don’t expect much). The owner is very friendly and if he’s not too busy preparing food (or burning naan :) then he’ll probably try to get to know you a little better.

Not the most elegant place to eat in, a small shack close to Duke Campus. But easily one of the best places to grab delicious Ind/​Paki food for an unbelievable price. It is all about the food here-​no fancy ambiance so most people go for a take out. Some of the curries here are among the best you will ever find in the area or beyond. And they prepare their dishes to order and in limited quantities and the difference is obvious compared to other commercial fancy Indian restaurants out here.
The owner is friendly and manages to find time for a quick chat no matter how busy he is. Try their biryanis and curries with naan. Excellent Pakistani/​desi fare.
Tips: Call the place about 30 mins before you arrive if you intend to take out. They have just one cook and the wait can be long at busy hrs.

My favorites:
— Lamb Karahi (they do this really spicy now! Just tell them you’re not joking & you want Indian spicy)
— Saag Paneer (delish paneer)
— Malai Kofta (veggie balls, a bit skimpy on the veggie balls, but good)
— Veggie Samosas
And the rice that comes with their food is delicious & fragrant, scented w/​fennel seeds & whole cardamon pods. Not as many flies, but it may be b/​c we’re just coming out of winter.

Amazing. Not very well decorated but the food will make up for it 300%.
The chef couldn’t be more helpful. He will customize his sauces to your liking and help you pick veggie combinations that go best together. So helpful, so delicious.
Vegan friendly. My girlfriend had cream taken out of her sauces, very nice service.
This is better than Azitra in my opinion. It isn’t fine dining, there is no atmosphere here, but you get more food, it’s better, more authentic, AND reasonably priced. Perfect place for FOOD not decorations. Did I mention they know how to make Indian food spicy? Well they do.
My glass was always filled, but for the most part you’re left alone, nobody watching you eat. I like that. Make your presence known if you want service, otherwise they won’t know customers are in the building.

Well, aside from the fact that my husband said he witnessed some public urination in the parking lot before entering to pick up our to-​go order, I consider this a pretty big success.
I recently relocated from South Durham, where I was just a few minutes’ drive from my pick of three Indian restaurants. I crave — CRAVE — Indian food on the regular. Particularly in the winter. Having tried Dale’s once before and being completely underwhelmed, I was worried about my DT Durham choices.
Luckily, there’s this site with real people and real reviews…
And that’s how I found Kabab & Curry House! I’d actually bookmarked it ages ago based on Mohamed N’s review (thanks!!). It’s sooo close I could walk (but given the proximity of aforementioned urinating strangers, maybe I won’t). They handled my phone order with no problem, and it was ready for pick up in 15 minutes.
The food was awesome. Particularly the sauces… We ordered the korma, saag, and curry; everything was so fragrant, spicy, and I even found cardamom pods — so you know they’re cooking the real deal. The naan, as others have mentioned, is excellent, thick, and not greasy. The only downfall is that the chicken was bone dry and tough (the only Indian place that seems to get chicken right is Mint).
In any case, at $ 8 a plate, this is for sure going to be on regular rotation for me!

Kabab and Curry House is the best Indian food in Durham. My best friend growing up was Indian, so I can be pretty elitist when trying out a new place, but this place did not disappoint. The food is well seasoned and authentic.
When checking it out, think of it as a mom and pop indian place, not a high class restaurant. It can take a while to prepare, because everything is made fresh, so enjoy your time. If you’re in a rush, call your order in. Everything is very reasonably priced, with huge portions and bottomless rice.
The only issue I have is that it takes some convincing for the owner to make your food really spicy. It won’t be an issue for most people, but having had Indian food all my life, I’m used to incredibly spicy food.
This is one of my favorite places to go in Durham, and I’m always taking new people here. If you like authentic Indian, you’ll love Kabab and Curry House.

+ good food that my bf calls a treasure chest b/​c we kept finding whole spices (cloves, coriander, fennel, and other stuff we didn’t recognize) and prunes? in our food. Overall, that made the food very flavorful! :)
+ delicious veggie samosas and keema naan that was sweet, fluffy and filled with tender meat.
+ the food can be made mild so that even my wuss bf was able to handle it.
+ food isn’t too heavy: the chicken korma was creamy without feeling gross, and the samosas weren’t covered in oil…
+/​-​easy to find on Guess near Broad but parking is hard to deal with b/​c it is right off of Guess. Don’t pull in too quickly, or you’ll end up scraping up the bottom of your car.
+/​-​service is a lil slow but it’s b/​c the owner takes your order and then makes it himself. So budget yourself some time, if not, call in your order.

«Very good Indian, better prices than other places in town»
I’ve been coming here for a year now, and felt it was time to update my original review. Also scanned the menu and put it here in Unilocal,since they don’t have a website.
Pluses:
— Very good Indian food: on par or better than Dale’s and Sitar
— Reasonable prices for very large quantities
— Locally owned and food freshly prepared by owner when you order
— Owner is very friendly
Cons:
— SLOW service since fresh-​made food (see above) — expect 30 minute or longer wait on orders for 4
— Parking very limited, but rarely an issue
— While owner is very friendly, he’s often busy cooking in the back, and we’ve had mild service issues on occasion with his staff– where we never got naan we asked for, other dishes ordered were incorrect (e.g., aloo mutter instead of aloo gobi mutter), lack of followup like refills on drinks or getting the check, etc. Not always the case, but weird that it’s ever the case when there’s never been more than 1 – 2 other groups in the restaurant with us.
On balance, still a fan, but I have to downgrade from my original 5-​star review.

The food = fantastic. We literally go here once a week for no other reason that I want to keep this place in business. They have awesome food. I bring people here all the time to share the love.
I have ordered mild, medium, and hot and they are always spiced accordingly. The Chicken Saag and Chicken Korma are excellent. The breads are really good. The samosas are not the best samosas I have had, but they’ll do.
The owner and his family are really nice and helpful and definitely recognize you if you’ve been there a few times which is always nice.
The prices are great. Full on feast for $ 25 and under for 2.
This is NOT a place to go for the atmosphere. If you don’t care about atmosphere then by all means dine in. If you do care — order to go, it’s usually ready in 20 minutes.
They usually break from 4pm — 5pm so if you are calling in an order and don’t get an answer this is why. Call at 5pm.
The only thing I do not like about this place has nothing to do with them really. There are like 5 parking spaces out front give or take and an entire lot to the side. The business on the side has a royal fit when anyone parks there — including at night when that business is closed which can make parking a hassle but it’s usually not a big deal.

I hadn’t really given Indian food much of a chance before this but hearing about this place through the grapevine made me want to try it again.
I came here with 2 other friends and we ordered the chicken tikka masala, the chicken saag, and the chicken korma and 2 orders of samosas. The samosas were deeeeelicious and perfectly spiced. We told the waitress to make our other dishes with a spiciness level of ‘medium.’ The chicken tikka was really perfect in terms of spiciness but the others were a little too hot for me… though i have a lower tolerance for spiciness. Nonetheless, all 3 dishes were fantastic and really done very well. We also ordered regular naan, garlic naan, and roti. All were great and accompanied our meal very well, though the garlic on the naan was a little burnt.
All this was served with a heaping serving of rice. All of us ended up taking more than half of our meal in boxes to go because we were completely knocked into a food coma. It was overwhelming. The waitress then brought out little bowls of rice pudding for all of us which was also very good! The owner came out to check and see how the meal was… which is something I haven’t encountered in Durham since moving here.
The prices were extremely reasonable and the service was very attentive. The only downside is the kind of sketchy location and inconvenient parking but the food is totally worth it.