Portland, ORIndian

Chef Troy MacLarty built the menu around Indian street food and mill worker snacks he researched in Kolkata, including chutnied beef kati rolls and Goan Portuguese buns. Order at the counter and grab a table; the beef kati roll and pav bhaji are the standing recommendations at this two location local mini-chain.

Chef Deepak Kaul runs a dedicated Kashmiri kitchen in the Northwest District, serving what he calls Kashmiri soul food: lamb rice bowls, morel mushrooms with naan, chickpea battered fried calamari, and Goan pork vindaloo, paired with a curated wine and cocktail list.

A South Indian standard in Hillsboro for more than a decade and a half, known for scrolled, crispy dosas made from fermented lentil and rice batter. A remodel gave it a midscale restaurant feel, a step up from its earlier cafeteria style room, while the dosa program stayed the draw.

Named for the fiery South Indian regional cuisine it specializes in, this Beaverton spot near the Nike campus builds multilayered, unabashedly spicy curries, including a standout Chettinad lamb curry, alongside biryanis and butter naan. The kitchen leans into black pepper and dried red chile heat rather than toning it down.

A large Beaverton space with an attached Indian market and a theater room, built around chaat. The bhel puri, a mounded plate of puffed rice with chickpeas, mint, potato, and lentil crackers, and the medu vada lentil fritters are the dishes to seek out on a wide, snack forward menu.