Food & Dining: New Indian Chain to Follow Mainstream Trends
Fresh, healthy, and yet quick-serve! This has now become the tried-and-true formula for many new fast-casual restaurants. Sankranti Indian Kitchen offers classic dishes with this contemporary vibe and proves to be a promising start.
[Left] Spicy Chicken Combo
Sankranti Indian Kitchen
237 Perimeter Center Parkway NE, Suite H-56, Dunwoody.
The mixed-use State Farm building on Hammond Drive in Dunwoody has a new addition. Sankranti Indian Kitchen is a fast-casual restaurant, aspiring to deliver “Chipotle style” healthy made-to-order Indian cuisine.
Walking in the modern and clean space, there are subtle hints of the restaurant’s Indian origins. Flower motifs, stenciled in orange, pink, and purple on the white walls, resemble a modern version of rangoli. On another wall are small cubbies with plants. High chairs facing the street and small tables allow for seating for up to 30 people indoors, and more seating will be available on a small patio that is opening soon.
The menu, presented on screens, is designed to be short and quick-serving. Yet, everything is made fresh through the day in the open kitchen. Modeled after other fast-casual chain restaurants, the menu offers make-your-own bowls, wraps, and salads where all of the dishes are ready on display at the counter, and you simply point to what you want. Choose from the style (bowl, tortilla, salad greens), add a base (rice, grilled vegetables), and a protein (chicken, lamb, chickpeas, paneer), some toppings (cabbage, carrots), and optional sauces (yogurt, mint, tamarind). The to-go style meal is ready in under a minute.
[Top] Chole Kathi Roll
The second section of the menu is mainly Indian rice and curry—small, medium, and large size curry bowls which are similar to thali in concept, but everything is mixed in one bowl. The main difference between the three size options is the number of add-on sides you can get, such as samosa, potato and spinach cake, parantha, etc.
With so many options, it’s not easy to decide what to order. The counter server encourages first-timers to try everything, offering spoons of house-made curries and sauces to taste. Diced, boneless pieces of Pulao Chicken, simmered in onion, ginger, garlic, and yogurt marinade, is mild yet flavorful. The Tikka Masala sauce that can be ordered with paneer or chicken, is fresh, light, and cooked without added coloring. The Spicy Chicken with its two-chilies sign has more herbal flavors of green bell peppers, mint, and spices than chilies. Chana reminds me of homemade weeknight meals—no frills, simple, and delicious.
I ordered a Large Curry Bowl for only $12.95 along with a mango lassi and devoured a generous portion of my lunch. Overall, the food is probably more appealing to a health-conscious diner than someone looking for an indulgent spicy Indian meal. “We cook everything in ghee,” the attendant informs proudly. Vegan diners can ask for oil instead of ghee as some dishes can be modified. Healthy eaters may try an order of masala grilled carrots, cabbage, bell peppers, and onions—again, simply cooked with no frills. Crispy potato and spinach cake, that tastes like a pakora, is also vegan friendly.
Modelled after Chipotle and other fast-casual chains that aim to provide fresh and healthy ingredients.
With a small kitchen, it’s hard to imagine how the restaurant can promise such a variety of “freshly made” food, but a practical process seems to be in place. Vegetables and herbs are chopped and sauces blended in the back prep area of the kitchen while another chef stir-fries the curries and proteins through the day, as needed.
The Dunwoody location is the first one in what is going to be a chain of Sankranti Indian Kitchens. Owned by its namesake fine dining restaurant and banquet hall in Johns Creek—the Sankranti Restaurant— the franchise model is affiliated to the parent restaurant for its suppliers, menus, recipes, and marketing, and yet is separate in terms of ownership. Most raw ingredients, ground spices, and a few cooked items (such as samosa, parantha, gulab jamun) are supplied from Johns Creek location daily, while small batches of menu items are cooked onsite.
Sankranti means “positive change” in Sanskrit, and for those who are looking to adopt a healthier lifestyle without sacrificing flavors or paying high costs, this may be a good spot to dine at. There are already a few Indian fast-casual concept eateries around Atlanta, such as Dash and Chutney, Naan Stop, and Curry Up Now, but there seems to be enough demand for them all.
Meet our new columnist
SUCHETA RAWAL is an award-winning food and travel writer, who has traveled to over 100 countries across seven continents, experiencing the world through her palate. She has been named one of the most influential cultural bloggers in the world for her blog Go Eat Give. Born in Mumbai and raised in Chandigarh, Rawal moved to Atlanta at the age of 17 when she started working at an Italian restaurant and ate her way across the city. When at home, Rawal writes recipes, teaches cooking classes, and hosts Airbnb dinner experiences.
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