On a sunny corner of Binghamton’s South Side, Spice of India serves up flavorful and delicious Indian dishes. Owner Manish Verma began his restaurant as a pop-up delivery shop out of the Cornell Cooperative Extension Commercial Kitchen and has been operating at a storefront on Vestal Parkway since 2024.
My photographer, Emzie, and I went to try the $15 lunch on a bright spring day and were instantly greeted by the colorful interior. Spice of India’s walls are a vibrant yellow, accented with teal and adorned with vivid artworks. TV screens above the counter played Bollywood shows and showed a cricket game. We were instantly impressed and welcomed by the cozy but exuberant atmosphere.
I’ve ordered their butter chicken for takeout before and loved it, so I was excited to come in person and try some of their other dishes.
For my first course, I picked the onion pakora. The fritters were crispy on the outside but tender on the inside and dusted with spices. They were served with a sweet tamarind chutney that perfectly complemented the savory pakora and the crunch was balanced well by the smooth chutney.
Emzie chose the samosa, which was filled with tomato, peas and masala. The filling was encased by flaky, buttery-soft dough and the samosa burst with flavor with each bite. It was served with mint and tamarind chutney, which made a delicious and fresh addition to the pastry.
We tried our main courses next. I opted for the shahi paneer bowl and Emzie ordered the chicken tikka masala bowl. The main course options were served on a bed of basmati rice with an option for chickpea or potato curry. The spice level of each option is customizable, ranging from mild to extra hot.
The shahi paneer was creamy and slightly sweet. The paneer was soft and moist, with a little bit of springiness that made for a delightful bite. It was served with curry, which had a light taste of tomato. My side of chickpeas had a punchy, sweet taste, going well with the paneer.
Emzie’s chicken tikka masala was thick and rich, with deep orange curry perfectly carrying the bites of chicken breast. While also quite creamy, I found that the tomato flavor in the chicken tikka masala was stronger than in my dish. Emzie picked the potatoes as their side, which had a melt-in-your-mouth softness.
For the dessert course, I got the kheer, a rice pudding with cardamom, and Emzie got the gulab jamun, deep-fried Indian bread dumplings in warm syrup.
As a true rice pudding enthusiast, I was very excited to see a rice pudding dish on the menu. The rice pudding was made with a longer-grain rice than I’ve had in other rice puddings, with a firmer consistency more geared toward the rice. I really enjoyed the texture and the cardamom in it, which was incorporated into the pudding base rather than sprinkled. Surprisingly, I found that I much preferred the cardamom with rice pudding over cinnamon on rice pudding, which is how I’ve had it before.
Emzie also enjoyed their dessert, as the gulab jamun was soaked with syrup, making for a pleasantly soft dumpling. The bready texture of the dumpling and the syrup combined for a tender dessert.
Our meal at Spice of India was one I’ll keep coming back to. I can’t wait to try more of their dishes. As a relative newcomer but already a mainstay of the Binghamton dining scene, I would recommend Spice of India to anyone looking for a tasty and hearty meal.