LITTLE INDIA
Hoppen Hierarchy:★★★
Districts: Blackstone
Indian cuisine
Perfect For: Lunch; Casual Dining; Takeout
Standout Dishes: Beef Samosas; Tandoori Chicken; Lamb Vindaloo
Nearly every food culture has a variety of dumplings, a filled dough that provides a wonderful introduction to the cuisine. In Japan, it’s gyoza. Nepal, momos. Pierogis (Poland), empanadas (Spain & Portugal), and manti (Turkey) are but a few other examples.
The Indian version is the samosa, a deep-fried pocket of savory goodness that initiates the diner to the spices of the country’s food. And no one in Omaha quite does this dish quite like Little India.
The dough is fried to achieve a tender, flaky consistency, similar to pie dough. It’s rich and buttery, and the corners and crimps provide wonderful texture. Little India offers a vegetarian and meat-forward version of the dish, the latter of which is stuffed with potatoes, peas, and ground beef. The meat in the Spiced Beef Samosas is heavily seasoned with cumin, coriander, ginger, and chili, giving it a deeply satisfying flavor with enough complexity that you’ll explore new details in each bite.
And that’s all before you dunk the samosa into the herbaceous mint chutney, which takes it to a whole new level.
The craft and care that brings this seemingly simple item to life is part of what makes Little India special. This family is passionate about bringing authentic Indian food to Omaha, and you can taste it in the dishes.
Ambience is not Little India’s strong suit. The dining room, while vibrantly painted and well lit by the plate glass windows at the restaurant’s front, is a bit muted. The atmosphere is quiet and tempered, though the service is friendly and attentive. Christian, the owners’ son, typically mans front of house and is jovial and knowledgable.
What Little India lacks in ambience it makes up in food, which is no surprise when you learn the family’s history. They started in the restaurant industry in 2015 with Taj Kabob & Curry. When their longtime friends and owners of beloved staple Taste of India retired in 2018, the family stepped in. They remained in the original location until relocating to Blackstone in 2025, a move that not only created more dining room space, but allowed the family to expand the menu.
Now Little India offers curries, biryani, appetizers, several varieties of naan, and a host of dishes cooked in the tandoor, a traditional, bell-shaped clay or metal cylinder that reaches extremely hot temperatures.
That’s where one of the restaurant’s favorites, the Tandoori Chicken, is created. The poultry is juicy as can be, and this version is a bit saucier than most you’ll find in Omaha. It’s smoky and a bit tangy, and, when ordered extra hot, supplies that pleasant back-of-the-throat heat.
Each menu item comes with your choice of chicken, shrimp, lamb, or goat, and from my experiences, all are cooked well. But that especially goes for the lamb, which comes out tender, firm, and juicy.
In the Lamb Vindaloo, it’s paired with a rich, deep curry that carries a pleasant amount of numbing spice. Hunks of potatoes and sweet caramelized onions help balance the spice, as does the tomato in the sauce. It’s tender enough to cut with a fork, which is also true in the Lamb Biryani. The basmati rice is fluffy and interspersed with caramelized onions and raisins that add a nice sugary touch.
But you don’t need a protein to have an enjoyable meal at Little India. The Chana Masala is a wonderful vegan dish, a saucy chickpea stew with a tangy, creamy tomato-onion gravy. It’s flowing with chickpeas that pop with each bite, along with finely chopped onions and garlic.
The Burrata Masala Chips are essentially Indian nachos. These crispy chips have several chutneys that supply rich, tangy, and sweet flavors. The milky burrata rounds the dish out with an indulgent sweetness.
The bread options aren’t as flavorful on their own as I’ve had at other Indian restaurants in Omaha. The Kerala Partha, a layered flatbread that typically carries a nice buttery flavor, is rather plain, and the Garlic Naan, while soft and fluffy, has scant hints of garlic. But both are elite at sopping up leftover sauces and curries or scooping up proteins. They’re rather bland on their own, but they’re multipliers for other dishes.
The most addicting appetizer (outside of the samosas) might be the Bhel Puri, a popular Indian bar snack. Puffed rice is mixed with raita (a creamy Indian yogurt), tamarind sauce, nuts, and more for a crunchy, sweet/savory balance that is addicting enough to go back to again and again.
The service can be a little hit or miss at Little India. If Christian is working front of house, he’s engaging, friendly, and happy to make menu suggestions. Not all the other servers have his same enthusiasm or knowledge, but that’s generally OK. The food is so tasty you don’t really care.
Little India offers many of the traditional Indian dishes you’ve come to expect, but crafted with care, technical proficiency, and great ingredients. If you need to be sold on this restaurant, just get an order of the samosas and you’ll see this place is not messing around.