Ruchi India waiting area
I’m continually amazed by how diverse the food scene is in little ol’ Jackson, Mississippi. It’s definitely not to the level of proper cities like New York, L.A., etc., but for a 300,000-ish population city in the deep South it has more than its fair share of ethnic (there’s that term again) cuisine. I’ve already posted about Japanese and Caribbean, and this time it’s Indian. While Susie had lunch with friends of hers, the rest of us ate at Ruchi India. Ruchi India serves, predictably, Indian food–”North & South Indian cuisine” according to their business card. On weekdays they have a lunch buffet, which is what we had.
Hot buffet
From front to back and left to right (left-most column front, then middle, then back, then next column and so on): Vegetable Spring Rolls, Tandoori Chicken, Butter Chicken, Idli, Lemon Rice, rice, Vada, Appadam, Fish Fry, Kadai Lamb, Sambar, Alu Bendi Fry, Daal Tadka, Pakora, Navaratan Korma, Palak Paneer. Search me if I know what all of those are, but I did a few spot Google searches for the ones I didn’t know and found them easily so you can too.
The owner who graciously allowed me to take pictures of their buffets jokingly chided me for taking pictures after eating instead of before, as some of the items are in a state of semi-decimation. In particular they’re a bit low on the Tandoori Chicken and Alu Bendy Fry, of which I had a good bit, so blame me.
Cold buffet
Besides the hot buffet there’s a cold/salad buffet. As you would hope at an Indian restaurant, the ingredients, sauces, and mixtures weren’t typical salad bar fare, but rather more representative of Indian flavors. There was also a 3rd buffet with fruit and dessert items like Kheer (sweet rice and coconut milk soup) that I didn’t take a picture of.
"Yuck!"
"Nevermind, it's delicious!"
Denise ordered a Mango Lassi for her drink, and as happened other times we’ve been here our waiter gave Sofia a complimentary shot glass of Mango Lassi and even refilled it after she downed her 1st serving of it. I can’t guarantee that your child will receive the same treatment–ours is atypically beautiful and adorable after all, so she probably received preferential treatment. Regardless, the Mango Lassi is delicious.
The full spread
In the basket to the right is Garlic Naan. Our waiter gave us a choice between regular and garlic, and we chose the garlic variant. Naan is a thin bread, almost like pita bread but thinner and crunchier, traditionally cooked in a tandoor like Tandoori Chicken. It’s really good stuff, and it’s almost worth going just for the Naan.
My plate
On my plate was (clockwise starting from the rice): Lemon Rice, Fish Fry, Kadai Lamb, Tandoori Chicken, Alu Bendi Fry (potato, okra, etc.). I went back for seconds and got more Tandoori Chicken and Fish Fry to go with the 2nd basket of Naan the waiter brought us after we polished off the 1st basket.
The food was delicious, and a real treat for those who like their food full of spices instead of just salt and pepper. Many people think curry when they think of Indian food, but it’s much, much more than that. You’ll taste a wide variety of flavors in the various dishes, and the buffet approach is a real boon for those who enjoy experimenting with their food.
A word of caution: if you don’t like spicy food you’ll have trouble finding something to eat here, at least from the hot buffet. Just about everything is spicy to some degree, anywhere from very mild to rather hot. I’ve had flaming hot spicy food before, and none of the dishes I had got to that level, so that’s a plus. Just know what to expect going in and you’ll be fine. You could always just gnaw on some Naan and have some Khir for dessert. Sadly we might have to abandon the idea of taking Sofia with us because of how ubiquitous the spiciness is, but we might also try going heavy on the Naan and salad stuff when we bring her. Now that I think of it that’s a better idea, as Sofia loves the Mango Lassi and wouldn’t be able to enjoy it otherwise.
Overall a terrific experience for only $6.99 plus tax for the weekday lunch buffet. They also have a weekend lunch buffet for $8.99. Be aware that last time we went at night they didn’t have a buffet, and I didn’t see it listed anywhere in their literature so they probably never have a night buffet. If you hate buffets that might be a good thing, but be prepared to either know your Indian food terms ahead of time, ask a lot of questions, or order using the blindfolded dart-throwing method.
Ruchi India
5101, I-55 North
Jackson, MS 39206
(601) 366-9680
Lunch hours:
Monday-Friday: 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.
Saturday-Sunday: 11:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
Dinner hours: every day, 5 p.m. to 10 p.m.