Roti Grill at The Star in Frisco serves delicious Indian cuisine—fast

Being from the UK, I love Indian food. And while I wouldn’t consider myself an authority on the subject, I am confident I can tell a good curry from a bad one. If in doubt however, I take my cues from my Indian friends, so when someone recommended I try Roti Grill at The Star in Frisco, I did, and I loved it.

At first, I was a little confused. Roti Grill is not set-up like a traditional sit-down Indian restaurant, not only is the interior of Roti Grill sleek and modern, you order-up-front. You walk in, order at the counter and then sit down and wait for your food to be delivered to your table. Pretty cool. And you don’t have to wait long either. The whole process is quick and easy, perfect for a fast lunch or dinner if you’re at The Star in Frisco.

The menu is pretty cool too. The main option is called the “two-step”. Step one: choose your meat (vegetables and paneer are also options). Step two: choose your sauce. Simple, quick and easy.

To start, I choose the vegetable samosas. A classic, if indulgent, way to start an Indian meal, Samosas are deep fried pockets of pastry stuffed with curried potatoes and green peas. They can also be stuffed with meat. In my book, samosas are either great or pretty terrible. Fortunately, at Roti Grill they fall into the great category. The pastry is flaky, there’s not even a hint of grease (typically what makes them terrible) and the curried center packs a punch that leaves a simmer on the lips. And, at $4 for two, the price is right.

From the “two-step” option I go with chicken (step one) in a masala sauce (step two). I choose Texas size which is a larger portion and comes with both basmati rice and a naan or roti. The regular option comes with just basmati rice. (On a return visit I go with the regular size and it’s more than enough food for one.)

I also try the Malai Kofta which is listed under Vegetarian Favorites. After one bite I mentally re-categorize it under My Favorites. What look like meat balls in a creamy curry sauce are actually vegetarian dumplings, so soft they cut like butter and so silky smooth on the tongue that you’ll be craving these for days. Seriously, these balls–sorry, dumplings–are so delicious I returned within a week to eat them a second time.

Roti also offers a good selection of breads for mopping up sauce so tasty you won’t want to miss a bite. Choose from plain, garlic, aloo (stuffed with potato and peas) and spinach naan; paratha which is buttered and layered whole wheat bread; and aloo paratha which is stuffed with potatoes and peas. There’s also roti, the namesake of the restaurant, which is unleavened whole wheat bread.

At the end of the meal, I leave stuffed yet excited to have found another Indian restaurant that lives up to my love of this cuisine. Pradeep, the owner, is also the owner of two other of my favorite restaurants: India Palace on Preston Road in Dallas and Litas La Mexicana in Plano. Lita’s is especially fun, it’s a Mexican but owing to the fact it’s owned by Pradeep when he wanted to create some vegetarian items he decided to use paneer (Indian cheese). The result is Paneer Fajitas which is just as awesome as it sounds.