{"id":13610,"date":"2025-10-23T15:02:14","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:02:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/13610\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T15:02:14","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T15:02:14","slug":"hells-kitchens-newest-indian-restaurant-serves-only-vegetarian-and-vegan-dishes-just-in-time-for-diwali","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/13610\/","title":{"rendered":"Hell\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s Newest Indian Restaurant Serves Only Vegetarian and Vegan Dishes \u2014 Just in Time for Diwali"},"content":{"rendered":"

Great news for Hell\u2019s Kitchen vegetarians and vegans: the neighborhood\u2019s newest Indian restaurant is completely meat-free and opened just in time to celebrate Diwali earlier this week, the Hindu festival of lights.<\/p>\n

\"\"Ammy Sharma, a server at Annapurna Bhavan, lights diyas and presents an offering to Lord Ganesh before the dinnertime rush on Diwali. Photo: Brennan LaBrie<\/p>\n

Annapurna Bhavan, which opened earlier this month on 9th Avenue between W43rd and W44th streets in the space previously occupied by Indigo Restaurant and Bar<\/a>, boasts an extensive menu spanning North and South Indian cuisines \u2013 with four chefs dividing the kitchen by speciality.<\/p>\n

Chef Vinoba Ponnusamy arrives at 5:30 each morning to prepare 32 types of dosa \u2013 thin, savoury rice-and-lentil crepes stuffed with vegetables, cheeses and spices \u2013 and South Indian breakfast classics like idli (spongy rice cake) and vada (lentil donuts). He is later joined by chefs who respectively handle classic North Indian curries like paneer tikka masala; street food classics like samosas and pav bhaji; and elaborate \u201cthalis\u201d \u2013 vibrant platters featuring a medley of curries, vegetables, pickles and sweets encircling rice.<\/p>\n

\"\"Avinash poses with Chef Vinoba Ponnusamy, who prepares 32 varieties of dosa and other South Indian specialties at the new restaurant. Photo supplied.<\/p>\n

The diverse range of dishes reflect the home-cooked flavors of co-owner and general manager Avinash Kaushik\u2019s life journey, from his upbringing in Haridwar \u2013 a holy site for Hindus on the Ganges River in which no meat, fish or eggs are sold \u2013 to his time as a microbiologist in a Bangalore hospital, to the years he spent managing a South Indian restaurant in downtown Manhattan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It was at this restaurant that Avinash discovered his calling in hospitality \u2013 and began shaping a vision for his own place.<\/p>\n

\"\"Avinash Kaushik, co-owner and general manager of Annapurna Bhavan, Hell\u2019s Kitchen\u2019s newest, all-vegetarian Indian restaurant.\u00a0Photo: Brennan LaBrie<\/p>\n

\u201cThis was a dream for me, that one day I\u2019ll open a restaurant and tell customers this is the real taste of India,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

A 6th generation vegetarian, Avinash wanted to offer authentic Indian cuisine catered to those with pure vegan and vegetarian diets, including Jains \u2013 whose lacto-vegetarian diet extends to vegetables whose harvesting could harm small insects, like onions and garlic. Annapurna Bhavan\u2019s menu is 100% Kosher as well.<\/p>\n

\"AnnapurnaChanna Buthara, chickpea curry served with a fluffy fried bread, is a popular Indian dish served at Annapurna Bhavan. Photo: Brennan LaBrie<\/p>\n

Avinash\u2019s first goal for his restaurant was authenticity of flavor and ingredients.<\/p>\n

Many of the restaurant\u2019s new regulars are from India, and often tell him that his food \u201ctastes and feels like home\u201d \u2013 the most rewarding review he receives, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI want Indians here in the USA to feel like they\u2019re going home,\u201d he said. To curate this experience, Avinash ensures that each guest receives not just \u201creal Indian food,\u201d but also \u201creal Indian hospitality.\u201d He personally welcomes patrons \u201clike family,\u201d and checks on them regularly. Even the mailmen and delivery drivers get offered water or soda.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Diyas adorn the bar of Annapurna Bhavan during its Diwali dinner rush. Photo: Brennan LaBrie<\/p>\n

His second goal: Keep it simple.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur motto is no fancy food and no complex recipes,\u201d he said, pointing to the simplicity of the dosa.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSouth Indian food shouldn\u2019t take too much time, but the quality should be high,\u201d he said. \u201cYou should feel the chili, the turmeric and all the spices in your mouth.\u201d<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t mean his menu doesn\u2019t have some striking dishes. Take the dry fruit dosa \u2013 stuffed with diced nuts, dates and raisins and flavored with coriander, cumin and other spices. Or Avinash\u2019s childhood favorite, paneer pasanda, which features dry fruit-stuffed paneer cubes cooked in a cashew-tomato gravy.<\/p>\n

Other dishes may not pop out from the menu, but deliver a splash on the plate \u2013 like the king masala dosa, which extends the length of a two-top table.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"Avinash poses with one of the new restaurant\u2019s most popular items: the King Masala Dosa. Photo: Brennan LaBrie<\/p>\n

On Monday night, as the restaurant\u2019s idol of Lord Ganesh glowed amid candles and offerings for Diwali, Avinash was in motion. The seats were packed, a line of takeout customers and delivery drivers stretched out the door and his perennial smile often gave way to focused determination. However, every guest still received his trademark, thoughtful service, which he says is rooted in his culture and the humility instilled in him by his grandfather, Jai Prakash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cHe told me, whatever you do, do it with honesty,\u201d Avinash said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Annapurna Bhavan is located at 615 9th Avenue between W43\/44th Streets and is open daily from 11am to 11pm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"AnnapurnaAnnapurna Bhavan is located at 615 9th Avenue between W43\/44th Streets and is open daily from 11am to 11pm.\u00a0Photo: Catie Savage<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Great news for Hell\u2019s Kitchen vegetarians and vegans: the neighborhood\u2019s newest Indian restaurant is completely meat-free and opened…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":13611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[75,84,83,9,24,1886,63],"class_list":{"0":"post-13610","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manhattan","8":"tag-manhattan","9":"tag-manhattan-headlines","10":"tag-manhattan-news","11":"tag-new-york","12":"tag-new-york-city","13":"tag-newcomers","14":"tag-nyc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13610","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}