Taj Continues to Delight in Revamped Harding Place Location

For many years, Taj was one of South Nashville’s few true-blue Indian restaurants. While Nashville itself has long had a reputation for excellent Indian cuisine, especially east and west of downtown, South Nashville has flown a bit more under the radar — though a major exception was Taj Indian Restaurant. And what an exception it was. With an unassuming exterior that belied the flavors inside, Taj offered a combination of deliciously diverse Northern Indian specialities and a solid lunch buffet that made it not only the best Indian in South Nashville, but one of the finest Indian outposts in the entire city.

Taj has since moved out of its longtime Nolensville Pike home, opting this spring for a brand-new location at the intersection of Nolensville Pike and Harding Place that anchors a revitalized plaza of restaurants and shops. The interior is spacious, modern and flooded with natural light, a welcome change from the darker interior of Taj’s original location. Taj’s move can also be seen as something of a power play amid Nashville’s booming Indian scene. Plenty of new Indian spots have cropped up throughout the city over the past few years — from Nawabi Hyderabad House just off West End and Vivek Surti’s acclaimed, high-concept Tailor in Germantown, to Taj’s new neighbors Surati and Eggholic — which adds an element of competition. Taj appears to have risen to the challenge, offering not just a pleasantly refreshed dining experience, but a menu that seems to have expanded in both breadth and quality from when we last left it.

The menu has variety in spades — and while it’s not the biggest menu in Nashville, it is certainly high in the rankings. Many celebrity chefs will tell you that an overlong menu is a sign of mediocrity, but Taj is one of the few restaurants I trust to deliver regardless of the number of choices. True, there are several shared ingredients and styles of curry on the menu, meaning that it perhaps isn’t as complicated as it may appear. But big-time credit is due to Taj’s furiously busy kitchen, which delivers consistently and deliciously, especially fresh off a move. From complex curries to freshly baked garlic naan and street foods like pakora and chaat, Taj is a restaurant where the big menu supplies a big boost.

I mention the chaat for a reason — it’s a must-order. While Taj’s selection of other appetizers is impressive, with plenty of grilled meats and golden-fried morsels to choose from, the aloo tikki chaat might be one of the tastiest appetizers in Nashville. Spiced potato (aloo) patties come delicately fried, topped with yogurt, crispy chickpea noodles and chutney, creating a dish that leaves you with more questions than answers. Is it sweet or sour? Spicy or tangy? Is the vibrant masala spice the star of the show, or is it the ingenious blend of toppings? These dilemmas are what make Indian cuisine so fascinating and delicious, and you won’t find a better representative than this dish.

But we don’t go to Taj for the appetizers alone. The appetizers and soups take up only one page of the sizable menu, with the remainder divided between dozens of curries, biryanis, Indo-Chinese fusion dishes and tandoor-roasted meats. Of the latter, classic tandoori chicken and satisfying boti lamb kabab are my personal favorites, while the goat biryani and Indo-Chinese paneer chili are standouts from other parts of the menu. But I’d be remiss not to call out the range of excellent curries, both meat and veg, that Taj has on offer.

If any cuisine could be said to have perfected its vegetarian options, it’s Indian, and Taj dishes like chana masala and aloo gobi ought to draw the veg eaters into a trancelike state. There are of course many other vegetarian options, like my beloved palak paneer, a dish of sautéed spicy spinach and bouncy cubes of paneer cheese (not unlike the en-vogue halloumi). I still give Woodlands the nod for Nashville’s best vegetarian Indian, but Taj is close behind, dishing up a range of options that can entice even the most committed carnivore.

For the meat eaters, classics like butter chicken and chicken tikka masala take their familiar place on the menu, but for those in search of an alternative path, go for the chicken methi malai. It’s as creamy, spicy and decadent as any korma, while the presence of fresh fenugreek brings out a lovely flavor reminiscent of demerara syrup or brown sugar. I myself love a goat or lamb curry, and I rarely leave Taj without a lamb achari in hand. But there really is something for everybody here.

That’s why the next time I’m at Taj, I’m planning to try something different. Maybe the seekh kabab. Or the vindaloo? Or the Chicken 65? Or the chicken biryani? Or the …