Profile

A few blocks south of the 7 track, Flushing Chinatown’s heartline, Main Street becomes dense with Indian, Pakistani and Afghan establishments. Chatkhara Kebab House, offering a mix of South Asian cuisines, is one of the busiest. Some customers come to dine on the checkered vinyl folding tables.  But most come to assemble takeout meals from an impressive display of fresh, well-spiced, seriously cheap curries, side dishes, breads and sweets. The appetizer-heavy menu calls for mixing-and-matching a moveable feast: a plump samosa here, a seasoned kebab there, plus, say, a potato patty, biryani rice and buttery paratha bread. Curries, vindaloos and other stewed entrees are thick and satisfying, with a pleasant chile afterburn. Every day, two or three special entrees are slow-cooked in daags—vase-shaped covered metal pots capacious enough to conceal Indiana Jones in a chase scene. Meat is halal and booze is prohibited, but desserts—hyper-sweetened with condensed milk—are pushed. — Karen Tina Harrison

Samosa, $1; chicken makhni, $6; lamb vindaloo, $6; daily special biryani, $8