Jalsa Indian Kitchen Brings Bold Northern Indian Flavors to Coral Springs

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Jalsa Indian Kitchen. {Photos by Han Okcuoglu}

Jalsa Indian Kitchen opened up 6 months ago and brings another great option for Indian cuisine with full-service dining. In the same space, they took the previous iteration of Jalsa and improved it in every way, including a beautiful, elegant interior remodel.

The owner has two other Florida restaurants under his belt: Jalsa in Tampa and The Jala Orlando. They even owned the previous Indian restaurant franchise at this location (off Royal Palm and University), called Honest, which had a strictly vegetarian menu.

Now the same management and same owner decided to introduce a more diverse menu brimming with different meats, and the results were delicious.

Previously, I reviewed another fantastic recent addition to the Coral Springs area, Harmony Indian Kitchen. Curious about the differences, we asked our very helpful waiter, Fenil.

Harmony is primarily a Southern Indian restaurant, with some Northern Indian dishes on the menu as well. Jalsa is the opposite. They are almost exclusively Northern Indian cuisine, with only four Southern Indian dishes (3 curries and a dosa). For the uninitiated, Southern Indian cuisine uses coconut milk in its curries, whereas Northern Indian cuisine does not.

Cauliflower Manchurian {Han Okcuoglu}

The menu was enormous and like most Indian food, very affordable. To get a good feel and sample size, we dove into some appetizers. The Cauliflower Manchurian ($13.99) was slathered in a wonderfully tangy Indo-Chinese sauce, with a hint of spice at the end. Deep, rich flavors. Crunchy on the outside, soft on the inside.

Papdi Chaat

The Papdi Chaat ($10.99) is a common Indian street food comprised of crispy fried flour crackers called papdi, topped with boiled potatoes, chickpeas, chilled yogurt, sweet and spicy chutneys, and savory crunchy garnishes like sev and pomegranate seeds. It was outrageously good. The crispy wafers achieve a phenomenal crunch and shape akin to Cinnamon Toast Crunch cereal. Served cold with a tiny kick to it but soothed by the yogurt, so it felt refreshing. They also layered in heavy cream instead of coconut milk.

Spring Rolls.

The spring roll ($9.99) was accompanied by a sweet red sauce with red pepper flakes submerged like tiny landmines. Way too spicy for our limited tastes; the spices beat us up. The roll itself wasn’t as flavorful as I wanted, but boy, was it healthy. I found a whole cooked clove of garlic in it. It left me wanting a more traditional asian vegetable spring roll, though.

Lamb Chops

That particular day we were informed they were out of Chicken Seekh Kebab, so Fenil stepped in and recommended the Lamb Chops ($33.99). We were blown away. For how soft and tasty it was, we assumed it had been marinating for days. Apparently, like Harmony Indian Kitchen, they also have a Tandoori oven in the kitchen, and somehow they pulled off charred-and-tender, which is quite a feat. The lamb was literally falling off the bone; no slicing required. It was accompanied on the grill by both a mint chutney and a non-spicy tamarind sauce.

Malai Kofta

Since I had never tried it before, I ordered the Malai Kofta ($17.99). It is a popular Northern Indian dish consisting of soft, fried paneer and potato dumplings served in a rich, smooth, and creamy spiced tomato-onion gravy. The sauce was simply something else. I could taste the Kashmiri red spice, cardamom, nutmeg, and bay leaves. Although I wasn’t a fan of the slightly soggier texture of the dumplings, I happily ate every bite

That kofta sauce actually went perfectly with the Jalsa Special Truffle Cheese Naan ($7.99), which had a cheese pull worth remembering. We were dunking the naan into the dumpling sauce, and it was heaven. It was a bit thicker than the more airy naan at Harmony, but no one at our table was complaining. Happily stuffed and with no room for dessert, we boxed up what was left for home.

Jalsa Indian Kitchen.

After lamenting for many years that I wanted some full-service dine-in options in Coral Springs, having exclusively ordered out from Arun’s Kitchen, I’m glad another superior option has made its way there for a delicious night out.

Jalsa Indian Kitchen

(954) 688-9422

2238 N University Dr, Coral Springs, FL 33071

Mon – Sun – 11:30 a.m. – 10:00 p.m.

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Author Profile

Han Okcuoglu

Han Okcuoglu is a curious foodie, Turkish-American and resident of South Florida for over 35 years. He graduated from FAU with a degree in Information Systems Management. He also writes food reviews on various websites and social media groups. He loves to see new restaurants and mom and pop shops get the attention they deserve and flourish.