Dera Restaurant: Spring Valley's Halal Table for Karahi, Tandoor, and Fresh-Baked Bread

## A wide, welcoming menu on Route 59

Dera Restaurant sits at 180 New York Highway 59 in Spring Valley, and its menu reads like a tour of Pakistani and Indian cooking. Restaurantji lists the restaurant as Pakistani, Indian, and halal, and the official menu backs that up with long sections for appetizers, tandoor dishes, curries, goat, chicken, vegetables, lentils, and fresh-baked bread.

The throughline is comfort food made to share. The official menu lists a one-pound chicken karahi for $16 and a one-pound goat karahi for $18, both cooked with fresh tomato, bell peppers, onions, and herbs. Nihari, beef shank cooked with fresh spices, is $12, as is slow-cooked beef haleem with meat and lentils blended in spices.

## Start at the tandoor

If it is a first visit, the tandoor section is a good place to begin. A chicken tandoori leg is $5.50 on the official menu, marinated in yogurt, lemon juice, and spices. Seekh kabab, ground chicken mixed with onion, ginger, and green chilies, and chapli kabab, a minced-chicken patty with onions, tomatoes, green chilies, and spices, are both on the appetizer list. A samosa platter, described as a crispy fried turnover stuffed with fresh vegetable and herb, is $6.50.

Restaurantji lists the customer favorites as tandoori chicken, samosa platter, chicken curry, chicken tikka, goat biryani, chapli kabab, goat curry, kheer, and kebab. That list is a useful shortlist for anyone who wants to order with confidence on a first trip.

## Breakfast, bread, and something sweet to finish

Dera is not only a dinner stop. Its breakfast specials include anda paratha, paratha with omelet and tea, for $10, and special halwa puri, with alo sabzi, halwa, and fresh fried puri, for $12. The paratha corner runs from plain and garlic parathas at $4 and $5 to a chole paratha at $9, and the fresh-baked bread section includes tandoori roti and tandoori naan.

To drink, the official menu lists lassi and mango lassi at $4 each, plus masala tea at $2.50. Chicken tikka masala is $9.99, and vegetable dishes such as palak paneer, spinach cooked with spices, cream, and paneer, are $9.

## Good to know before you go

Dera Restaurant is at 180 New York Highway 59, Spring Valley, New York 10977, and its phone number is (845) 352-0770. The official site lists hours of 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day, Monday through Sunday. Restaurantji lists take-out and delivery options, so the karahi, kababs, and fresh bread travel well for a meal at home.

For a table that covers a lot of ground without a lot of fuss, start with the samosa platter, add a karahi to share, and finish with the bread still warm. That is the kind of straightforward, generous meal Dera is built around.