Masala Delight opens in Great Neck
The dal makhani at Masala Delight in Great Neck features buttery black lentils that had been coaxed into a velveteen sauce. Credit: Newsday/Andi Berlin
Another impressive Indian restaurant has opened on Long Island, and this time it's out west in Great Neck. Masala Delight looks like your regular neighborhood spot, with a humble dining room and a ginormous menu of Indo-Chinese and North Indian classics printed on computer paper.
But in between the hakka noodles and the palak paneer, you'll find an elegant undercurrent of regional specialties. A grand Hyderabadi lamb dum biryani, for example, is described as "fragrant, tender marinated lamb cubes" with long grain basmati rice and aromatic spices like saffron and cardamom in a sealed pot.
These delicacies are the work of Chef Sanjay Singh, whose seasoned credentials include cooking for one of India's biggest luxury hotel chains. Taj Hotels, and the Michelin-rated Tamarind in Manhattan. The Delhi-native went on to help open the stately Mahal in Roslyn, which made it onto Newsday's Top 100 Restaurants list in 2023. He and with his business partners sold the restaurant last year, and chef Santokh Singh went on to open Dawat in Port Washington.
Sanjay Singh was looking to open a place of his own, and he thought Great Neck was a good choice because there was interest in Indian food there but no competition. He opened Masala Delight in May in the former home of Kai Burgers & Dumplings, a Newsday critics' pick that closed in 2025. The pub atmosphere has been brightened up, but the space is still cozy and intimate without too many flourishes. It's the food that impresses here, punching higher than the setting.
The highlight of the afternoon was a sumptuous lamb shank that melted into a velveteen sauce of onions and masala spices. The lakhnavi lamb nalli gosht ($27.95) is a northern dish that dates back to the Mughal Empire, which was influenced by Persian cooking styles of slow-braising meats. The recipe belongs to a genre of Indian and Pakistani stews called nihari, which derives from the Arabic word for morning. And this one is a showstopper, with a gorgeous hunk of lamb that falls off the bone into a deeply spiced tomato and onion gravy.
Another interesting, albeit more subtle dish, is the Nadru malai kofta ($17.95), described on the menu as a "premium Kashmiri delicacy," with croquettes made from "grated lotus stem and cottage cheese" that are cooked down and formed into logs, then submerged in a creamy cashew gravy. Singh said he learned the dish while working at The Grand hotel in New Delhi.
It's a popular vegetarian alternative to kofta meatballs, and tastes like a cross between a potato dumpling and a matzo ball, submerged in a silken sauce of nutty fats. It's not one of those fiery dishes that pummels you with flavor. Instead, it feels sophisticated and subtle, a showcase of the region's refined cooking.
Masala Delight, 7 S. Middle Neck Rd., Great Neck, 516-998-0649, masaladelightny.com. Open 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4:30-10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4:30-10:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Andi Berlin is from Arizona and does not know where she is going. But when she gets there, she’ll find something beautiful and delicious that the world needs to taste.
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