What Are the Most Popular Indian Foods to Order?
September 20, 2026 · 4 min read · The Namak Kitchen
The dishes that actually leave our Hercules kitchen most often — ranked by what people really order at The Namak, not by what a listicle says.
We pulled a month of tickets and had a look. Here's what people order at The Namak, in rough order of how often we cook it.
1. Butter chicken
Not close. Tandoor-cooked chicken finished in a tomato and cream gravy, a little sweet, a little smoky. It's the dish people order on their first visit and then keep ordering for years.
2. Chicken tikka masala
Butter chicken's spicier cousin — more onion, more spice, less cream. If butter chicken feels too mild for you, this is the move.
3. Garlic naan
Ordered with almost everything. We'd guess two out of three tables ask for a second round.
4. Chicken biryani
Layered basmati with whole spices and marinated chicken. Big weekend order, big family order, and the single most common thing we send out for catering.
5. Chicken tikka and seekh kebab
Straight off the tandoor with mint chutney. The appetizer that gets ordered as a main.
6. Palak paneer and dal makhani
The two vegetarian dishes that outsell everything else. Spinach with cheese cubes; black lentils simmered for hours with butter. Even confirmed meat eaters put one on the table.
7. Chana masala and aloo gobi
Chickpeas, and potato with cauliflower. Weekday comfort food, and both happen to be vegan as we make them.
8. Lamb or goat karahi
The order that says someone at the table has eaten this food before.
9. Mango lassi
Half drink, half fire extinguisher.
10. Gulab jamun and kheer
Warm milk-solid dumplings in syrup; rice pudding with cardamom. Two spoons, one order — that's how most tables handle it.
The honest advice
Popular is a good starting point, not a rule. If you order butter chicken, one tandoori dish, one vegetable, naan and rice, you've got a balanced table and nobody at it will be unhappy.
See the full list on our menu or order online for pickup. We're closed Mondays — everything else, we're cooking.
Come eat with us
The Namak · 848 Willow Ave, Hercules, CA 94547. Halal Indian & Pakistani cooking — dine in, pickup, catering across the East Bay, and a banquet hall for up to 200. Closed Mondays.
Keep reading
- How to Tell if an Indian Restaurant is AuthenticReal signals of an authentic Indian or Pakistani kitchen — from a restaurant that has to live up to them every night.
- Best Indian Restaurant Dishes if You Don't Like Curry"I don't really like curry" is one of the most common things we hear. Good news — a huge share of what we cook at The Namak isn't curry at all.
- What Should a Beginner Order at an Indian Restaurant?Never eaten Indian food before? Here's exactly what we hand first-timers at The Namak in Hercules — and what we'd tell you to skip until visit two.