SAMARKAND: Mohammad Naushad, a retired man from Bengaluru had plans to travel the world after completing his tenure in the steel industry. He landed as a tourist in Samarkand a year ago and his quest for his morning masala tea and paratha prompted him to settle here and open the only Indian restaurant in the second-largest city of Uzbekistan, Samarkand.

Called “The Indian Kitchen”, the restaurant came as a respite to Indian students who are studying medicine here and used to miss Indian food. The locals here also fancy the wide-ranging menu from lip dosas to chicken biryani.

“I had no plans to work post-retirement and had no experience of working at a restaurant let alone running one,” said 61-year-old Naushad.

“A week more and the vibrant culture and simplicity of people here, prompted me to give it a shot and now Samarkand is my permanent home,” he added.

According to Naushad, the restaurant receives around 350-400 visitors per day and there are catering orders for weddings and events where having Indian cuisine as an option is a hit here.

Behind the lip-smacking dishes available at the restaurant is Ashok Kalidasa, a chef who hails from Madras. “We enquire from each customer about the kind of spices they like us to use, whether they want it less spicy or tangy because Uzbek food is very different. The effort to customise Indian dishes to their taste is what attracts the local crowd here. Indian students come here because they get their home food and the meals are not expensive,” he said.