Deluxe Indian Takeaway on Awahuri Road is Feilding's two-in-one dinner stop: a full Indian curry kitchen working alongside a classic fish and chip counter. One menu covers tandoori starters, four kinds of biryani, fresh naan breads and more than a dozen curry styles — each available with chicken, beef or lamb and served with rice — while the other handles fish of the day, chips, hotdogs and burgers.
The Indian side runs deep. Appetizers like onion bhaji and samosa lead into tandoori chicken tikka roasted in a traditional clay oven; the mains list spans korma, tikka masala, madras, rogan josh, saagwala and vindaloo, and any curry can be made in a kid-size portion. Vegetarians get a genuine selection of 18 mains, from dal makhani with lentils simmered overnight to malai kofta and six paneer dishes, with vegetarian and dairy-free options marked across the menu.
For households and gatherings there are family combos — Queen for 3-4, King for 4-6 and Maharaja for 8-10 — each bundling curries, rice, garlic naan and a 1.5 litre drink. And when half the table wants curry and half wants fish and chips, no one has to compromise: it all comes from the same kitchen.
The shop opens for lunch from 11:30am to 2pm and dinner from 4:30pm to 8:30pm, seven days a week, at 90 Awahuri Road, Feilding. Orders can be phoned ahead on 06 323 5349.
On Awahuri Road in Feilding, one kitchen quietly covers two comfort-food fronts at once. Deluxe Indian Takeaway is exactly what the name promises and a little more: an Indian curry kitchen with a tandoor and a long list of gravies, sharing its menu with a classic Kiwi fish-and-chip line — fish, chips, hotdogs, burgers, the lot. It is the kind of place that settles the what's-for-dinner debate rather than starting it.
The Indian side of the menu is the deeper of the two. It opens with appetizers built for sharing: onion bhaji — onion slices deep fried in a chickpea flour and spice batter — samosas stuffed with potato, green peas and ground spices, and tandoori chicken tikka, boneless pieces marinated in yoghurt, garlic and ginger before being roasted in a traditional Indian clay oven. Half or full tandoori chicken comes off the same tandoor.
Rice dishes follow, with biryani in vegetable, chicken, lamb and prawns versions. And no curry night is complete without bread — the naan list runs from plain naan and wholemeal roti through garlic, butter and cheese naan to onion kulcha, stuffed with onion and spices. Mango chutney, mixed pickle and poppadums sit ready on the sides list.
The mains list is where the kitchen shows its range. Nearly every curry style can be made with chicken, beef or lamb, and every main is served with rice. There is korma and tikka masala for the creamy camp; a mango curry with cashew nuts; kadai with capsicum, onion, garlic and a smoky note; balti and saagwala built on pureed spinach; bhuna with caramelised onion; madras with curry leaves and coconut cream; home-style rogan josh; jalfrezi; a mushroom curry; and vindaloo, the Goan classic prepared with potato and ground spices.
Garlic chili chicken — battered and deep fried, tossed with roasted garlic, capsicum, onion and soy sauce — comes dry or in gravy. Several dishes are marked dairy-free (D.F.) on the menu, which makes ordering easier for mixed tables. And if the kids want in, any curry on the list can be made as a kid-size portion.
Vegetarians are treated as diners, not an afterthought: there are 18 vegetarian mains, all served with rice. Paneer appears in six guises, from butter paneer and palak paneer to kadai paneer and paneer tikka masala. Beyond the cheese there is dal makhani — black lentils simmered overnight and finished with butter, cream and tomato puree — malai kofta, cottage cheese balls in creamy cashew gravy, vegetable korma with cashew and almond, and potato-and-chickpea standards like bombay aloo, aloo gobhi and chana masala. Most carry both V and D.F. marks.
Feeding a crowd? The family combos do the arithmetic for you. The Queen combo serves 3-4 with onion bhaji, butter chicken, lamb saag, veg korma, three rices, three garlic naans and a 1.5 litre drink. King steps up to 4-6 people, adding chicken tikka, chicken tikka masala, lamb korma, beef madras and aloo gobhi to the spread. The Maharaja feeds 8-10 with three onion bhajis, double butter chicken, lamb korma and beef madras, two aloo saag, four garlic naans and that 1.5 litre drink.
When the craving runs more batter-and-vinegar than butter chicken, the other half of the menu takes over: fish of the day and crumbed fish, straight cut chips, garlic chips, wedges and kumara. The family favourites shelf holds hotdogs, spring rolls, curry rolls, potato fritters, corn fritters, crab sticks, sausages and chicken nuggets, and the burger list covers beef, cheese, egg, Hawaiian, fish and chicken. There is even a dinner-for-two deal — two fish, two hotdogs and a scoop of chips — and pineapple fritters or a donut to finish.
Deluxe Indian Takeaway serves lunch from 11:30am to 2pm and dinner from 4:30pm to 8:30pm, seven days a week. You'll find it at 90 Awahuri Road, Feilding, and orders can be phoned through on 06 323 5349 — worth doing at peak times, when the curry trade and the fish-and-chip queue are both in full swing. Whether you leave with a curry for one under your arm or the Maharaja combo for the whole household, the formula is the same: generous, unfussy takeaway from a kitchen that does both jobs properly.