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FOOD AND DRINK

Where can you get authentic Indian food in Sweden’s big cities?

A lot of Indian food you find here has been ‘Swedified’ – code for minimising spice and flavour to appease the softer Swedish palate. We surveyed Indians in Sweden to find their favourite places to go out and eat.

Published: 12 October 2022 17:01 CEST
Where can you get authentic Indian food in Sweden's big cities?
A plate of cauliflower curry. Photo: Janerik Henriksson/TT

What are Indians in Sweden looking for? 

Many of those who responded to our request for recommendations on the Indians in Sweden Facebook page were adamant that only restaurants owned and operated by fellow expat Indians are truly authentic, complaining that too many places add the label ‘Indisk mat’ to their menus even when the food isn’t cooked by Indian hands.

Some complained of being sorely disappointed by some of their experiences eating supposedly Indian food in Swedish cities. 

“All the curries taste the same as those from all the restaurants,” complains Rejin Balachandran of some of the bland fare on offer. 

“Indian restaurants in Sweden are hyped and the flavors are modified and very mild,” agreed Koushika Prasanna. “The quantity is comparatively less and overly priced. I personally feel other Schengen countries offer better authentic Indian food at a better price compared to those in Sweden.”

Another respondent, Ashutosh Kumar, wrote: “One thing which is really annoying is that most of the places uses “ready made frozen naan” and then heat them and serve. This breaks me to pieces.”

The places mentioned below are some of those which surely strive to change this opinion of expatriate Indians living in Sweden, and consequently other people who want to experience truly authentic Indian food.

Stockholm and Solna

One of the most-loved places for Indian food in Stockholm is Indian Street Food & Co, with outlets and food trucks in Stockholm and Solna. Visitors can’t stop raving about their menu.

Founded by chef Dheeraj Singh and his friend and entrepreneur Johan Parmar, the trucks and restaurants offer a wide variety of popular North Indian foods like Kathi Rolls, Samosas, Seekh Kebabs, and Papdi Chat (a personal favourite!), striving to create tasty dishes with locally sourced materials.

“They have a variety of authentic Indian food, both vegetarian and non-vegetarian”, says Stockholm resident Kamlesh Khullar, while Rajashekhar Somanchi also recommended it as “one of the best” places for authentic Indian food in the city.

When it comes to South Indian food, another resident, Santhosh Damodaran swears by Saravanaa Bhavan at Sankt Eriksgatan.

The chefs here not only offer an assortment of traditional South Indian dishes like dosas and uthappams with rasam (a spicy warming soup), sambhar, and delicious chutneys, but also have a broad menu serving other North Indian and South Indian delicacies.

Junie Skeppstedt recommends Shanti, a chain of Indian restaurants specialising in Bengali food. Junie echoes the sentiments of many others when backing her preference, saying, “some restaurants have fallen in standard I notice but I can still recommend this one.”

Shanti started out with the idea of providing Stockholmers with the experience of the real day-to-day food eaten by Indian people, but realised the naiveté of this shortly after opening Shanti Classic eleven years ago. Even though it took some time to win over Stockholmers, they now operate six different restaurants across the city, with people like Junie as regular patrons.

While Shanti Classic offers “normal, classic” Indian food like Palak Paneer, Malai Koftas and Chicken Do Pyaza, Gossip in Kungsholmen and Nytorget offer Bengali and Bangladeshi-style street food like Pakoras, Paratha Rolls, Bhelpuri and Kebabs.

Their other outlets, Touch of Bengal, Softcorner, and Ultimat have a similar menu, offering slightly different specialties depending on individual preferences. All in all, Shanti strives to provide a “non-Swedified” authentic experience of Bengali food for anyone who wants to try.

Gothenburg

“The owners are Indian and understand when we ask for more spicy or customised Masala”, says Vijnan Penmetsa of The Elephant, the run-away favourite among Indians in Gothenburg. 

The restaurant offers a selection of the finest Punjabi-style vegetarian and non-vegetarian delicacies, winning seemingly universal praise. 

“The paneer they make is amazing. While they have westernised the taste, ask the servers to make it “desi style”, and you will be reminded of the restaurants back home. They have a nice “chapati” as well”, agrees Rajeev Sanjay Patil.

Another resident Kimmi Singh Sandhu praises the restaurant for having “the best flavours”, and “a lot of items that you normally can’t find in many Indian restaurants”. She especially rates the “nice cocktails inspired from India and the appetisers.”

A definite must-visit, I think.

Patil gives an honourable mention to Himalaya on Olivedalsgatan. “While technically this is not Indian food, it is close enough,” he jokes. “The momos here remind me of ones we have back in India. The main course dishes are not too spicy and just the right taste. This is my go-to place.” 

For lovers of dosas and idlis, The South Indian and Kollywood Food Cart are the frontrunners.

“The South Indian has the best spice levels for a South Indian,” says Janani Mani about the chain, which also has outlets in Stockholm, Helsingborg and Malmö.

As for Kollywood Food Cart, both Patil, and fellow resident Rejin Balachandran say their food “is close to what we used to eat in India.”

Skåne

In Southern Sweden, there are several good Indian food joints. Starting with Art of Spices, an award winning Malmö restaurant, which is highly regarded by residents Parag Sathe, Krithika Venkatesh and Vishi Sharma Nagar.

Krithika considers it “the best authentic Indian Restaurant in Malmö,” thanks to their broad range of North Indian street food, including vada pav, papdi chat, and pani puri. 

Parag says he recommends these places because they are owned and operated by Indians, which adds to their authenticity.

Some other notable mentions in Malmö are Kontrast and its sister restaurant Ghee by the Sea, Urban Turban and Curry on Wheels.

Rohit Singh, an Indian in Malmö, said Kontrast was “a great idea to visit”, with it “mostly representing Punjabi food”. The local branch of the South Indian aside, Malmö seems to be lacking in South Indian or Bengali options. 

Helsingborg resident Rita Vithlani speaks highly of Mehak-e-India, owned and operated by Rajesh Malpani, who started this enterprise to fulfil the demands of rich and flavourful North Indian food in Helsingborg.

Member comments

  1. Feels like wasted resources on this article. I would rather prefer geo political, economic or other relevant topics discussed.

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INDIANS IN SWEDEN

Indian parents fear Swedish citizenship application will leave children stateless

Gouri Natrajan and her husband will be eligible for Swedish citizenship next year. They would apply, if it weren't for the fact that they fear a seven-decade old Indian law would then render their five-month-old son stateless. And they're not alone.

Published: 23 May 2024 12:12 CEST
Updated: 23 May 2024 16:11 CEST
Indian parents fear Swedish citizenship application will leave children stateless

Several Indian parents or parents-to-be in Sweden told The Local that they are putting their long-term plans on hold out of uncertainty about their children’s legal status if they apply for citizenship.

India does not allow dual citizenship, so anyone wishing to become a Swedish citizen must also renounce their Indian nationality and surrender their Indian passport. And according to India’s Citizenship Act from 1955, if a parent gives up citizenship, their children automatically lose it too.

That would not be an issue if the children were to receive Swedish citizenship instead. However, long delays as well as tougher migration rules make many Indians worry that their children will be left stateless for an extended period in-between losing their old nationality and gaining a new one.

To be eligible for Swedish citizenship, non-EU citizens first have to have permanent residency. As of July 2021, each applicant for permanent residency needs to meet the permanent residency requirements individually, which means that children can no longer get it through their parents.

Previously, children could in theory become permanent residents almost as soon as they were born, and then be able to apply for citizenship three years later (children have to live in Sweden for three years before becoming citizens, whereas it’s currently five years for most non-EU adults).

Now, however, children need to have lived in Sweden with a valid residence permit for four years before they qualify for a permanent permit (you have to have lived in Sweden for three years to get permanent residency, but as permits are granted for two years at a time, it’s four years in practice).

“I just had a son in Sweden – he is five months old today,” Natrajan told The Local. “Me and my husband got permanent residency recently, so we are eligible for citizenship next year, but now as my son needs his own permanent residency we need to wait at least four years to apply for citizenship.”

Once processing time is added, a child could reasonably expect to be granted permanent residency – finally becoming eligible for citizenship – after around five years living in Sweden.

If waiting times for Swedish citizenship are also taken into account, an Indian child born in Sweden can expect to receive Swedish citizenship somewhere between their seventh and eighth birthday.

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“During this time we can’t travel to India if my son’s residence permit is up for renewal,” said Natrajan. “With aging parents back in India, this is an emotional situation to be in.”

Another reader told The Local his child was born after he applied for citizenship, but shortly before he was granted it. He said he didn’t know at the time that India’s rules would lead to his child potentially being left stateless. He wasn’t alone in not being aware of this rule.

“I can’t apply for her citizenship yet as she has not lived here more than three years,” the reader said about his daughter. “But she won’t be able to get her passport renewed, and without a passport, the Migration Agency won’t approve her residency permit, so I’m stuck in an infinite loop.”

He hopes that Sweden and India will come to an arrangement to solve this issue before his daughter qualifies for permanent residency in 2026, otherwise he will try to apply for an alien’s passport from Sweden on his daughter’s behalf, which may allow her to apply for permanent residency. In the meantime the family are avoiding travelling so she does not get stuck.

The issue has put life on hold for a lot of people. A number of Indian parents got in touch with us to confirm that they were putting off applying for Swedish citizenship despite qualifying for it, or even putting off having another child in order to make sure their children do not become stateless.

“If we decide to have another baby, I need to wait another four years from then for my citizenship,” Natrajan said. “So we need to decide between expanding our family or getting citizenship.”

Some readers said that they had managed to secure Swedish citizenship for their children despite them not having lived in Sweden long enough – but not everyone was comfortable taking that risk.

“It’s messy, because they have approved some of my friends in the same situation, so every case officer is doing whatever they want to do,” another reader complained, claiming his citizenship application had been put on hold as his Migration Agency case officer was unsure of what to do. “Some people are still giving citizenship to kids who are less than two or three years old.”

Migration Agency spokesperson Vera Björk told The Local they did not have any applications on hold due to a decision over whether to include a child in their parents’ citizenship application.

But she did confirm that the permanent residency requirement for children can be overlooked in some cases, so it’s not a certainty that Indian children get left behind when their parents receive Swedish citizenship, even if they technically do not yet qualify for citizenship themselves.

“That requirement is not absolute, and the best outcome for the child will also be assessed. The first stage of that assessment is establishing what the best outcome for the child is. In the next stage, the best outcome for the child will be weighed up against other legally relevant interests, through what is called a ‘proportionality assessment’,” Björk said.

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She said the permanent residency requirement still weighed heavily as a general rule above all else, but added: “A situation where a child risks becoming stateless if the parent is awarded citizenship and the child is not would carry enough weight that a child could be granted citizenship together with their parent even if he or she does not have permanent residency.”

“That applies to all children who risk becoming stateless, although an individual assessment will always be made.”

According to the reader whose application is still being processed, the Indian embassy until recently was turning a blind eye to applicants, in some cases allowing Indian children to hold onto their citizenship until they qualified for Swedish citizenship.

“But now it has blown up in their faces, because they weren’t following the rules strictly. So now they’ve updated the website saying ‘your kids will become stateless if you give up your citizenship’, in a very obvious way, which they were not doing before,” he claimed.

The Local has contacted the Indian embassy for comment but has not received a response, but when we checked the Wayback Machine for cached web pages, it appeared the embassy only recently updated its website to warn parents that their minor children could lose citizenship.

The reader, who preferred to remain anonymous in this article, said he had tried contacting Swedish embassies in India and the Indian embassy in Sweden to no avail. The couple plans to stay in Sweden permanently and want to raise a family here, but this could make them reconsider.

“I really want my son to grow up in Sweden, even if we go back to India at some point to take care of my parents. I want him to come back and study here, have a Swedish partner, I want him to grow up in this country. But it’s been quite challenging in the last six months to love the country so much.”

Article by Becky Waterton and Emma Löfgren.

Are you in this situation or know more? You’re welcome to reach out to our editorial team at [email protected]. We might not be able to reply to every email, but your experience helps us cover this issue and other stories that matter to Indians in Sweden.

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