Curry, Culture, and a Crown: Oslo’s New Delhi Restaurant Wins India’s Annapurna Distinction

New Delhi Restaurant, Norway's first-ever Indian restaurant to open shop in Oslo's Tjuvholmen area, has won India's highest-rated Annapurna Certificate of Culinary Excellence. Described as "India's Michelin Star," it was bestowed on its proprietor Baljit Singh Padda at an official ceremony on April 9, 2025, at New Delhi.

The Annapurna Certificate for 2023, launched by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, is awarded to restaurants overseas that promote authentic Indian cuisine and cross-cultural culinary exchange. Among 120 nominations this year from overseas, five restaurants globally received this certificate, and New Delhi Restaurant is the first to receive this award in Norway.

New Delhi Restaurant, established in 1982, started as a small 40-seat family restaurant and has since expanded to a multi-restaurant chain serving around 5,000 customers a month. The restaurant offers authentic North-Indian cuisine-likes Rogan Josh and Tandoori Halibut-made with seasonally available Norwegian ingredients. Spice mixtures are ground fresh in-house every day, and the wine selection is carefully made to pair Norwegian seafood with India's depth of flavor.

Baljit Singh Padda, the recipient of the lifetime-validity plaque, recalled the experience: "My dad was the first Indian chef in Norway back in 1982, and since then for 42 years, we've tried to show India's culinary heritage to Norway. This certificate belongs to all 70 of us in our team."

The Annapurna Certificate is awarded to restaurants that have been operating for at least five years, are serving substantial numbers of patrons, and are engaged in cultural outreach. The jury of the ICCR, with the final shortlists collected by Indian embassies and high commissions worldwide, selects the winners. In honor of the recognition, New Delhi Restaurant will introduce a public "Annapurna Tasting Journey" menu on May 1 and will have an open-house reception with Embassy of India in Norway officials in early June.

Source: ACCESS Newswire