Nandini Indian Cuisine is an Indian restaurant with a page of vegetarian options in Tempe. I visited with two colleagues and found the restaurant completely empty at 6:15 PM. We suddenly had fears that all the positive reviews had been about their lunch buffet, and that their dinner was going to be a disaster.
That kind of panic was probably premature.
I ordered the dal makhani and the malai kofta. The black lentils exceeded my expectation. I would order them again. They reminded me of the first time I ever had Indian food: the spices surprised me a bit. The malai kofta was okay. The sauce was uncomfortably chunky, and each vegetable dumpling was a bit dry on the inside. I generally enjoy malai kofta, but I don't think I would order it again here. However, my colleague really enjoyed the texture of the sauce.
The service was fine, but it was a bit awkward that the restaurant was completely empty. The staff waited, watching us eat, from only 15 feet away.
If I return, I'll definitely try some of the other items on the menu. I'd also come back for the lunch buffet.