Curry Hill, centered on Lexington Avenue and 28th Street, is named for its many Indian restaurants and spice shops. But curry is only a small part of the wonderfully diverse cuisine that can be sampled there.

Chinese Mirch

(212) 532-3663; 120 Lexington Avenue (28th Street), $; $25 and Under: 8/4/04.

Chinese Mirch serves a strange but satisfying hybrid of two favorite city cuisines: Chinese and Indian. If you like spice, or fried chicken, a dish of chicken lollipops is the best thing on the menu and a reason to go to Chinese Mirch. These are deep-fried chicken legs spiked with red chilies (big chunks of them) in the batter. Gobi Manchurian, a dish of fried cauliflower florets, is crisp and shows the kitchen’s considerable skill at deep-frying.

Dhaba

(212) 679-1284; 108 Lexington Avenue (27th Street); $; Article 10/1/08.

Shiva Natarajan, who owns Chola, just opened this Northern Indian place with classics like shalgam saag, which is mashed turnips with spinach puree; and chicken kali mirch prepared with a black peppercorn sauce.

Pongal

(212) 696-9458; 110 Lexington Avenue (27th Street); $; Article: 5/16/01.

The delectable vegetarian cuisine of South India is the specialty. The centerpiece dishes are the daunting dosai, delicious huge crepes made of various fermented batters that are stuffed and rolled into cylinders that can stretch two and a half feet.

Saravana Bhavan

(212) 679-0204; 81 Lexington Avenue (26th Street); $; $25 and Under: 8/17/05.

This restaurant, formerly called Saravanaas, is the first East Coast franchise of the well-regarded Saravana Bhavan chain, based in Chennai (formerly Madras). The kitchen turns out some of the best South Indian food in the city. Sorting out what’s what on a South Indian menu can be challenging for the casual fan of subcontinental cuisine; there’s no tikka anything, no tandoor in the kitchen and, in Saravana Bhavan’s case, no meat. This menu, however, is easily divided and conquered.

Vatan

(212) 689-5666; 409 Third Avenue (29th Street); $$; Article: 5/16/01.

This astounding restaurant transports you to a bright, animated Indian village with thatched roofs and artificial banyan trees. Vatan specializes in the spicy yet subtle vegetarian cuisine of Gujarat. For one price, a parade of little dishes is served. It may include khaman, a delicious fluffy steamed cake of lentil flour with black mustard seeds; and delicate little samosas.