Indian restaurant Clay Oven opens in Coram

Food, service, décor — all are critical to a restaurant’s success. But there’s another consideration — equally critical — that flies under the radar: parking. Good restaurants have died for want of enough parking spaces and Lubna Habibi was not about to let her Selden Clay Oven become a victim.

So, after a year in a shopping center on Middle Country Road that had three designated spots, she packed up her tandoor ovens and moved three miles east to Coram Plaza, home of Home Depot, Stop & Shop and other parking meccas. Unless you regard it head on, the location is hidden by the Stop & Shop it abuts, but the parking — the parking! Enough for multiple Clay Ovens.

In fact there have been multiple Clay Ovens in central Suffolk over the last decade. The first one opened in Smithtown in 2014 (it closed during the pandemic), followed by Hauppauge in 2017. The Coram and Hauppauge menus are almost identical: a blend of classic South Asian dishes with a bit of Middle Eastern, Hakka (Indian-style Chinese) and even Chipotle-style DIY “Bombay bowls” for good measure.

“Clay oven” refers to the distinctive cylindrical tandoor oven from which issue a wealth of breads — naan, paratha, chapati and roti. Habibi’s naan comes stuffed, traditionally, with onion, cheese or coconut and dried fruit (Kashmiri naan). It might also be stuffed with Nutella or coated with everything spice.

The tandoor produces succulent chicken, lamb chops as well as seekh kebabs, made with ground chicken, onions, coriander and green chilies. Alongside familiar braised dishes such as chicken tikka masala and vindaloo, you’ll find less-familiar curries such as sultani gosht (lamb or goat on the bone in creamy saffron sauce), malrani chicken (marinated in yogurt and coconut milk and topped with cashews), karahi chicken (the ginger-cumin-chili preparation named for the pot it is cooked and served in) and tawa keema (ground chicken seared on a flat grill). Vegetarians also have their choice of almost 20 entrees.

For quick meals or snacks, there are kati rolls (paratha bread rolled up with a variety of fillings), samosas (fried turnovers), pakoras (fritters) and other street foods.

Clay Oven is halal and almost nothing on the menu is more than $15. On Fridays and Saturdays, from 5-7 p.m., there is a buffet for $20. 

Right now, only the a la carte menu is available, but Habibi will be introducing a buffet in the next few weeks.

Clay Oven, 272A Middle Country Rd., Coram, 631-335-6105 and 601 Veterans Memorial Hwy., Hauppauge, 631-724-1600. Open 11 a.m.-8:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday, closed Sunday.