Hold the Burger

I drop into a hamburger stand and come out with something I hadn’t expected: really wonderful chicken curry. This makes sense if the stand is the International Hamburger Hut in San Pedro, which is run by people from New Delhi. The curry is chicken makhni, a very spicy concoction of chicken, yogurt, onions, ginger, tomatoes, butter and “spices”--the generic term that cooks apply to their secret seasonings. The curry comes with salad and rice. You might also pick up some samosas (potato- and pea-stuffed fried turnovers) as an appetizer.

Chicken makhni with rice and salad, $7.25; samosas, two for $1.95 at International Hamburger Hut, 824 S. Gaffey Street, San Pedro. (310) 832-4813.