Pakora are fried veggies, samosa is pastry, paneer is cheese, naan is bread. You can eat any of those with rice and sauce, but you can also have them without. Indian food has a lot of variation on flavours, texture, visuals, as expected from any cuisine with such a rich history.
Can you recommend something from Indian culture that isn’t what I have described above?
No because “overkill on spices, sauce and rice” is subjective. If “it’s always the same flavor” then either 1) you’re keep ordering the same stuff 2) the restaurants you’ve been to do lowest cost easy menus 3) it’s not the same flavor but it looks like so to you because you’re not used to it.
Next time ask the server for “solid food, no liquids” instead.