Its a very well known fact that the indian cuisine is at times complicated and time consuming. Westerners typically associate the Indian dishes with attributes such spicy with calorific value etc.
Neverthless the cuisine is unique in itself and carries a specific taste or flavor of its own which is much different than fellow Asian cuisines which use spices as well. Considering the number of ingredients put into the same, and the expertise required to mix them in the right amount at the right time while cooking brings a price. This special is one of the reasons why dishes tend to be costlier.
The following post describes a study done by Indian Institute of Jodhpur on Indian cuisine where in they have tried to put up a mathematical explanation of unique taste associated with the Indian cuisine.