The Slapdash Cook

I don’t know if more Indian vegetarians are moving into this particular part of the Westside, or if Indians have just figured out that American vegetarians love their food. Either way, my choice of Indian veg casual places (and general veg places) is expanding. The most recent entrant is a new restaurant that took the real estate once belonging to a steam-table Indian place called Taste of India. That restaurant was not vegetarian, and I thought only so-so.

Bawarchi Indian Kitchen replaced it about a month ago (if Yelp reviews are to be believed). The name doesn’t say so, but it’s all vegetarian. This is a big plus for me, as was its location at the corner of Venice & Motor. So I tried it out last night. All in all, I’d say I am well pleased. They have a more extensive selection than their competition in steam-table Indian casual dining. (India Sweets & Spices, Samosa House and soon, Samosa House East! See, so many choices!) I think there were around 16 curries altogether, including multiple dals, two spinach dishes and one mustard greens dish, two chickpea/channa dishes and at least two with peas/mattar. Their website and menu suggest that maybe the chef is doing some experimenting, which I like the sound of.

Moreover, they specifically say they are North Indian, which may be an attempt to distinguish themselves from Mayura, a sit-down place next door that seems to focus its menu on dosas. The North Indian focus may explain why the menu was chock full of dairy products. This could be good or bad depending on how you feel about dairy. It was all verrrrry rich, even the raita. I wasn’t raised eating a lot of full-fat dairy products, so it was a bit much for me. But that’s not a criticism. This could also have been the result of my choices of curries. For two people, we got:

• mushroom mattar
• basil paneer (which has got to be an experiment)
• lentils with spinach
• jackfruit
• soy vindaloo
• malai kofta (cheese balls in a cashew sauce — RIIIICH)

These curries came as part of the dinner special, which is $8 for a truly absurd amount of food. I think the counter guy was actually trying to warn me, but I wanted leftovers. And boy, I got them. In addition to the curries, each dinner comes with your choice of plain rice or pilau rice (a pilaf with peas, carrots etc.); your choice of plain naan, garlic nann or whole wheat roti (2); a small green salad; raita; and a popadom. I added a ginger ale for J. to the order and it came to just under $20. We had enough left over for another meal and then a small snack later. The naan was not the fluffy bread bomb you’d get in a sit-down place, but that’s the price of having it as takeout. Roti travels better. Anyway, I would have ideally wanted a few more dishes with more veg and less dairy/legume, but I kind of rushed through it and maybe the dairy focus is a feature of North Indian cuisine.

The menu also includes appetizer-y stuff like samosas, pakoras, chat, puri and vadas; kabobs; and a variety of Indian desserts that I didn’t even think I’d have room to touch.

The people behind the counter: The guy who helped me was very nice. It was dead when I arrived and he had the time, but he gave me advice about which dishes to get and didn’t seem annoyed when I repeatedly had trouble understanding his accent. Unrelatedly, if I can take the turbans and beards as any indication, this place is Sikh-owned. I found that a bit confusing because I thought Hindus were the driving force behind vegetarianism on the subcontinent. But I don’t know everything and this situation benefits me, so I’m happy.