On Monday we joined some vegan friends and hence
chose to return to MASALA ART (at Friendship Heights, thought they now
have a second location in the SW Waterfront-www.masalaartdc.com).
This was our third time there since their opening and it was as good as
before. We told our server, Sammy, what we had before and what we liked
and he helped us choose some new options...everything was amazing. We
ordered so much there was enough for 2 more meals at home this week!
Samuel
chose his Vegetable Somosas and avoided the sauces :-)) and then had
the Murg Tikka Masala, a yummy dish of chicken, onion, tomato gravy and
fenugreek.
Our vegan friends ordered a number of the vegetarian dishes without yogurt and the staff was more than accommodating to boot!
Aloo
Aur Pyaz Bhaji is a gear potato-onion-chickpea fried ball that is
easily one of the star dishes here as is the Aloo Tiki Chaat a fried
chickpea patty (think latke)with potato raisin and a yogurt or
fruit/spice dip.
We chose a Truant 4 Vines Old Vine Zinfandel
2011 and ordered two more bottles as Monday is 1/2 price wine and at $16
this was a steal!!
Garlic Pepper Naan is one of my faves, but
Will seems to prefer the Rock Salt/Cilantro version. There is also the
Pappadam which you can order with a plate of hot mixed Indian pickles.
Then there's the yummy tamarind sauce and cilantro paste to dip the
pappadam in!!
Bhareli Wangi is an amazing Indian baby eggplant
in coastal spices and tawa sauce that I would never have ordered save
for our vegan friends; another hit!
My favorite veggie will always be the Tawa Bhindi that awesome okra cooked perfectly with no sliminess at all!
Lassoni
Corn Palak--creamed corn with spinach is a close second in line for my
vegetable competition. Will adores the Saag Paneer which is Spinach with
Cottage Cheese.
Aloo Gobi isn't bad either if you like
Cauliflower and Potato. For vegans the breads often have butter, but the
Tandoori Roti is vegan unleavened whole wheat bread (get ready for
Passover!).
Sammy suggested we switch our entrees to two
different ones and we chose the Bhatti Ka Jheenga which are huge
chargrilled Prawns with a dry spice rub that will really get your taste
buds going.
For the Lamb dish we switched to Lamb Neelgiri
Korma a rich stew with mint/cilantro gravy that was a treat, but I think
I prefer the amazing Adraki Ginger Cumin Lamb Chops.
Missi
Roti was another starch we could have skipped, but the breads are so
good and this chick pea flouw with ginger and ajwain is indeed
excellent.
There was not a sour note to the food, service or ambiance...we were just so full we couldn't eat another bite.
Samuel
enjoyed the yummy vegan Nib Noir (crispy dark chocolate with brown
rice) that our friends brought for him and we headed home with leftovers
and the wine as well!
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