175438 Tue Aug 30 12:30:14 -0700 2005 6 14 Washington DC & Baltimore Area 0 943475 We had dinner at this place in Loehman's Plaza in NoVa. It is a storefront place with a walk-up counter as opposed to table service. They have a small buffet and also prepare dishes to order. The surroundings are nicer than most such places and the prices very moderate. They also have wine and Indian beers I usually get a masala dosa but was in a pig-out mood and so had the buffet. We also shared a couple of a la carte appetizers that were prepared to order. The focus is on South Indian food and, as such, tends to be pretty spicy. Some of the real southern specialties are available only on weekends. The alu tiki, fried potato cake appetizer, was very tasty and perfectly fried. The vegetable samosa was not, although I recall that in the past the lamb samosa has been good. The chutney that comes with them was excellent. The green sauce searing, as opposed to some restaurants where I can eat the entire dishful with a spooon. The buffet dishes have varied when we've been there. Last night it had three vegetable curries (eggplant, potatoe and pea, and mushroom korma); dal; three meat dishes (chicken curry, chicken tikka masala, lamb vindaloo); an appetizer lentil dumpling in homemade yoghurt; rice pudding; a salad of onion, tomatoe, and cucumber; and, of course, naan. The eggplant curry and mushroom korma were quite good and the potato/pea curry standard. The korma was pretty spicy, too. Made from several legumes, dal had surprisingly complex and depth of flavor. About the best I've ever had. The murgh (chicken) curry and lamb vindaloo both included meat on the bone, which, IMO, is an improvement over standard Indian restaurant fare. The chicken tikka masala was cubed breast and was pretty much the equivalent of most restaurants. But I'm addicted to even bad chicken tikka masala and so am probably not the best judge. The lamb was, well, very lamby. And I mean that in the best way. Frequently it is kind of a boring dish, but I really liked this version. I didn't take the murgh curry but tasted my husband's. We both thought it was very good. I wasn't fond of the dumpling because it was too sweet, making me wonder if it was really a dessert dumpling. On the other hand, it wasn't as sweet as Indian desserts can be. Speaking of which, they have a few ice creams, including kulfi and toasted coconut. We shared a small dish of the latter, which the owner said had less sugar than the kulfi. It's hard to see how that can be, as the coconut was almost like a frozen coconut candy. It was very good, with a nice, rich toasty flavor. But a little went a very long way. In all, there were more hits than misses, and it pays to keep in mind that the owner is from southern India. This is a great place for a very moderate meal or as a place to stop for a lassi and a snack. Tue Aug 30 12:30:14 -0700 2005 0 bacchante 1 943484 Did you see sizzling, smoking platters of tandoori chicken go by you? Tue Aug 30 13:03:25 -0700 2005 943475 0 Steve. 2 943485 I don't think I've ever seen anybody get tandoori there. I'm going to give it a try sometime. I see that they have half & whole chicken, chicken tika, lamb, and seekh kabob. All at $6.95 ($12.99 for whole chicken) including naan or rice. A steal, particularly if it's good. Tue Aug 30 13:10:01 -0700 2005 943484 0 bacchante 3 943488 The Tandoori chicken and the dahi vada (lentil cakes, weekends only) comprise one of my favorite meals anywhere. This is why Chowhound was created in the first place. Tue Aug 30 13:19:32 -0700 2005 943485 0 Steve 1 943517 The owner is from Punjab. He started his career at the Indian Pavillion in the Old Post Office which serves vegetarian food. This is where he picked up skills in making Dosas which are south Indian. He went on his own and opened Madhu Ban on Washington Blvd (Arl)with the same menu as the India Pavillion. He sold Madhu Ban and opened Punjab Dhaba in Loehmann's Plaza because the Indian Movie House is located there and so would be his clients. Madhu Ban was sold and the new owners did not keep the quality and has been closed for at least a year now. The dumpling you had was Dahi Vada. Vada is dumpling made from Urad Dal which is white and is leavened to make it spongy. Dahi is plain yoghurt. Upscale restaurants put white raisins and cashew bits in Vada. May be this one had chopped raisins in them that made you think it was a dessert. Tue Aug 30 18:27:42 -0700 2005 943475 0 naruda 2 943543 Something tells me I should not get into a fight with Naruda about Indian cuisine. In theory they only make the dahi vada on weekends. It is in the shape of a cake, so it depends on what the OP means by 'dumpling.' This is a good example of why a buffet is inferior to ordering off the menu. If you take the dahi vada from the buffet, it only comes with the sweet white yogurt sauce. But if you ask for an individual portion, it comes with three sauces, and this makes all the difference: the yogurt sauce, a green chili sauce that is very hot, as well as a dark tangy sauce. Wed Aug 31 11:48:18 -0700 2005 943517 0 Steve 3 943605 The tangy sauce is tamarind based. Thu Sep 01 16:07:06 -0700 2005 943543 0 naruda