the great nepalese/kaali daal puzzle

[howler]

the place serves mainly the standard moghlai/tandoori cuisine; the nepalese dishes are wistfully displayed on the menu. of course, its the inevitable pandering to average conceptions thats responsible, but who in their right mind would order a tandoori dish here when you can get wonderfully tasty steamed dumplings (mamocha) or the haku chyla (sp?), deftly spiced and barbecued lamb?

the great mystery was the kalo (kaali) daal. kaali daal is either an enhancer - thin and adding wetness to rice when accompanying a dry meat dish, or is thick, creamy, and enjoyed on its own with onions and a crisp tandoori roti. but this kaali daal was smack in the middle: thick-ish, but not creamy. it doesn't/didn't work for me! it felt like a thin version padded up with pillows, and given simon's impeccable recommendations, i wanted to be sure i wasn't catching the cooks on an off day. so i've eaten there twice, just to be sure.

one possible guess is that the cook is compromising: trying to make the nepali kaali daal sorta punjabi-ish, so its at least familiar to the majority of its customers.

[Jim Leff]

howler--where is this place? what's it called?

[howler]

its called the great nepalese and its on eversholt street, right by euston station.