The veggie options at Tawa's Nepali Hut rock

[CitySpoonful]

I've seen reviews raving about Tawa's chicken momos (http://realcheapeats.com/nyc/2011/taw...) and other meat options. Well, the veggie options at this homey Indian/Nepali joint are equally awesome.

We tried the aloo (potato) kati roll and an order of veggie momos with daikon pickle. The potato was mildly spiced -- nothing special, but totally unoily, which is always hard to find. The real flavor came from the bits of chopped green pepper and red onion cooked into the aloo on the grill (aka, the tava -- in Hindi) and the huge dose of tangy homemade mint chutney spooned into the kati roll. The whole package was amazingly zesty and flavorful -- or as one would say in India: chatpata!

The parantha was quite nice, too -- surprisingly unoily and very thin, delicate. They make their own paranthas (and rotis, chapatis) in-house, so that's not a huge surprise, though.

We were disappointed to find that the paneer momos have been discontinued (we've never seen those anywhere else!), but our veggie momos were superb. They contained an amazingly flavorful mix of spiced cabbage and carrots and were served with a very spicy chutney and tangy Nepali daikon pickle. The flavors were similar to Indian, but DISTINCT -- a different combination of spices than my Punjabi mom-in-law would select for her cooking.

I've tried a few veggie momos in Jax Heights (e.g., from Merit Kebab and Bombay Chaat) and this is by far the most flavorful one. My only complaint -- it seems like they use the store-issue wonton wrappers. I prefer dough (as at Bombay Chaat -- though their dough is a bit too thick!).

The owner was amazingly friendly, too. (Granted, we were speaking Hindi -- which seemed to ease the way a bit.) Though it was past closing time, he happily whipped up fresh chai on the spot for us (made properly -- boiled w/milk in a pot on the stove!) and offered thorough storage/steaming tips for the two bags of frozen momos we took home with us.

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Tawa Food
37-38 72nd St, Queens, NY 11372

[missmasala]

Hit this place today with the kids. totally enjoyed it. Loved the samae baji (we got it vegetarian for my veg daughter) and the chicken kati roll, which was amazing--a very tender fresh paratha wrapped around chopped up chicken sauteed with chilis, cilantro, and other delicious things. We also had the masala dosa (enjoyed it, but not much like a real south indian dosa) and the chicken and veggie momos. The momos were very good, but I realized today that momos don't excite me that much. (unless I'm in northern india, where they're a nice change from indian food.) I think I always kind of compare them to chinese dumplings in my mind and they come up wanting.
The owners/guy who cooks were super nice and we had a lovely time.
I would recommend people stop by for the samae baji and chicken kati roll, two excellent and cheap items.

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Tawa Food
37-38 72nd St, Queens, NY 11372

[missmasala]

Just touting this place again. Went back yesterday and the chicken kati roll was as good as ever. The samae baji was also good, but all the curries were served cold--it was better last time.
This time we also had the chai, which, as cityspoonful noted, was delicious and authentic--like my aunties--boiling hot, sweet, and milky.
The new discovery this time was that if you order a paratha to eat in, you receive a delicious, freshly-made behemoth that is easily twice the size of the ones packaged to go. (or at least that's what we got.) We ordered potato but someone else got the chicken one, which also looked v tasty. We brought some regular-sized chicken parathas home and these were also v good.
The great food is only enhanced by the friendly people running the place and by the fact that it's all very inexpensive.

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Tawa Food
37-38 72nd St, Queens, NY 11372