FoodMayhem

Bill, Justin, Steve, and I just ate at Vatan Vatan. It’s a prix fixe, Vegetarian Indian restaurant in Murray Hill. And I feel like I’m about to explode from the amount of food I ate. It was worth it!

The outside is totally unassuming, a sign and a door. The entry hallway is the same. As you reach the end of the hallway, the restaurant interior becomes visible… wow! It’s like walking into a different world. A sky-like image painted on the 20-something foot ceiling. Faux trees of various types climb the walls. And in the back a huge statue of Ganesha, the Indian god of arts, sciences, intelligence, and wisdom. There is an upstairs area with regular tables. Downstairs, there are separate booths, where patrons remove their shoes and sit into the raised floors.

The service was impeccable, as is often the case in Indian restaurants. Our waiter explained clearly how the service works. We can order drinks, charged per drink. In the mean time they will bring a round of appetizers, then a round of entrees, then a round of desserts. At any point we can request more of anything. All of the food is “all you can eat”. Even though drinks are charged additionally, he advised us not to drink too much, even of the water, because we need to save room for the food!

Steve and Justin had been to Vatan before and repeated our waiter’s advice about the drinks. Nevertheless, I wanted to try their Mango Lassi. It was a good move! First of all, it was the best lassi I’ve had. It was incredibly smooth, nice and thick, and not too sweet. Secondly, lots of the food had solid spice, so I was happy to have the yogurty drink to cool my tongue. The one drink did last me the whole meal.

The appetizer course arrives on a sectioned, metal tray, with a pretty cheap spoon (no other utensils needed). The whole thing looks like lunch service in the military. Anyway, the plate includes:

• Chana Masala – Garbanzo Beans with onions and coriander
• Muthia – Steamed flour with spinach
• Khaman – Puffed Cream of Wheat flour cake
• Mirchi Bhajia – Fried hot pepper with garam masala
• Sev Puri – Potatoes, garbanzo beans, yogurt, and chutney in a crispy bread
• Mini Samosas – Triangular Savory Pastries filled with spicy potatoes and green peas
• Batatavada – Fried potato balls in a chickpea flour batter
• Ragda Patis – Potato cutlet in a white bean sauce

The food comes out super fast. And if you ask for more of something, they bring that out super fast. And what’s evident, is that EVERYTHING is pre-made. It’s nice, because food comes quickly. The downside is that the fried items are not as crisp as they should be. The mini-samosas were pretty crisp, and not very oily. They were the only good fried item. My guess is that the outside was so thin, it turned into something like a cracker. They were tasty.

The fried hot pepper, was spicy, but had a mushy dough exterior that tasted bland. The Ragda Patis seemed the most interesting, but failed. It should have been crisp, but instead was a bit mushy. The best thing was the Khaman, it was tasty and very distinctive. We all loved it.

The table had various condiments ranging from super sweet to fairly spicy. Some were pretty distinctive, like the garlic, peppers and peanuts.

The entree course included:

• Toor Dal – Boiled lentils cooked with Indian spices
• Ful-Cobi – Cauliflower and green peas sauteed in a savory sauce
• Batakanu Sak – Potatoes cooked in a mild red gravy
• Chole – Chickpeas cooked with tamarind and garam masala
• Bhaji – Sauteed spinach and corn
• Puri – Puffed whole wheat bread
• Papadam – Thin lentil wafers
• Kheer – Rice pudding with saffron and dry fruits

Before I talk about what was good or not, let’s make this clear- what you see in these pictures is the portion for one person! Each of us got this amount of food. It’s crazy.

The entrees were accompanied by (not pictured):

• Pulao – Basmati rice steamed with peas
• Khichdi – Lentils mixed with rice and assorted vegetables
• Kadhi – Yogurt soup and chickpea flour with spices

The Papadam and Pulao were standard, but otherwise the entree items were delicious! Especially the Chole, even though I was stuffed, I ordered a second dish to eat with the Khichdi. Steve pointed out that the Khichdi was authentic, exactly like what he had while recently traveling around Southern India.

Unlike the pre-cooked fried items in the appetizer course, the Puri were steaming hot and fresh. It was a pleasure to eat with them.

One interesting dish was the Batakanu Sak. While it wasn’t particularly good, it was interesting because it tasted like Hungarian food my mom makes!

The dessert course included a delicious, homemade Mango Ice Cream and a decent Chai Masala (Indian tea with cardamom, ginger, and milk). Steve and Justin both had seconds on the tea. While I considered seconds on the ice cream, I passed; my stomach was full enough.

In traditional Indian style, they delivered a big dish of Mukhwas for us to munch at the end of the meal. It’s a dish made of fennel seeds, anise seeds, coconut, and sesame seed. It’s a digestive aid, and Steve enjoyed a bit of it. But I can’t stand this post-meal snack. Frankly the smell even bothers me.

This huge feast costs $31 plus a required 18% service fee. It was well worth it. I won’t be back soon, but I will go back!

posted by Lon at 11:52 PM Filed under Asian, Restaurants. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.