It’s a measure of the success of these southern Indian restaurants that meat-eating diners may forget they walked in prepared to sacrifice. That’s because it doesn’t feel like anything’s missing from a meal when you dig into, say, the terrific rice-flour crepe known as a dosa–our favorite, the masala dosa, conceals a savory potato-and-onion hash. Tear off a piece and dip it in the coconut chutney.
The range of flavors is so wide that should you end up ordering nothing but veggie stews–we’re partial to the baingan bhartha (blistered eggplants, tomatoes, onions), aloo gobi (potatoes, cauliflower), and palaak paneer (spinach and house-made cheese)–it’ll still feel like a rich and varied feast.
Also good: Idli (steamed rice-flour cakes); channa masala (chickpea curry); malai kofta (veggie dumplings in almond curry); yellow dal.
Open daily for lunch and dinner.
Ann Limpert joined Washingtonian in late 2003. She was previously an editorial assistant at Entertainment Weekly and a cook in New York restaurant kitchens, and she is a graduate of the Institute of Culinary Education. She lives in Petworth.
