We walked into the Vatan lobby on Friday night, hungry and wet from walking in the torrential downpour. We soon forgot the cold outside as it was intensely warm in the restaurant. It was amusing to look around the sprawling restaurant and its garish design; the smells wafting from the kitchen were driving us all crazy.
Member’s of our group slowly assembled and we were finally ready to get started. The waitress told us that the only thing we needed to order were our drinks, the rest of the menu was set. We ordered drinks ($5-6 for beer or wine) and waited for our first course. I had imagined the meal being served family style, but instead we were each given our own tray with a sample of each item pre-portioned! Considering that you could ask for more of anything whenever you wanted, it actually turned out to be a much more civilized and less wasteful way to serve!
In our hunger, we had been nibbling on Papadam, thin lentil wafers, topped with the mango chutney. I had begun to worry that the dinner would not be spicy enough. That fear was abated with my first bit of the appetizer course.
The innocuous looking Muthia (Steamed flour and spinach) was actually teeming with a spicy bite! I moved eagerly to the next dish of Chana Masala (garbanzo beans with onion and coriander); Chana is one of my favorites, these were a bit different. They were much smaller and crunchier than the creamy, nutty garbanzo beans I am used too, they were not very spicy and the large leaves of cilantro mixed throughout became a bit off putting after a while. They were tasty none-the-less. Moving around the circle I came to the Khaman (puffed cream of wheat flour cake), it was surprisingly good. Topped with a bit of the green chutney, it balanced out some of the heat. The Batatavada (fried potato balls in a chickpea flour batter) were a big hit with the group, especially Young! They were interesting. The outside was crisp and the potato innards were nice and creamy. They started off with a mild potato flavor that was abruptly followed by heat. Next to the potato balls was the Mirchi Bhajia, fried hot pepper.
I am not much of a green pepper fan anyways, so I delicately nibbled on it and then left it alone. Young, to prove his manliness, ate both his and Sahi’s! As sweat dripped down his face, he claimed that they were not delicious, but also not too bad. The next dish was one which I had low expectations for, but turned out to be one of my favorites. The Sev Puri was a crispy bread product filled with potatoes, garbanzo beans, and chutney and covered in yogurt. It did not sound or look very appetizing to me, but it was a nice balance of crunch, mild heat and cool yogurt. It was so refreshing, several of us asked for another serving of it! The Ragda Patis (potato cutlet in a white bean sauce) was forgettable. It seemed like more of the potato and chickpea flour mix that appeared in the potato balls and the Muthia topped with a bland sauce. It remained rather intact on everyone’s plate! Finally, I came to the baby Samosa’s. The tiny little fried triangles were fun to dip in the various chutneys and many people requested more before the course was through.
After this hearty first course, we were given a nice break before the main course to digest and linger. I appreciated that! After about 15 minutes our main course arrived. The deceptively small-looking saucers on a huge serving tray made us think the serving were much more petite and manageable than they really were!
There were also bowls of Pulao (boiled rice with peas), Khichdi, (Lentils mixed with rice) and Kadhi (soup with yogurt and chickpea flour) placed in the center of the table to share.
After taking some rice and passing it around, I began to sample the various entrees. The Toor Dal lentil soup was tasty, but texturally, the thinness of the soup made me miss the bite of whole lentils. Laura really liked this dish and I was told that it was always served very thin. The Kheer rice pudding with saffron and dry fruits seemed like an odd item to have during dinner, but Rajani told us that many Indian’s don’t differentiate between courses like we do, sweet and savory are not out of place on the same dish. I rather liked having a bit of sweet on the plate.
The Chole chickpeas cooked with tamarind and garam masal were a disappointment to me, especially since I adore chickpeas. In fact I don’t remember the dish at all, which is almost worse than remembering the specifics behind my disappointment. The Ful - Cobi (cauliflower and green peas sautéed in a savory sauce) was fantastic. I do believe it was one of the favorites of the night. It was relatively mild, but it had a great intensity of flavor. The Bhaji (sautéed spinach and corn) was really good at first, but became less so as the night went on. Perhaps it needs to be quite hot to be at its best. Finally, the Batakanu Sak (potatoes cooked in a mild red gravy) was tasty, if not a bit boring. We had already eaten our fill of the Papadam wafers, but the Puri puffed bread was fantastic! I ended up making “Indian Taco’s”, mixing the various dishes with a bit of the lentil rice in a piece of Puri. I enjoyed the various flavors and textures wrapped in a beloved carb!
We did not finish all the dishes in this course, and no one asked for additional servings. Those tiny looking little dishes kicked our asses!
We ended the meal with a scoop of homemade mango ice cream and a little cup of very sweet Chai tea. The creamy richness of the ice cream seemed to disappear as soon as it hit your tongue. It was subtle, unlike the candy-like mango flavored sorbets found other places. The tea was sweet, but its small size made it the perfect ending to this grand meal.
Two and a half hours later we pushed back out onto shimmering 3rd Avenue, it had stopped raining. I have had better Indian food, but I don’t think that is what Vatan is about. I think it is about the experience. Having a leisurely meal and trying a myriad of dishes for a reasonable price. It was not overly exciting food, but it was very satisfying and very good. I think it was the perfect place to wash away the week past and forget about the rain outside, ringing in the weekend with friends and comfort food.
As always, we had a delightful time. Though the food may not always blow our minds, the company will never let you down!
