We wanted to give an out-of-town friend an interesting dining experience, so we decided to try a northern Indian restaurant in Tempe called The Dhaba. It’s in the India Center on Apache Boulevard. While sharing space with the grocery, it feels entirely separate and is attractively decorated in an interesting shade of green which seems to be a mixture of lime, avacado, and chartreuse. There are orange accent pieces, and the tables are dark brown wood. They’re set with metal chargers and drinking cups. During dinner I came to appreciate the metal cups: they magnify the coldness of the water, and are great to hold against tingling lips.
The menu is quite large, so we nibbled on the papadums and sauces while reading. Under “starters” there are “street treats” such as ambala tiki chaat - potato pancakes served with garbanzo beans, onions, mint and tamarind chutney and yogurt. Marinated chicken wings cooked in the tandoor sounded good, but being great fans of Indian cheese, we went with the paneer fritters. These were nicely cooked, lightly dipped in batter and deep fried, but not very interesting. Next time we’ll go with something more exotic.
There are a large number of vegetarian entrees, and many tempting dishes cooked in the tandoor, but I ordered one of the Dhaba Thalis, a “Whole Meal Experience”. I selected the Maharaja which came with a salad, two kinds of chicken, a curry (I chose lamb), daal, rice pilaf, naan, raita, and dessert. All for $15. Our friend chose a different Thalis, and Ken, bless him, decided to try the goat. Our server said that the goat could be prepared in any manner, but he suggested that it be done in a mint sauce. I couldn’t resist adding an order of Kashmiri naan which had almonds and pistachios and a crackly sugar coating.
The salad arrived first, and was beautifully presented in a papadum basket. The diced cucumbers, tomatoes, onions and mangos were in a light mango vinaigrette. I enjoyed it thoroughly, but at the end of the meal realized that I would have appreciated it much more served after the entree, as a palate refresher.
Our two Whole Meal Experiences arrived, with all the different entrees on a large charger. My two chickens sat on a bed of rice pilaf which had fruits and nuts and was exceptionally good. Each chicken dish was moist and flavorful, which can be tricky when the tandoor is involved. The lamb curry was relatively mild. Actually the spiciest thing on the plate was the raita. Our guest was happily munching away on his whole meal.
The outstanding dish was the goat. The sauce was delicious - a tomatoey base with lots of mint and spices. The meat was actually tender. It must have been braised for hours and hours. The Kashmiri nan was a treat, and provided a nice foil for the varied sauces. All in all, there was a huge amount to eat for a very reasonable price, which I find is not often the case in Indian restaurants. Ken and I couldn’t finish our meals, but Matt can’t stand to see food go to waste so we had no leftovers.
Dessert was a sampling of rice pudding and fried cheese balls. I sampled, but I’ve never been a fan of Indian desserts and these didn’t change my mind. Matt finished them up. The three of us agreed that The Dhaba was a great find.
The Dhaba
1876 E. Apache Blvd. Tempe
480-446-2824
Monday - Friday 11-3 and 5-10
Saturday and Sunday noon - 10
No comments:
Post a Comment