Today for lunch, two coworkers and I hit up Diva in Davis Square for the lunch buffet. I loved that the buffet had a ton of vegetarian options and I grabbed:
- Gajar Aloo – Fresh carrots and potatoes cooked with herbs and spices
- Punjabi Kadhi – Vegetarian fritters made with chick pea flour
- Vegetable Pakoda – Fresh cut vegetables, deep fried in chick pea batter
When we were finished with lunch, my coworker brought back Gajar Ka Halwa from the buffet. It is carrot cake-ish and is flavored with milk, cardamom and nutmeg. According to Mandira over at Ahaar blog, in local sweet shops in northern India you can often see this dessert cooking in a big kadai (wok). She says, “If you were to ask for some, a mithaiwala would take a portion from the wok, mix it with some meva in a separate tawa, top it with some nuts and serve it piping hot.”
My dessert at Diva looked like this:
It wasn’t nearly as sweet as what you would expect in an American dessert. I mean, our normal desserts – even those including fruit or vegetables – are covered in sugary cinnamon mixtures or cream cheese frosting and then we top that with caramel sauce and ice cream. This was more savory, with a touch of sweet. It was nothing like my last Indian dessert experience (thankfully), so I deem that a success 🙂
There’s a great Indian place near where Emily and I live called Punjab Palace. Good food and not too pricey. And from what I’ve seen, they got quite a few vegetarian options.