Bikanervala at Papatoetoe

It’s surprising to me that given the large Indian and Asian populations in South Auckland there so few vegetarian cafes.

On Easter Sunday, Kitty and I went looking for a local lunch and were pleased to find Bikanervala open. A companion to Bikanervala in Mt Roskill, it’s had very mixed reviews for its food and service, but we’d had a reasonable meal there a while ago.

We both ordered a Punjabi Thali ($14.50). They are served on a plastic tray that has 6 small pockets: one for dhal; two for vege curries; one contained a sweet (almond burfi) and a ‘salad’ consisting of a thick slice each of cucumber, raw white onion and tomato; one pocket had very dry rice; and one was filled with a yoghurt raita. There was also a hot and pungent pickle, and a large freshly cooked naan bread that we didn’t need to so took home for a later meal. Plus half an oddly soft poppadum each.

The light tomato paneer curry was the best dish on the platter and the only one we really enjoyed, though the lentil dhal and the raita were quite pleasant. It might have been a long weekend but most of the dishes did not taste fresh. The sweet was an almond burfi, and not to Kitty’s taste at all, so I went to the chaat counter and bought her a delicate looking kaju kesar ($1.50). This tiny saffron flavoured square covered in sliver leaf had a texture that was reminiscent of marzipan but was too heavy for her. Happily she was able to enjoy the mango lassi ($4), which is made with mango pulp, not just flavouring.

Some of the criticisms of Bikanervala have been of the quality of service. The manager was briskly pleasant. The same cannot be said of the chaat counter staff, whom I encountered twice; indifferent and unhappy would be the best one could say.

Mumbai Chaat: a happier day

The following day Matt and I found ourselves lunching at Mumbai Chaat in Sandringham village on our way out to Piha for one of our favourite beach walks. What a contrast! The atmosphere there is bright and welcoming and the managers Ajit Ambani and son Gaurang – today it was Ajit – are always helpful and considerate.

They offer a selection of curries and dhals for the Thali platters. We both chose the vege korma, which is always excellent. I had the spicy mini stuffed eggplants, and Matt had undhiyu, a distinctively seasoned fresh vege mix. I enjoy their yellow dhal, which is a little sweet, and Matt ordered the Gujerati dhal, a thin sweet and sour sauce. Fluffy basmati rice. A raita sweetened with grapes and other chopped fruit. Crisply toasted poppadom. We declined their wafer-thin roti with reluctance, as we’re both gluten-free just now. And Matt had one of their delicious mango lassi.

I’ve been to Mumbai Chaat many times with different companions and we have tried various selections from their menu. These are not the usual spices and flavours of established NZ Indian cafes, and they’re managed with skill by chef Pratibha Ambani (wife of Ajit). Be prepared to have fun trying different tastes to find your own favourites.

Definitely a cafe to recommend.

www.mumbaichaat.co.nz

More good news – I’m delighted to announce that the popular Wholefood Kitchen cafe in Napier is now stocking the Guide to Vegetarian Dining Out!

You’ll find the The Wholefood Kitchen at 45 Hastings St, Napier. The cafe serves organic, vegetarian, vegan wholefood and is adjacent to Chantal Organic Foods.

Sunday lunches are often busy times and this popular vegan cafe in Newmarket on a warm autumn afternoon was no exception. We were lucky to find three seats at one of the long polished wooden tables.

We were briefly tempted by the hot food in the brunch bar but settled on the hot dish of the day, a roast pumpkin, chickpea and tempeh dhal ($12.50). It was delicious. The spiced ginger and coconut cream sauce also contained kumara, onion, garlic, kale and carrot, and was served with red quinoa infused with lemon and orange zest. The quinoa provided a light, fresh balance that offset the creamy main nicely.

We shared a slice of the Vegan Raw Cheesecake ($9). The crust is made with cashew, almond, coconut and date paste, and the filling with coconut oil, cashew, vanilla, lemon juice and the flavour of the day, which happened to be berry. It was sufficiently rich for a third share each to be entirely satisfying.

The coffee was a disappointment, bitter and not warm, but the cheerful, willing staff seemed hard pressed to keep up with the orders. We left feeling quite satisfied with our choice overall.

As an encore I was able to choose two salads from their colourful salad bar ($3.95/100 grams) – kale with apple, walnut, sprouted mung beans, ginger and mustard, and a cauliflower salad with tahini, carrots, sprouted mung beans, and almonds in a satay sauce – to take away.

www.wisecicada.co.nz

The Blue Bird Vegetarian Cafe in Dominion Road is hard to go past for a relaxing Saturday lunch after a hectic week. It has a tranquil atmosphere on both floors that lends it self to lingering conversations, and there’s a conversation pit with luxurious couches upstairs that invite you to do just that.

I was there with two of my nephews, both fit young men who enjoy healthy appetites. Usually I order from the cabinet and indeed there was a tempting hazelnut loaf along with some salads. However, this time we all opted to order from the blackboard menu, two of us for tofu burgers and one with a lentil burger ($13.50). Each of them came topped with a smooth, but not cloying, most acceptable peanut sauce, and a good side helping of Asian coleslaw; the latter provided a satisfyingly crisp balance. We all found our burgers to be good tasty fare that set us up nicely for our respective afternoon activities.

The staff at the Blue Bird are all of the Sri Chimnoy philosophy and their practice of harmony and balance is reflected in the cafe: the service is quietly attentive and helpful. While a few of the dishes use some eggs, it is mostly vegan-friendly, and gluten free options are always available.

www.thebluebird.co.nz

Baked stuffed potatoes are hard to do badly, but they’re equally hard to do well.

Sure, a baked potato is, well, a baked potato, which is a pretty good beginning right there. Though any filling is usually swimming in butter and cheese or sour cream. But when I wandered in to Ethos for lunch today I saw the cabinet had a stuffed potato that’s different and quite delicious, savoury and not rich ($8). Served with a side of fresh greens, which tasted as though they came straight from the Ethos garden outside the cafe doors. You can even sit in the courtyard at one of the long rustic communal tables, as I like to do, between the raised garden beds and watch the veges (and flowers and shrubs and herbs) grow…

… and linger over the vegan mango and lime cake ($6). Vegan – no egg – definitely delicious mango, not too heavy, a generous serve that’s enough for two, with optional yoghurt on request (I did).

After all those carbs I felt quite virtuous at selecting two crunchy salads for a $7 takeaway dinner box. The carrot and beetroot with pumpkin seeds mix is one I know, but the Asian slaw will be a new one to sample. Ethos salads go light on the dressing, which is a relief; there’s always that additional flavour added to the veges, but the salads leave you feeling clean and summery.

To eat with the salads I bought a freshly baked loaf of gluten-free buckwheat and coconut bread. To my surprise it slices evenly and unlike most whole grains is quite a light bread, only very slightly crumbly but not dry tasting; the taste of buckwheat is pleasantly present and not dominant, and a slice or two with avocado is definitely more-ish. Add some hummus and/or tempeh chips and that’s a tasty meal complete.

Ethos cafe is at East West Organics, Portage Rd, New Lynn www.eastwestorganics.co.nz

Indian vegetarian food is in a class of its own. With millions of committed vegetarians who reflect centuries of spiritual heritage, the basis of their  cooking is lacto-vegetarian and vegan. Only soft dairy is used, mainly ghee (a clean-burning high quality version of butter), boiled milk, yoghurt and paneer, a home made cottage cheese.

The underlying charm of Indian vegetarian cooking resides in the selection and cooking methods used for the spices. In the hands of a cook who understands the subtle emphasis that gives such rich variety to their dishes, it can be unmatched for complexity of flavours.

Mumbai Chaat  is among the best. A fresh, companionable family-run cafe in Sandringham village, the menu offers a range of chaat – snacks – as well as quick meals. Their samosa with tamarind chutney is a hearty spiced version of this well-known chaat; we find that one makes a sufficient entree for two diners.

Chef Pratibha Ambani offers a changing array of curries (i.e. savoury vegetables) to choose from for the Regular Thali, which includes one curry, daal, rice and five roti. Matt and I found one Thali and a couple of additional small bowls of curry to be a satisfying meal between us.

In addition to the 5 wafer-thin roti and a bowl of rice, our platter contained 1 bowl of vege korma (veges in a creamy sauce), 1 of stuffed eggplant, 1 chole (chickpeas in gravy), 1 gujerati dhal (a thin sweet-sour sauce), 1 methi mutter malai (peas in fenugreek), and 1 bowl of a sweetly tangy yoghurt & chopped apple raita, all delicious and quite differently spiced to perfection.

Thali prices start at around $13.50, depending on extras.

And we each had a glass of their excellent mango lassi. Perfect.

My childhood memory of mushrooms on toast involves almost black, iron-rich wild mushrooms picked fresh from farmers’ paddocks, cooked in a little butter. The mushrooms were hearty enough on their own to be a satisfying meal; toast was a delicious addition that mopped up the juices.

Cafe versions of mushrooms on toast are so often disappointing. You’re served pale mushrooms with little flavour, drowned in cream, on white buttered toast that goes soggy as soon as the sauce soaks into the dough.

Ethos organic vegetarian cafe at East West Organics Superstore in New Lynn delivers the closest I’ve come to the real thing. Dark brown mushrooms cooked with care and no cream (vegan), matched with Ethos bakery’s own tangy sourdough rolls that soak up the juices but retain their firm texture and flavour and add just the right degree of substance. Plus a side of butter. All for $18. Very satisfactory.

www.eastwestorganics.co.nz