Diwan

[ajay]

My advise to you is to call the restaurant and ask. My understanding is that when he is around, Chef Hemant is happy to prepare a tasting menu for your party so I think it's probably a good idea to figure out when he's around. I get the impression from Suvir (he can correct me if I'm wrong) that if you call up during reasonable hours (i.e. not during the service) and ask to speak to chef Hemant, that can be arranged.

[tommy]

My advise to you is to call the restaurant and ask.  My understanding is that when he is around, Chef Hemant is happy to prepare a tasting menu for your party so I think it's probably a good idea to figure out when he's around.  I get the impression from Suvir (he can correct me if I'm wrong) that if you call up during reasonable hours (i.e. not during the service) and ask to speak to chef Hemant, that can be arranged.

hemant is so gracious that i wouldn't be surprised if he came to your house and cooked if you asked.

[pete ganz]

What an excellent meal we had there last Saturday. This was the first time wife and I had been to an Indian restaurant and I can't wait to get back. I had to go after all the glowing reviews on this thread and mainly ordered the dishes people described from the get together (samosas, beggar's purse, basil chicken, tandoori lamb chops). When ordering the beggar's purse, I asked if they had Suvir's chutney, only because I remember someone saying they were out of it when they went. Our waiter, Vinny, asked if I knew Suvir. I told him only from his posts on a website I check out. He said, "oh....eGullet!". The funny thing was, when it was time for dessert, he said, "so I suppose you'll be having the chai pot de creme". Read my mind. I think the lamb chops had to be the star of the show. I desperately wanted to just pick them up and start gnawing on them. They even gave us 2 Cognacs on the house after dessert. All together a great time, just wanted to share that.

[awbrig]

cool story pete!

[Stone]

I thought the chops were great, although I agree with Steve P. that there's more marinade left on than what I expected. But I liked it. It's different from the "sear it and bung it in an oven" style we're used to. The boar chops were cut oddly, but it produced a thick round, almost tenderloin type of cut. Made for a great mouthful of moist and tender meat. All the chops (lamb, boar and venison -- which was like butter) had a great balance of marinade and natural flavor.

I took 7 others to Diwan last week and had the "eGullet menu". I've never said this before, but it was too much food. Next time I will fast for three days. Positively painful.

To a person, everyone said it was the best Indian food they'd had. Probably because we all, myself included, are used to receiving only curries at Indian restaurants. Here, the focus was on tandoori cooked meats, and I thought they were great (I usually don't order tandoori chicken in Indian restaurants). I expect that Brits get more of this type of Indian cooking than we do in the U.S. Or it could be that I've never ordered the correct stuff.

[Steve Plotnicki]

I told you those chops were too wet.

Swoosh from downtown for a three-pointer for Plotnicki.

Edited February 21, 2003 by Steve Plotnicki (log)

[tommy]

you're the MVIP!

[Suzanne F]

I told you those chops were too wet.

Eh, so what? They are SOOOOOOOO delicious!

So, you gonna offer your shooting to the Knicks?

[Steve Plotnicki]

They would be much more enjoyable to eat if they were trimmed better, and there wasn't so much excess marinade on them after they were cooked.

[Suvir Saran]

Rstarobi, Hemant Mathur is off Sundays and some Saturday lunch services.

Please feel free to call him any time... as Ajay suggests, doing between service or before is best. He would be happy to plan a meal with you.. or make sure he knows you are coming at an appointed time.

Let me know if I can help. Email me.. I can send you my cellular (917 number) and can help you if you need.

[macrosan]

I think the lamb chops had to be the star of the show. I desperately wanted to just pick them up and start gnawing on them.

Thanks for the post, Pete. It certainly seems from many posts here following the eGullet banquet that Diwan is maintaining its high standards.

So did you pick up the chops with your fingers and start gnawing ? If not, why not ? I believe it's absolutely proper etiquette to do so in an Indian restaurant. I believe that even in "polite" society in India, much food is eaten using the fingers. Certainly I have seen pieces of bread (nan, paratha, puri, chapati) broken off and used as a scoop to pick up food the main dish. I'd be interested to know if it would be considered etiquette to do so at Diwan. Suvir ? Ajay ?

[tommy]

martin, i pick up lamb chops just about anywhere. and i assume it's "proper" enough.

[macrosan]

Me too, Tommy, but then you and I are just nonconformists

[Steve Plotnicki]

They are too messy to eat with your hands. And since they are irregularly shaped, it makes it hard to eat that way.

[pete ganz]

So did you pick up the chops with your fingers and start gnawing ? If not, why not ?

Unfortunately, no. Maybe because the setting was a bit more formal than I expected. If I would have seen other diners at Diwan doing this, I would have jumped all over it.

[Rachel Perlow]

Knawing the meat off the bones is one of the best parts of eating a chop (lamb or otherwise). This is the meat with the closest proximity to bone and it has a higher ratio of fat and marinade to meat. It is an experience similar to barbecue ribs. If they were frenched, the chops would definitely be less enjoyable. Frenching is a technique of a different style of cuisine and there is no right or reason to expect an Indian restaurant to do this wasteful procedure.

[Steve Plotnicki]

Did I say Frenching? I am talking about the bones being cut in a straight line and the end of the bones being chopped off so it fits on the plate properlly. I am not talking about stripping the meat off the bones like they do in Frenching. I am also talking about the thickness of the chops. Chops that are a single rib thick marinate well, because they are not too thick, and they cook evenly. They also sear on the outside in a way where the marinade cooks off completely (leaving it with the great taste of the marinade and not the liquid) but stay rare in the middle. That isn't what happens with these chops. They are thick and unruly and they are messy to eat and somewhat unevenly cooked as a result. But like I said, and so did Stone, they are delicious chops. But if you want perfect tandoori chops, go with Tony Finch & Faroe (my god, I didn't realize until now that her name is Faroe Finch, that's like a character from Dickens,) to New Tayeb. Even though the quality of the meat is better at Diwan, they turn out a better quality product because they have the proportions of it all down pat.

[Suzanne F]

martin, i pick up lamb chops just about anywhere.  and i assume it's "proper" enough.

Tommy, I didn't know you always had such luck. I would have thought you'd say, I TRY TO pick lamb chops everywhere ...

[Stone]

I didn't mind the marinade at all, and I didn't expect much of a seared flavor from the tandoor anyway. I also didn't mind licking my fingers after picking up the bone. Hell, I licked my fingers after I used one to wipe clean my little butter-bowl of oysters and pearls at French Laundry.

Edited February 21, 2003 by Stone (log)

[Suvir Saran]

I think the lamb chops had to be the star of the show. I desperately wanted to just pick them up and start gnawing on them.

Thanks for the post, Pete. It certainly seems from many posts here following the eGullet banquet that Diwan is maintaining its high standards.

So did you pick up the chops with your fingers and start gnawing ? If not, why not ? I believe it's absolutely proper etiquette to do so in an Indian restaurant. I believe that even in "polite" society in India, much food is eaten using the fingers. Certainly I have seen pieces of bread (nan, paratha, puri, chapati) broken off and used as a scoop to pick up food the main dish. I'd be interested to know if it would be considered etiquette to do so at Diwan. Suvir ? Ajay ?

Martin you raise a great point.

It is absolutely proper to eat chops with your hands. In fact, many Indians would laugh at those that eat these amazing chops any other way. A sign of being "wimpish", and you know how certain families will do all they can to never get labeled as wimpish.

As for the chops, the way Hemant makes them is the correct way. It is the Indian way. There is no other way of making them.

I know people from this forum and foodies of great snob appeal that treat Chef Mathurs lamb chops with a position of great culinary reverence. And at least one of these revered foodies is known to eat the entire chop. Bone too. And he feels the marinade on the bone makes the bone so much more fun to finish. He is known to eat bones with most of his chicken and lamb chop meals.

I am in Denver, not sure what standards Diwan is maintaining or not, but those that email me or post here after their meals, have certainly left a not so dim an opinion.

I also know Chef Mathur reads eGullet regularly and calls me to say how grateful he is about this forum, for it gives him a way of continuing to improve his food.

Not all dishes are prepared to meet the needs of a particular group alone. These chops that do not impress some, impress a very large number of people that call them food from their land. And in the end, that is what matters.. and the following the chef at Diwan and the chefs at other Indian establishments have found after executing them in this "wet" style is overwhelming in number and almost entirely positive and overt.

Ed Schoenfeld has often told me he really enjoys Hemant Mathurs lamb chops. Maybe he can speak about them... and tell us how he would eat these.... I think he has no fears about eating them with his hands... and if I remember correctly, I have seen him enjoy the wet marinade that coats the bone. But I could be wrong.... my memory could be failing me... Ed, would you tell us what you do with these Indian style lamb chops? Would you eat them with your hand? Has their being wet ever stopped you from enjoying them???

[Stone]

Not all dishes are prepared to meet the needs of a particular group alone.

Nothing can please everyone. It's all a matter of taste and expectation.

[Suvir Saran]

And also, the lamb chops that are most famous from Indian Mughlai cooking are very large, unruly, big chops with extra marinade and little fuss in trimming.

These are what people expect, and these are what great Indian chefs prepare.

In fact sadly, chefs that are not skilled, often make smaller ones and those that are trimmed well, but they lose in their subtlety and taste.

But that is what an Indian palate wants.. and also what many people in NYC have begun to enjoy. But this could be a lot of people that I know that may not be too food savvy. They are too happy and reverential to something that is rustic but very tasty to their palates.

[rstarobi]

Suvir, I'm sorry it's taken me so long to post this:

Amazing meal at Diwan: Happy Birthday!

A party of eight friends and family members braved the rain Saturday night and journeyed to Diwan for my sister's birthday party.

A small bit of FYI: Suvir had called Chef Hemant for me prior to the meal.

The service was exceptionally friendly and competent, led by a man whose name I didn't catch, but who recognized eGullet and was on top of things the entire night. If he's reading this thread, thank you for the excellent service!

To the food:

For appetizers, we had the beggar's purses and samosas, as well as two tandoori mixed grills. The beggar's purses were good, but not quite as fresh tasting as I recalled from the earlier feast - the problem was with the papadums, not the crabmeat, which was excellent. Suvir's chutney was better than I remembered it, spicey and flavorful. The samosas were excellent, with nice spicing of the potato and pea interior.

The mixed grill was exceptional, with the tandoored shrimp as the stars. My parents, both avid seafood eaters began to go starry-eyed upon eating the shrimp. Between the flavor of the extra-thick shrimp, and the wonderful marinade, all were joyous (except the one vegetarian, who couldn't have any). Other tandoored items on the grill were chicken, another fowl (quail?), and kebabs. While my sister thought the kebabs were too dry for her taste, I enjoyed the flavor thoroughly. The kebabs tasted like an Indian sausage, piquant and enjoyable - these things would be great for breakfast.

Entrees:

We ate more or less family style, with much passing of food. We ordered tandoored vegetables, venison chops, tandoori chicken, potli chicken, Suvir's crispy okra, and Mulligatawny soup for Mrs. Rstarobi (recovering from a cold). Without exception, every entree was wonderful.

The vegetables, I mostly ignored - the vegetarian had limited choices relative to the carnivores, so we left him alone - he said that he thoroughly enjoyed his plate though.

My sister monopolized the venison chops, and as it was her birthday, none of us decided to fight her for them. Judging by how quickly they disappeared, she enjoyed them fully.

The tandoori chicken was on the opposite end of the table from me. I didn't try any as an entree, but had some with the mixed grill. Succulent, moist chicken, this is a testament to the glories of the tandoor - its quick cooking, combined with Hemant's mastery make for a wonderful marriage.

The potli chicken was interesting - a chicken breast stuffed with minced, spiced chicken, I enjoyed it, but thought that it became a bit same-y after a while. This may have just been my stomach's way of saying that I'd begun to eat too much at this point however. Before it got same-y, I really did enjoy the change of pace that this chicken dish provided. I think part of the problem I had is that the portions of food provided were ENORMOUS (I know, I know - a terrible problem to have).

Suvir's crispy okra was a huge hit - Mrs. Rstarobi describe it as "like french fries, only much, much, better." My mother, a tremendous okra fan, asked me to search for the recipe, so she can make it herself. The Mulligatawny soup was good and creamy.

At this point our waiter came by with an enormous plate, laden with lamb chops and basil chicken, courtesy of the chef. The lamb chops were even better than I remembered (and I remembered them as being sublimely good). My parents were stunned by the lamb chops - even Mrs. Rstarobi, ill, could taste how wonderful these things were. Sorry, Plotz - we all loved the chops, even with the uneven cuts.

The basil chicken was moist to no end. It actually reminds me of a recipe that Monica Bhide gave me a while ago, though the tandoor provides for much moister chicken than the Foreman grill.

Chef Hemant came out and very kindly extended his appreciation to us for attending his restaurant, wished my sister a happy birthday, and asked if we were enjoying ourselves. I think we were all too stunned by the meal to do more than thank him effusively. As the restaurant was full, he had to make his visit a short one, so he could get back to the kitchen, but his presence really helped to make the dinner a special one.

For deserts we ordered rasmalai, kheer, and a coconut sorbet. The only deserts I tried were the rasmalai and sorbet - both were excellent. The sauce the rasmalai was served in was creamy and savory. The sorbet was soft, and tasted of real coconut milk.

As a capper to the meal, Suvir had ordered a cake for my sister from Payard, a tasty layered cake, filled with blackcurrant paste, and covered with honey. The cake came with two lit sparklers on it, which was a bit over the top - though Suvir says that these weren't his idea.

Drinks: Mango lassi - good, but not as good as the sweet lassi I'd had at Diwan in the past.

This was a truly special meal, and I want to thank Suvir and Hemant for helping to make my sister's birthday an extraordinary event.

[Suvir Saran]

Rstarobi,

You are unduly kind to me here. Diwan is about Hemant Mathur and his food.

And not many are as generous and gracious as he.

I can only make suggestions and requests... I rely on Hemant for delivering and sharing his brilliance.

He is the Star and he is alone in doing what he does.

If he had better help and a stronger team, Hemant could very well be the best of the best anywhere in the world.

I am glad your sister had a nice birthday celebration.

Hemant told me he was honored you all picked Diwan to celebrate that special day.

My best to your sister for a long, healthy and happy lifetime ahead.

[Varmint]

I only wish all restaurants would take a page out of Hemant's book regarding service. I am frequently dazzled by the posts about this restaurant and cannot wait to get to NY to visit Diwan. Simply amazing.