Receive a warm welcome at the Indian Himalaya
The evening my companion and I decided to dine at Himalaya – one of the two well-known Indian restaurants in Kyiv – started in an odd way. Not only it was dreadfully cold outside – the temperature had gone down significantly in the past few days, but also the look of Khreshchatyk across which we hurriedly walked towards the restaurant really astounded me. The street was conspicuously empty for a Sunday evening, except for the large number of men in uniforms, some just walking around, others – busy taking down the metal screens that had obviously blocked the street earlier that day. Later I learned the reasons for it (some riots had taken place there on Sunday), but at the moment it just felt spooky, walking on empty central street at dusk and hearing loud thuds as the metal screens hit the pavement. So when we reached Himalaya, it felt like entering an oasis of calm and warmth, with all the worries and troubles remaining outside the door.
Purple colored walls, heavy carved wooden chairs and screens, Indian statues of wood and copper, complete with an impressive effigy of Ganesha in the corner by the entrance and waitresses clad in Indian-style outfits created the appropriate atmosphere. The ambiance was enhanced by warm lightning and the strings of small lamps behind the windows that added a Christmas feel.
Most of all I was anxious to have to some of Himalaya’s Indian food which I knew had a good reputation. While I wasn’t particularly experienced in Indian cuisine myself, my companion knew a lot about it and quickly picked a few dishes which we could share – golden vegetarian Samosa (Hr 20) and crispy vegetarian Pakora (Hr 39), as well as Indian bread Butter Naan (Hr 15) and cumin rice (Hr 25), and left me to choose my main dish, while he selected thespicy vegetable Jalfraizy (Hr 51). After considering chicken in cashew sauce and butter chicken, I took his advice on Dopiaza. Although only chicken Dopiaza was offered on the menu, he inquired if they could make it with prawns. Our pleasant waitress hurried to check with the kitchen, and informed us it wasn’t a problem, so all we had to do was relax and enjoy our hot tea and the calming ambience of the restaurant, as we waited for our order to arrive.
The place was neither empty, nor crowded – a couple by the window was enjoying a romantic dinner, a group of friends sitting right behind were engaged in a lively discussion, and a lone gentleman on the other side of the room was consulting with the waitress in English, trying to sort out his order. Ours didn’t take long. In just about 10 minutes two considerably sized Samosas appeared on our table, lying on a pillow of sliced cabbage along with a plate of Pakora, accompanied by several sauces. Having poured two of the sauces on my plate (I chose not to risk it with the spiciest one), I first had a Samosa, which, as my friend informed me, was authentically prepared, and it indeed tasted fine with a crisp crust and a tender filling of potato, green peas and peanuts. I then added some Pakora on my plate – bits of potatoes, cauliflower, onion and cabbage in golden buttery covering which were simply delicious, especially when dipped into the green and red sauces. I couldn’t help but think that if I could have vegetables prepared in such a tasty way all the time, I could easily become a vegetarian – well, almost…
By the time we were done with the starters our main dishes were already standing on the table – both served steaming in special pans. Dopiaza translates as “two onions” or “double onions” so naturally onion is its major ingredient – it’s used as the base for the sauce and chunks of lightly cooked onion are added towards the end of cooking. The Dopiaza I had at Himalaya was perfectly juicy and balanced, onion well complementing the prawns. It went well with rice but was even more delicious with Butter Naan.
Still, my friend insisted I should try some of his spicy Jalfraizy. Knowing my sensitivity to spicy dishes, he first ordered Mango Lassy – a yogurt-based drink which soothes the “hot” feeling in your mouth. With the drink on hand, I had some Jalfraizy, a dish made of cauliflower, green beans, eggplant and paneer. It was good, but I could immediately feel the spicy food seizing the insides of my mouth, and though many of you would appreciate it, I had to wash it down with a few gulps of savory lassy which helped a lot.
The portions were quite generous; I could hardly finish mine. Having thoroughly enjoyed my experience at Himalaya, I was more than ready to walk back home – luckily the uniformed men were gone and the city was back to normal.
Himalaya (23 Khreshchatyk, 270-5437). Open daily from 11:30 a.m. till 12:30 a.m.
English menu: Yes
English-speaking staff: Yes
Average meal: Hr 120
