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“Devi”

Occasion:	Cuisine:	Area:	Cost:	Rating:
Night Out	Indian	Flatiron	Moderate	Great

in texture. (I am now marinating every bit of meat in some sort of yogurt before grilling. In fact, I am going to marinate myself in some yogurt too. Be right back.)

I could have eaten the lamb chops alone, with nothing more than a napkin to dap the drool from the corners of my mouth, but Suvir serves them with a Southern Indian dish of curry leaf and mustard seed coated potatoes and a Kashmiri pear chutney that turns out to be a smart combination of acid, sweet and heat that complements the chops, rather than overpowering them.

We also went in for a plate of the crispy tangy okra—Kararee Bhindi ($14). We had heard about this dish, and the hype was not for naught. The frizzled shards of okra are lightly seasoned and dusted with chickpea flour (besan) and then deep-fried so they are crunchy and greaseless. The mile high pile of fried okra was like an Indian version of Durkee Potato Sticks (remember those? They came in a can?). Heather and I agreed that fried okra with tomato chutney should by all means replace chips and salsa as the official Super Bowl nosh.

The final blow to our waistlines came in the form of a massive and magnificent bowl of Kathal (Jackfruit) Biryaani ($16)— silky and aromatic basmati rice expertly cooked and layered with chunks of curried jackfruit, cauliflower and potatoes, then baked, and set in a pool of cool yogurt. We ate small forkfuls slowly, savoring each mouthful, while praying for more room to open up in our tummies. But as hard as we tried, those tummies were at No Vacancy.

As I hobbled out of Devi, slightly crippled by excess consumption, I was overcome by my stellar ability to eat, but was even more taken with the humble and amazing talent in the kitchen. Devi may be easy to miss, but how often do we close our eyes to the delicious goodness that is right in front of us?

Devi is located at 8 East 18 Street (b/w Broadway and Fifth), 212-691-1300.

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Posted: November 28, 2004

Other restaurants in Flatiron :
+ Suenos   + Amuse-- Closed   + Dos Caminos   + Lucy-- Closed   + Gramercy Taver   + Veritas   + Fleur De Sel   + Bolo -- CLosed   + City Bakery   + Shake Shack   + Kalustyan's Cafe   + Devi   + BLT Fish   + Sugarcane   + BLT Prime   + Barca 18-- CLOSED   + Beppe   + Barbounia   + Boqueria   + Eleven Madison   + Lonesome Dove-- CLOSED   + Hill Country   + Olana   + Wildwood   + Primehouse   + Allegretti   + Bar Breton   + Aldea   + SD26 by Bao Ong   + ABC Kitchen   + Ciano   + The NoMad   

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