Jyoti Indian Cuisine, Washington, D.C.

We're thinking about doing Indian food at lodge for Columbus Day next week, so we're having to do some research, trying Indian foods and looking for a good Metro-accessible source for Indian sauces and/or spices.

This past week, we went to Jyoti Indian Cuisine in Adams-Morgan, and found not only good food, but some great prices. They had a special that amounted basically to a thali platter, and we were stuffed for less than $10 each.

The plates arrived with a mold of yellow and white rice in the center, surrounded by five little containers of various foods. Starting at the 10 o'clock position and proceeding counter-clockwise, we had:

• Chicken Masala, a dish of tandoori-roasted chicken slowly simmered in sauce and spices;
• Mater Paneer, green peas with little chunks of homemade Indian farmer cheese;
• Chana Masala, chickpeas and potatoes cooked in sauce and spices (yet spicier and different than the chicken version);
• Dhan Saag, spinach with yellow lentils;
• Raita, a cooling yogurt and cucumber dish that's really more of a condiment than a dish

I washed mine down with a couple of cups of hot chai tea, a spiced tea and milk drink. Their version is milder than many I've had, though I think it would have been better just a little hotter.

With the meal, we were brought two enormous pieces of naan bread that were unusually good.



It was a great lunch, and very much well worth the price.