Then came traditional poppadums, served with two dips, followed by samosas, crisply fried and stuffed with potatoes and peas. Since we had arrived at lunchtime on Saturday when a buffet lunch is served, we had our choice of a variety of tempting dishes such as fish, chicken, beef, stuffed vegetables, potato curry, delicious Basmati rice and lentils. Nelli advised us to take small portions of everything and to come back for more of our favorites. All were interesting and quite different from those we have tasted at other Indian restaurants. There was nothing over-hot to remind us of the curries served in England.
Spices are ground and mixed instead.
Everything is beautifully served by well-mannered Indian waiters from Calcutta and Bombay, who see to it that your glass is always full. Indian ice cream, fruit salad and fritters for dessert were followed by another pot of tea, this time the more common Masala, which is stronger than Darjeeling and served in terracotta cups. A teacher by profession, she is a mine of information on India and has an interesting story to tell. Born in Calcutta to a Jewish mother and an Indian father, she came to Israel in 1972. At the time she was growing up, there was a large Jewish community in Calcutta, but most left in the early-'70s, when thousands of people from neighboring Bangladesh moved to the area to escape drought.