It’s no surprise to see another addition to Aungier Street’s strong food game, but the form in which the addition comes is unexpected. Sri Radha Raman is a nondescript space, advertising itself as “pure veg”.
“Pure veg” has casteist connotations in the Indian context, wherein any food that’s not entirely vegetarian is considered impure and left to be the prerogative of castes that are considered “lower”. Understandably, I was unsure of how to receive the label in a Dublin setting.
I visited anyway, to find six tables with red tablecloths and plastic chairs, and a counter behind which takeaway packages are prepared. The menu is both concise and wise, signalling to the well-versed that this is the place for homestyle Indian fare.
Unfussy tomato soup is often prepared in Indian homes and is also the starter of choice for catering companies employed at Indian weddings, and so the tomato soup on the menu here felt like a good starting point to go with. It comes in a small bowl with a couple of croutons, and is exactly like those served at Indian weddings or in homes: pleasantly salty and slightly peppery.
The masala papad is a single poppadom topped with chopped onions, tomatoes, green chilli and coriander, making it a spicy, tasty starter. Spicy continues to be the theme with the “pocket friendly” thaali, which includes moong dal, jeera rice, a “curry” (potatoes in a tomato gravy) that was spicy enough to make my nose water, and two phulkas/rotis. The phulkas are as soft as any Indian grandmother’s, two being filling enough especially when accompanied by rice.
A portion of mirchi masala paratha comes quartered into four pieces, stuffed with chilli and cumin. Raita and butter come on the side, both forming a satisfying combination with the paratha. This is just as homestyle as the rest of the food and reminds me of the mirchi parathas I’ve eaten at my ancestral home in New Delhi.
The chhole bhature are excellent, the chickpeas spicy and the bhature spongy as they should be. Each bite is a pleasant mix of doughy and savoury, making the dish one of the better ones I’ve eaten outside of India.
Sweets aren’t on the menu yet, but I can imagine a kheer or a halwa being an appropriate addition, as both are easily prepared at home unlike a more complex dessert like gulab jamun. We were full enough to not want dessert anyway.
Sri Radha Raman’s menu is reminiscent of the menus at sweet houses (shops selling mithai and chaat) in Delhi, like Nathu’s or Bengali Sweet House, sans the chaat. It brings traditional specialties outside of the usual dal makhni and naan to a Dublin crowd, showing other establishments that it’s entirely possible for homestyle vegetarian food to hold its own in the face of butter chicken and tandoori prawns.
