Niramish

It was a cool, rainy day and I was in the mood for something warm and spicy.  I decided on Niramish, a small Bangladeshi/ Indian spot in Little 5 Points.  I had actually visited Niramish over a year ago for dinner and remembered it was pretty decent.  Of course, things change.

Niramish means "Vegetarian" but this restaurant has plenty of meat dishes.  This was just the first thing about this place that did not make sense.  To be fair, there are many vegetarian options and a vegetarian lunch special for $5.99 which sounded like a good deal.

The special comes with a soup, spring roll, naan, rice and your choice of two vegetables.  I chose the saag paneer (creamy spinach with indian cheese) and the aloo kopi (cauliflower with potatoes).  My meal was served quickly and looked good.  I tried the tarka dal soup first.  It was thin but tasty and the lemon gave it a bright touch.  Unfortunately, that was the highlight of the meal.  The saag paneer was more cream sauce than spinach.  It was also surprisingly sweet.  Not sweet and spicy - just sweet!  The naan also, while soft and fluffy, tasted sweet.  The aloo kopi was thankfully not sweet but just lacking in flavor.  The rice was cold and clumpy and I don't even understand what the egg roll was doing on my plate.  I tasted it to see if it was a special Indian egg roll but no.  I would have preferred a samosa or pakora but maybe egg rolls are vogue in Bangladesh these days.  Anyway, I had to ask the server for some type of chili sauce so I could add some flavor and mask the sweetness.  He brought me a hefty amount, which was quite tasty, and I proceeded to add it to everything.  I managed to finish my naan and about half of the vegetables.  I didn't bother with most of the rice.

I couldn't believe I was about to leave an Indian restaurant hungry.  However, I paid my bill and headed back out into the rain wishing I had just gotten some frozen Indian naan and chana masala from Trader Joes.