I moved to Albany, NY about six years ago from Philadelphia, where the cuisine is pretty much a vegan dream (and we will get to Philly in later posts). Moving to Albany, on the other hand, has been a bit of a challenge for a vegan foodie, but this Mother’s Day we discovered a really fabulous vegan gem.
Our day started with trip to the The Hindu Temple Society of the Capital District, where our friends and fellow musicians Veena and Devesh Chandra were offering a free Indian classical music workshop. This was the last day in a series of workshops they offer every year, which is quite a special treat considering that Veena is one of the foremost women sitar players in the world, and her son is an amazing tabla player as well. The workshop was intimate and beautiful and full of wisdom.
In the kitchen we could smell Indian spices being cooked. Sadly, the workshop ended just as the kitchen closed. With our mouths watering for Indian cuisine, we decided to take a trip to Parivar Spices and Food, an Indian grocery store and cafe we had heard about. I must preface that my knowledge of Indian cuisine is from a very limited American perspective, but I have eaten quite a lot of Indian food around the country.
The deli had so many selections of foods, many from South India, that I had never seen before, and I was eager to try something new. We knew that we love samosas and chutneys, so we decided to order the samosa chaat, which was unbelievably filling and delicious. It was a very affordably $5, and contained a mix of chopped samosa mixed with chickpea masala and topped with onion, tamarind and mint chutney. We sopped up our meal with an order of chapati, a delicious flat bread.
They had a very comfortable and spacious seating area with highchairs for the baby, and their hours are an unbeatable Tuesday through Sunday, 10am-10pm. Now, I can’t really speak for the rest of the menu, but the samosa chaat is definitely worth going back there again and again. I look forward to trying something new next time!