Gangadin

My friend Carrie lives in the OC, but when she's up in LA, we meet for dinner in the valley. Finding good restaurants in that area is always an exercise in web research, but I have done okay so far. Last week, we met up at Gangadin in Studio City (My Last Bite is a fan of theirs, so I felt confident that we were in for a treat).


Vegetable samosas: the potato and pea filling was underseasoned, but with the condiments (a spicy one, a sweet one and a minty one), it was fine.


My chicken korma: great flavor and depth and I ordered it medium spicy, so it had some kick to it.


Carrie's chicken makhani (sorry for the blurry photo): I was too preoccupied eating my korma to try it, but she seemed to like it!


Basmati rice with peas: we ordered two side orders, but it came out on one plate and was larger than I expected (don't you hate it when places require you to pay for rice, but it's like one small bowl's worth? I eat a lot of rice, don't be cheap!). By the way, I like that Indian cuisine gives peas some respect and is very inclusive of them in dishes.


Garlic naan: blistery garlicky goodness. So good. I want to try one of their parathas next time (never had one, but it seems to be a flatbread of sorts).


Mango pickle: boy, was this salty! Like my brain could almost not process how salty these babies were. I've had lime pickles before and liked them, so either I have had weak-sauce versions or Gangadin's version is overzealous.

Both of us enjoyed our meal quite a lot. The quality of the food does mean higher prices, though, so I don't think I'll be eating here regularly. We ordered the above, a Kingfisher beer and a glass of Riesling; the bill was $50 something. Their menu is also vegan/vegetarian friendly, so I'd love to try their paneer dishes (Indian cheese is just wonderful, isn't it?).

Gangadin
12067 Ventura Pl
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 509-0722