Voila,Tiffin Wallah!

When I'm ravenous, I can think of nothing more appealing than a thali: a variety of tasty Indian dishes served in small bowls on a round tray. The new Tiffin Wallah serves four different kinds: the eponymous Tiffin Wallah, the Gujarathi, the Sapadu (unavailable until the arrival of a new chef, according to the owner) and the South India.

The other day, I ordered the Tiffin Wallah and a friend chose the South India. We had to wait quite a while although the restaurant was almost empty, but we were to find that this wait was due to the utter freshness and loving preparation of the food.

My thali contained a crisp papadum, a buttery folded flatbread, a huge portion of rice pilaf, a cilantro-y, chickpea stew with lots of tomatoes, a creamy spinach curry with fluffy homemade cubes of paneer, salty mango pickles, spicy rasam soup, cooling raita and some comforting rice pudding. I was in heaven. My friend's South India consisted of a giant dosa filled with browned potatoes, an oniony uttapam that resembled a pizza, fried and steamed lentil cakes, lentil dipping sauce, coconut chutney, and some of the best badam halwah I'd ever tasted. This super-rich, warm dessert is basically just butter, almonds, saffron and sugar. It's the texture of baby food, but somehow this only adds to its appeal. Although I preferred my own thali, finding the South India to be quite starch-heavy, I could have eaten an entire bowl of that badam halwah.

Tiffin Wallah: 127 East 28th St., (212) 685-7301.