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By Nick Rallo<\/strong><\/p>\n You\u2019ll find that time slows. You\u2019ll take slower bites, thoughtful and concerted twirls of stir-fried noodles and heaping forkfuls of saucy tofu. Your mind will ease through the flavors like you\u2019re footing your way up the steps of a flight of stone stairs. The lights in the courtyard\u2019s yaupon tree will glimmer.<\/p>\n On my table of polished black, where I\u2019m spooning through a cooling dessert of vanilla sweet rice and halvah \u2014 “It\u2019s like vanilla ice cream with a brownie,\u201d I\u2019m told in a ingenious sell \u2014 the reflection of the lights look like stars in a night sky. At the best vegetarian restaurant in Dallas, one that reaches far above your usual no-meat meal, is a dinner that you won\u2019t forget.<\/p>\n Dinner here under the stars is a sensory experience, one that encourages memory, at East Dallas\u2019 Hare Krishna temple. The name Kalachandji, an ancient Hindu deity worshipped 500 years ago in India means “the beautiful moon-faced one.\u201d<\/p>\n Under the grand courtyard tree, the water feature tumbles softly, and my tray is heavy with cinnamon bread, shattering papadam, brown rice and yellow mung dal soup. Kalachandji\u2019s is celebrating its 35th year \u2014 it opened in September of 1982 \u2014 of being the city’s most memorable buffet.<\/p>\n Tofu is cut into thick triangles, deep-fried and set aside. Meanwhile, oil heats in saucepan until it\u2019s hit with crushed red chiles, ginger and asafoetida, an herb with a leek-like flavor that aides in digestion. The sauce that follows is a string section of spices, a humming crimson blend of tomato puree and paste, mustard powder, chopped parsley, soy, lemon, black pepper and orange. It browns with the tofu until it\u2019s a rich sauce.<\/p>\n \u201cWe believe that food is a big part of not only bodily health but conscious health. It\u2019s a tradition that\u2019s millennia old,\u201d says Danny Thomas, Kalachandji\u2019s manager. He\u2019s bused dishes at the palace for 13 years.<\/p>\n Pre-iPhone age, the Kalachandji\u2019s restaurant established itself with a health-conscious crowd that found the \u201chidden treasure\u201d spot on Gurley Avenue thanks to a dedicated advertising campaign. You might have seen it in local papers like this one.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to remind people we were here,\u201d Thomas says of the palace and restaurant next to Samuell Grand Park. \u201cThe other thing that happened is the internet.\u201d A slew of awards found Kalachandji\u2019s after the web took off, and the restaurant no longer felt the need to advertise.<\/p>\n The dal \u2014 a silky textured soup, sunflower hued with turmeric, ginger, jalape\u00f1o and coriander powder \u2014 has always been a bright light at Kalachandji\u2019s, and it still is. The yellow mung beans are whisked until smooth, crackling with mustard and cumin seeds and curry leaves. With a scoop of warm, textured rice alongside a spoonful of searing spicy pickle, you\u2019ll feel two kinds of tears, caused by both spice and the emotional comfort of a perfect dish.<\/p>\n \u201cAll the spices that we use … they\u2019re not just there. It\u2019s not a whimsical thing. It\u2019s all medicinal as well,” Thomas says.<\/p>\n Kalachandji’s, 5430 Gurley Ave.<\/p>\n Source: http:\/\/www.dallasobserver.com\/restaurants\/kalachandjis-has-been-dallas-most-beloved-vegetarian-buffet-for-35-years-9871797<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The dal \u2014 a silky textured soup, sunflower hued with turmeric, ginger, jalape\u00f1o and coriander powder \u2014 has always been a bright light at Kalachandji\u2019s, and it still is. The yellow mung beans are whisked until smooth, crackling with mustard and cumin seeds and curry leaves. With a scoop of warm, textured rice alongside a spoonful of searing spicy pickle, you\u2019ll feel two kinds of tears, caused by both spice and the emotional comfort of a perfect dish. \u201cAll the spices that we use … they\u2019re not just there. It\u2019s not a whimsical thing. It\u2019s all medicinal as well,” Thomas says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-51087","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51087","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=51087"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51087\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":51089,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/51087\/revisions\/51089"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=51087"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=51087"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dandavats.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=51087"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"Hare](\"https:\/\/i.imgur.com\/Kmifale.jpg\")
By Nick Rallo<\/strong><\/p>\n