One great advantage of living in Madison is the diversity of restaurants, which adds an important cultural dynamic to this crazy city. Himal Chuli at 318 State St. fills the Nepali cuisine niche by offering authentic dishes created fresh by the Newar owners.

This small restaurant holds only about ten small tables, making it ideal for couples but slightly uncomfortable for larger parties. Bright Nepali tapestries and prints hanging on the walls add color to an otherwise simplistic room, while background music adds to the rough, Far Eastern feel of this very casual restaurant. If Himal Chuli were designed for fine dining, it would probably lose a great amount of its authentic appeal.

As for the menu, it may be quite a leap for less adventurous Americans. Featuring typical parts of a Nepali meal such as steamed rice, tarkari (stewed vegetables), dal (mixed-bean soup), roti (bread), and momo (steamed dumplings), the cuisine at Himal Chuli is probably not your everyday meal. Vegetarians and vegans will find more options than those who are looking for meat-based dishes.

Traditionally, the Nepali people blend many of their foods together. For example, the dal is often poured over steamed rice. However, your waitress may trick you by serving the dal alone before the rest of the meal, causing you to believe it should be eaten as soup. This tradition of blending parts of each dish may be more obvious when looking at the menu descriptions.

Roti and Tarkari is one of the first choices that pop out to the casual diner. This dish consisted of dal, freshly baked roti, and a blend of simmered vegetables. A choice of white or whole-wheat roti was offered, both of which were excellent. The soft, fluffy texture of this pita-like bread was leavened with homemade yogurt. The blended vegetables of the tarkari were a mix of cauliflower, carrots, green beans, potatoes and onions. The tarkari changes daily but is always cooked with tumeric, coriander, cumin, garlic and ginger, adding authentic Nepali spices. The appearance of the tarkari itself may not be incredibly appetizing to first time diners, but the fairly bland flavor (even with all those spices) shouldn’t scare anyone away.

Another vegetarian dish, Himal’s Combination Platter is a good choice if you’d like to try a taste of a few different things. Two momochas, one samosa, fresh roti, and dal made this platter an ideal choice. The homemade vegetable dumplings (momochas) were very flavorful when dipped in the tomato coriander sauce; hints of cilantro made this part of the platter stand out above the rest. On the other hand, the vegetable pastry (samosa) stuffed with potatoes, onions, and peas is not quite as good. The potatoes dominate every other aspect of the samosa, providing a somewhat disappointing taste after the more flavorful momochas. However, the yogurt served with the samosa provided a great dipping sauce for the roti.

Like the appearance of the tarkari, the Chicken Shikar did not have the most appetizing presentation but did exemplify a unique chicken dish. Served with brown or jasmine rice, tarkari, and a choice of dal or salad, white and dark pieces of chicken were simmered in a blend of cumin, ginger, garlic and onions to make the meat very tender. Again the tarkari had a very bland taste, but adding in the large chunks of meat kicked up the flavor a bit. Also, by saving the dal to pour over the rice (rather than eating it as soup), the blend of all these flavors was much more satisfying than trying each component alone.

After finishing as much as possible from the generously portioned meals, there is always the question of dessert. Himal Chuli serves a tasty Khir. Khir is a rice pudding made with flax seed and ground orange rinds, topped with slivered almonds and coconut. The consistency of this dessert was like a runny yogurt with rice, both chewy and smooth. Noticeable hints of a nutmeg-like flavor may have been the result of the flax seed and coconut combined, but whatever it was, makes for an appealing, somewhat nutty taste.

All in all, Himal Chuli would probably be most appreciated by adventurous vegetarians who enjoy the food of other ethnic cultures. By serving traditional Nepali cuisine with more mild flavors than other typically spicier Indian foods, Himal Chuli remains fairly authentic. If you enjoy a decent, filling meal at moderate prices, Himal Chuli is a good option.

Grade: B