amidst the proliferation of indian restaurants in manila, one remains to be a favorite. swagat, located along rada street in makati, doesn’t offer any swanky interiors – the furnishing is simple and is reflective of what seems to be their general philosophy. they don’t offer styled food, but instead cook up very homey dishes. the sort of cooking i would imagine a homesick native to long for.
we started with an appetizer, bhel puri (P100) which was originally recommended to me by a former indian officemate
this isn’t even a cooked dish. tomatoes, chick peas, onions and puffed rice mixed in with some spices. nice and light and serves its purpose of whetting the appetite perfectly.
we cannot do without ordering palak paneer – homemade cottage cheese in spinach – and so we had to try the swagat version (P140)
immediately we noticed the color. it wasn’t bright green. but we didn’t mind because this color looks more like what a pureed leaf would look like. flavor-wise, spot on. quite fresh, actually.
the third dish was aloo bhindi (P105) or okra stewed in masala spices
first time to try something like this and it was interesting. not as familiar as other indian dishes like curries or tandooris, but a nice change of pace. it had a strong smoky flavor making it seem like it came out of the grill. will try this again but with other vegetables.
given there seems to be only one branch of this restaurant, it’s not as accessible as more popular choices like new bombay, but if you like indian food then swagat is certainly a must try.