Diwali’s Festival of Lights is upon us, encouraging friends and family to get together and celebrate the predominately Hindu celebration with food, sweets and fireworks aplenty.
And with numerous Oxford restaurants offering their own feasts to enjoy, from Bhoomi Kitchen to Namaste Village, we were lucky enough to enjoy a preview of Dosa Park‘s Diwali Thali offering, which runs from October 18-20 from 11am to 10pm.
Dosa Park‘s fortunes have certainly been fluctuant recently, having opened a branch in Botley in 2022, (Why Dosa Park is opening a new 75 seater Indian restaurant in Botley) only to face the harsh repercussions of the Botley road closure and forced to close earlier this year.
Back to their original base on Park Street near Oxford Station, the humble Southern Indian street food restaurant is still packed with avid fans, ever keen to dine out on the wonderful dosas and thalis from which they’ve made such a name for themselves.
So news that a Diwali thali is on offer this weekend had us racing down there to try it out. Don’t expect any pomp and ceremony there. It’s a simple premises with a door that never closes properly, formica tables and sparse decor. But we care little because the food does the talking, and it delivers time and time again.
It’s a simple premises But we care little because the food does the talking, and delivers time and time again.
The Diwali thali comes as in both meat and veggie/vegan options, 13 dishes for the meat and 10 for the veg, all for under £20 each. Complete with a paratha, a delicious pickled lime and a tiny dish of vermicelli (9 for pudding, one is taken through a myriad of curries of varying textures and tastes.
If you haven’t had a thali before expect a variety of curries served on a silver platter, meaning you get to taste lots of different things, like a sharing platter, a brilliant way of introducing you to lots of new tastes of India with novel and delectable offerings which vary each time you venture in.
And so you rip the paratha and dunk it into the paneer varuval, marinaded in a sauce thick with caramelised onions, or the coconutty green bean thoran from Kerala, almost like a grated, spicy salad, which packs a punch.
A masala papad is daintily balanced on the thali – a thin lentil wafer which is roasted and layered with colorful vegetables, in this case chopped onion and tomato, to add colour, alongside the paruppu rasam – a thin, cooked dal, flavoured with tomato, tamarind and rasam which soaks up the accompanying rice perfectly, and the Aviyal – a mixed vegetables cooked in a coconut base, mixed with yogurt, and flavored with coconut oil and curry leaves, almost like an Indian potato salad.
Or dunk the Keerai vada – a street food crispy nugget made with ground lentils, finely chopped spinach green chilies, cumin, and ginger into the the thick, juicy, piquant kathirikai murungakkai sambar made with lentils, spices and veg.
remember Diwali thali at Dosa Park only runs for three days from Oct 18-20
And finish with the elaneer payasam, like an Indian rice pudding made with coconut, condensed milk, cardamom and vermicelli, all washed down with a soothing masala chai.
The meat version of the Diwali thali is exactly the same but with the additions of chicken, mutton and a fish curry thrown in for good measure.
whether you want to celebrate diwali in style, or just fancy giving a thali a go, now’s your chance
So whether you want to celebrate diwali in style, or just fancy giving a thali a go, now’s your chance. But remember Diwali thali at Dosa Park only runs for three days from Oct 18-20. But if you don’t get there in time just remember that Does Park offers thais all year round.
Dosa Park is at 25 Park End Street, Oxford, OX1 1HU. Go to https://dosapark.com/index.html
