Four minutes from the Wembley Central Underground station, and if you enter Saraswathy Bavan, you will be transported to India within minutes of ordering your first meal. At first appearance, the modestly furnished restaurant may look like another hole in the wall. But they always say never judge a book by its cover and Saraswathy Bavan is one such restaurant. Its owner, Anil Varma has now culminated the restaurant's success into starting a parallel outdoor catering service.
Anil caters for all occasions such as weddings, birthdays, house-warming parties among others across the UK. While catering for a minimum of 50 people, Anil offers three kinds of platters for his customers to choose from. For the South Indian combination, customers would have an assortment of 10-12 types of dosas, uttapams, idlis, medu vadas, biryani, two chutneys, raita, and sambar. In his second platter, he offers a wider variety of about 25 types of dosas, uttapams, idlis, wadas, biryani, chutneys, sambar but alongside these regulars, they also offer chili paneer (cottage cheese), Gobi Manchurian, and crispy potato bhajias alongside two varieties of desserts of their choice. Aside from offering these delicacies, he also offers flexibility to his customers in replacing the starters of their choice. While Saraswathy Bavan specialises for the taste of South India, Anil has offers the taste of Italy where he provides a salver of pizzas, garlic bread, cheesy garlic bread, coleslaw, potato salad, chili chips, and green salad. Considering, a large proportion of their customer base is from the Hindu community, he also offers a Jain and Swaminarayan menu both at the restaurant while on their outdoor catering.
“I do all the shopping and I won't compromise on the quality of the food being served under my watch. That is why some believe that dishes here are relatively more expensive in comparison to other outlets and services. But quality comes with a price,” said Anil, owner of Saraswathy Bavan.
Anil has previously catered for weddings of high-profile celebrities such as the relatives of Laxmi Mittal. In the meantime, his fully-licensed restaurant has been running successfully for the last 16 years.
I was spoilt for choice after my first glance at the menu and if you are fond of Indian cuisine then you might get carried away while placing your order. But be careful: the chefs at Saraswathy Bavan not just bring their culinary skills to the restaurant but also their generous serving portions. It serves an array of dishes- right from Punjabi chole bhatures to the classic South Indian medu vada sambar. I had been craving dosa (rice-batter crepe) for quite some time. So, I went for the cheese and masala dosa for my mains and sampled chili paneer as my starter. Indian food is usually synonymous with overt use of chili, garlic, and caramelised onions.
However, the chefs hailing from the Indian curry industry add just the perfect quantities of spice, oil, and condiments. The paneer cubes are sautéed to a medium golden-brown texture which perfectly compliments the diced onions and green peppers. For those of you who can't take the heat, beware of the green chilies that are finely chopped and sprinkled on top, you can also request the chef to omit them, as I did. But, I can barely finish half the portion of my starter when I am greeted by the smell of freshly prepared sambar (vegetable stew), the tell-tale sign that my dosa is here. The cheese is grated and melted inside the dosa roll. The masala made of mashed potatoes, onions and garnished with curry leaves is served separately to ensure that the dosa remains crispy. Four other bowls serve three different kinds of chutneys or dips- tomato, mint and grated coconut- and vegetable sambar. While the food is impeccable, the staff must also be credited for their prompt service.
For further information about catering, pricing, bookings, and reservations please visit: http://www.sarashwathy.com/ or call at: 0208 902 1515 / 07748 636 264
