Aangan, the hotel serving vegetarian food, is located at Khar, Mumbai. The quiet, understated decor at the 40-seater hotel, catches the eye as one steps in. The ubiquitous mirrors are there, of course. However, the hotel promises food which is `easy to digest, free of toxins and as nutritive as non-vegetarian' food.

The usual alu-mutter-paneer and Chinese food is, of course, there on the menu. But it is the unusual vegetarian dishes that are worth having a bite of. For starters, there are bite-sized soyabean tikkis. These are cooked in red masala in a tandoor. It is followed by Palak Manchurian, which is a green coloured Manchurian served dry. One is intrigued as manchurians that are normally served in most restaurants are stuffed with veggies or made up of paneer.

The kandi kabab-button mushrooms and paneer interspersed with pieces of tossed onion, capsicum and tomatoes, pierced through a kandi (a tooth pick)-is the other unusual starter at this hotel. The Elaichi Kabab, as the name mentions, is made up of mixed vegetables which are finely minced, flavoured with elaichi and cooked in a tandoor. Elaichi or cardamom, which is usually associated by the hoi polloi with sweets is served here in a spicy-salt combination.

The glowing vegetable also catches one's eye. No mistakes, glow it does. It's a candle placed in a scooped out capsicum in which is placed a lighted candle, capped with a sliced tomato. This lighted vegetable is the accompaniment of Ujala Kabab, which is made up of assorted kababs from the tandoor. Paneer Patiala ushers in the main course. The stuffing is paneer.

It's wrapped up in roomali rotis and then cooked. With a rich yellow gravy swirling around, a tangy flavour hits the palette as one takes a bite of this dish. The Seekhi Saag Makai is the other innovation of the chef here. It is a corn and spinach dish that is cooked with cream. Another notable is Sabzi hara masala, a dish with a mint flavour, which comprises mixed vegetables. One of the rice dishes which catches the eye, unmistakably, is the Koyla biryani. The food is brought to the table and the waiter then proceeds to remove a fiery piece of koyla (coal) from its midst. Palak Raita, says the chef, would be a good choice with Koyla Biryani. A good recommendation, in fact.

The one desert that deserves mention is the fried ice-cream. Very hot on the outside and cold inside. It is made up of vanilla ice-cream, which is thickly coated with corn-flour and bread-crumbs and deep fried. The unusual sweet-dish is served with hot chocolate sauce.

One, shouldn't mind being a vegetarian if there are such frequent innovations.