all right, i've found my new favourite restaurant.
as alan mentioned, this restaurant is on the same grounds as the hare krishna temple. we went for a peek in the temple to see the deities before they were closed (for some reason we forgot to ask about, they draw curtains around them from noon until four pm, but they hadn't yet done that, lucky for us). the grounds were lovely and the patio for the restaurant had a trickling fountain and was overgrown with kiwi vines!
the food was amazing. i chickened out and just got a safe garden wrap (which itself was very delicious), but both my co-workers got this amazing dish called thali which consisted of samosas, whole-wheat chapattis, tamarind chutney, basmati rice, dhal, subji and a sweet dessert called burfi. i, of course, had to taste all of their food and i will definitely get that next time i go. which will be soon.
just think, six years ago, i'd never had thai, vietnamese, japanese, african or indian food. i'm turning into a veritable gastronomic globetrotter!
maybe this is a lot more than you ever wanted to know, but 'thali' means plate or dish, the actual physical thing. and thalis vary extensively depending on which part of india you are eating in/out of.
what you had sounds like a north indian thali. if you have the time and the inclineation, go to a south indian restaurant and try a thali there. again all vegetarian and served in a big banana leaf/ stainless steel plate with smaller containers containing at least 3 veggies and assorted bread, rice, sweet stuff all cohabitating peacefully.
mmm.. i'm getting hungry.
actually, i love learning things like that, alan. thank you! i'll have to ask around for a south indian restaurant recommendation now