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Cinnamon Kitchen’s Special Vegetarian Menu for National Vegetarian Week

21 May 2012 3 Responses »

May 212012

This week is National Vegetarian Week (21st – 27th May). The idea is to promote inspirational vegetarian food and raise awareness of the benefits of a meat-free lifestyle.

Whilst one does occasionally come across the odd vegetarians who seems to subsist on little more than beans on toast, cheese and chips, I am sure most of us know that it is perfectly possible to follow a healthy, delicious and varied vegetarian diet, if one chooses.

Indeed, my mum was a vegetarian until she moved to the UK in her early 20s, and most of my relatives in India follow a vegetarian diet. Although she did eat meat for a couple of decades, mum has moved back towards vegetarianism, though she is most accurately described as pescetarian, as she has retained fish and seafood in her diet.

Whilst I can’t see me giving up meat any time soon, there are certainly many reasons to reduce the amount of meat I eat, including my health, the environment (it takes more energy and land to produce meat than fruit and vegetables) and of course, my wallet. (What meat I eat I want to be good quality, responsibly reared and delicious and that means paying more for it).

With so many vegetarians in India, it’s no surprise that the cuisines of that country – I use the plural because there are such enormous regional differences – offer a great way for vegetarians, and those simply wishing to reduce their meat intake, to enjoy meat-free meals that look, smell and taste great.

I know this and yet, I’m not very good at putting it into practice.

Recently, I heard about the special menu that Cinnamon Kitchen has devised in celebration of National Vegetarian Week, and was invited along to sample it ahead of it’s launch today. The set menu features 5 vegetarian courses, is priced at £25 per person and is available from the 21st to the 31st of May.

Cinnamon Kitchen is is the 2nd restaurant in a group of three, the first being The Cinnamon Club which opened a little over 10 years ago. Cinnamon Kitchen opened in 2008 and the latest sibling, Cinnamon Soho, just a couple of months ago.

Executive chef of the group is Vivek Singh but CK’s menu is the work of head chef Abdul Yaseen. Yaseen worked with Singh for almost a decade, before taking the head chef role at Cinnamon Kitchen when it opened.

Cinnamon Kitchen has an enviable location within a beautifully modernised old warehouse complex located in a leafy square a stone’s throw from Liverpool Street station. The restaurant entrance opens into the enormous glass-covered Western Courtyard where outdoor tables benefit from lots of light (or a view of the stars) yet are protected from rain and wind.

Inside, to the left is the Anise bar lounge and to the right the main dining area, with space for over 100 covers. As is common for Indian restaurants these days, it’s an attractive space with warm brick walls, modern furniture and enormous globe light fittings. Along one side is an open tandoori grill with a long row of bar stools, like a Japanese sushi bar. Behind, frosted windows give hints of frenzied activity in the main kitchen.

My friend Rachel and I chose a table in one corner, from where we could watch the restaurant fill to bursting with local office workers and empty again only an hour later.

Whilst I do often order vegetarian dishes when eating out, it’s rare for me to choose an entirely vegetarian selection for all courses, so I was genuinely curious as to whether I’d miss meat during the meal.

Before we started on the set menu, we were served an amuse, sent to all the tables. A spherical bread-crumbed potato fritter served on a stick, with gooseberry chutney and a little natural yoghurt, the fritter was soft and crunchy, and the gooseberry chutney a perfect balance of tart, sweet, spiced fruit. My only suggestion would be to be more generous with it, as just the tiniest smear was dabbed onto the potato fritter.

As the first two dishes from the set menu were served chef Abdul Yaseen came to tell me more about the dishes themselves and shared his cooking philosophy for Cinnamon Kitchen.

I tasted of one of the dishes and commented on how absolutely familiar and authentic the taste was, a surprise given the modern presentation of the dish. He responded that his “food is very much within the roots of Indian cuisine“… he aims to share a “modern Indian cuisine” which is “not fusion but innovation“, that is to say he “stick[s] to traditional recipes but play[s] with textures and presentation“. He wants to create “layers of flavour” and “to highlight the ingredients“, which themselves are “adapted to the seasons” here in the UK.

A shot glass of ambi panna was served ice cold. Chef Yaseen told us how he uses the first of the season’s raw mangoes, smoked in a hot oven before being combined with mint, fennel, cumin. Such a lot of flavour in such a small glass! I assume there’s also some chilli to create the intense combination of chilli heat and ice cold temperature… This amuse bouche really slaps the palate awake before the meal to come!

The menu describes the starter as smoked tomato & morel soup, pickled mushroom salad, coriander and lemon cress but chef Yaseen referred to the soup as rasam, a popular South Indian soup featuring tamarind water, tomato, pepper and chilli.

As we tasted it, we immediately thought back to Yaseen’s words about layering flavours and using texture to present traditional dishes in a new way. Slices of morel and a few micro herbs gave more substance to the thin, fragrant and incredibly rich soup. The pickled mushrooms and salad added bouncy chew, sharp vinegar and fresh vegetal notes. Salty, sour, bitter, sweet, and umami – all five taste sensations were present in this one dish and all were perfectly balanced.

The “middle course” of hara kebab, chickpea and sesame cake, English asparagus, curried yoghurt, aubergine crush was also very good. The first thing both of us tasted was the aubergine, deeply, deeply smoky and silky soft, and with a little crunch in the form of diced raw red onion. The spinach kebab was soft and rich with a hint of crispness to the surface. The chickpea and sesame cake was cleverly lifted by sweet pepper. The asparagus spear was perfectly cooked with just the right amount of bite, and with lovely charred flavour to complement the aubergine. I liked the curried yoghurt better than Rachel, though it didn’t have as much flavour as it could have, I liked its tartness. This course really was superbly conceived.

I loved the presentation of the main course of stir fried baby aubergine, cauliflower stuffed potatoes, curried petit pois, slow cooked onion gravy; simply plated, just like it might be at home, but taken to another level by the clever use of a hollowed out potato as edible bowl to the stir fried cauliflower! All the flavours were once again excellent, and very much familiar to those who’ve grown up eating Indian home cooking. The pea curry was probably my favourite, with the peas cooked just enough, bursting freshness in the mouth. The gravy pulled the plate together nicely. I even enjoyed the rice, served plainly but with that distinct delicate flavour of good basmati. My only criticism is that whilst the tomato-y flesh of my baby aubergine was soft and tasty, the skin was very tough, actually difficult to chew.

For dessert, Chef Yaseen stepped away from the Indian tradition and served a lemon grass panna cotta, seasonal berries compote, toasted fennel seeds. Those fennel seeds were the only nod to India, and actually I think they were superfluous. The panna cotta was superb, with wonderful wobble and the most delightful lemon grass flavour, gentle at first but singing by the end of each bite. The berries were cooked so briefly that they had a concentrated compote flavour but were still full of fresh juiciness and perfectly matched with the mint. I loved this and could happily eat it again and again.

Full to bursting, we ordered masala chai, which was served with petits fours. As we drank our delicately spiced tea we reviewed the wine choices sommelier Carlos Pinto had chosen to match with the special menu.

With the first two courses, he selected a pinot blanc from Alsace (Domaine Dopff). With the main, he served a Burgundy pinot noir (Domaine Chanson). And with dessert, a Bera Moscato d’Asti from Piedmont. Rachel felt that the matches were very well chosen indeed, and really worked well to bring out the best in both food and wine.

By the end of our meal, we agreed that the menu was a big success. Neither of us had missed meat for a moment, and the variety of flavours, textures and visual presentation were hugely appealing. For £25, it was also excellent value.

The menu is available until the end of May, and I hope it proves sufficiently popular that Cinnamon Kitchen decide to offer something similar on a permanent basis.

Kavey Eats dined as a guest of Cinnamon Kitchen.

Namaaste Kitchen Regional Indian Menus

18 May 2012 8 Responses »

May 182012

When I was first sent a press release about Namaaste Kitchen in Camden, I was intrigued. Owner, director and “patron chef” Sabir Karim has described the restaurant as an “Indian grill and bar”, with the grill open to view from the restaurant.

Unusually, drinks, bar snacks, and an all-day menu are served seven days a week which could prove useful when trying to dine outside of regular meal times.

But the main attraction for me was the year long regional food festival featuring dishes from a different part of India each month. In February diners tasted the delights of traditional Hyderabadi dishes; in March Karim showcased the cuisine of Goa; during our April visit we sampled specialities from Lucknow; in May diners can try food from Mumbai.

Karim has worked in the restaurant industry for many years, including time at Chutney Mary (which also offers food from across India). His first restaurant, Salaam Namaste in Bloomsbury opened in 2006 and Namaaste Kitchen was launched last year.

Incidentally, am I the only one slightly bothered by the two different spellings of namaste/ namaaste in the restaurant names?

2 images from restaurant website

In a continuing trend away from flocked wallpaper or faux Raj, Namaaste Kitchen boasts exposed brock walls, cream leather banquettes and seats and colourful modern art and light fittings.

Settling in, we quickly ordered drinks. A rich, thick Sweet Lassi (£3.50) for me made from good quality natural yoghurt with a decent tangy flavour. Mum enjoyed her Noon On The Equator non-alcoholic cocktail (£4.50) which included Tabasco, salt and pepper to spice up the orange, tomato and lemon juices, with grenadine for sweetness.

As we ordered, our waiter suggested we try their poppadoms and chutneys (£2.40 per person). We were particularly impressed on asking whether the poppadoms are fried or cooked in the oven, to be told they could accommodate either.

The chutneys were excellent, with one that was so good that mum and I spent a considerable portion of our lunch tasting and re-tasting in an attempt to work out what could be in it. Understandably, Mr Karim kept the recipe close to his chest!

He did tell us that the mango chutney was enhanced by the addition of pineapple. Certainly this gave a rounder flavour.

The green chutney was freshly made but fairly standard and not dissimilar to mum’s green chutney recipe, though we found it a touch bitter.

The tomato one is the one that blew us away! It was sweet and rich with a really distinct spicing. The tomato was still fresh tasting rather than cooked down long and slow. Mum guessed that it had turmeric, fennel seeds and perhaps smoked nigella.

I am going to be begging Mr Karim to reveal his secrets or at the very least, start selling it in jars to enjoy at home!

From the regular menu, Spicy Soft Shell Crab (£5.95) was OK. The texture was both crunchy and very soft, but let down by an excess of greasiness. The crab was very mild indeed and the key flavour that came through was of the green sauce dolloped over the crab. Listed in the menu as a “green pepper corn lemon sauce” to me it tasted the same as the green coriander chutney served with the poppadom. I guess the contents of that spoon must have been the “spicy fig n prunes sauce” and was nice enough, though not sure it was a particularly good match for the crab.

As we were still exclaiming over the last of the tomato concoction served with the poppadoms, a second dish of this was kindly brought out for us, and this worked better with the crab than the chosen condiments.

Also from the regular menu, the Chingree Samosas (£3.95) were disappointing. Described as “spicy prawns wrapped in home made filo pastry” the wrappers were very thick and soggy. The filling was stodgy with little taste of prawn, though I did spot one. The “crystal raw papaya chutney” served alongside tasted good but was a little lacking in moisture.

Our third starter was chosen from the special Lucknow menu. The Dal Chini Macchi Tikka (£5.50) made up for the other two starters. Three generous chunks of salmon fillet were nicely coated in spice and additionally flavoured using the dhungar (smoke) method of tempering that infuses the food with a pleasant smokiness. The fish was soft and moist within a crunchy, spicy coating.

For our mains, we stuck more closely to the Lucknow menu, as mum grew up in this region of India and would be able to comment on the authenticity of the dishes. Our first choice was the Lucknowi Shahi Kofta (£10.95). Shahi translates as fit for a king (or Shah) and usually described a rich sauce often thickened with ground nuts as well as cream or butter. Kofta is often translated as meatball (or meat kebab) but in India it can also refer to vegetable croquettes, as in this case. The deep-fried balls of vegetables were fabulous, with the textures of the different mixed vegetables still distinct, having not been overcooked to a mush. The sauce was suitably rich and beautifully flavoured and it was nice to find large chunks of cashew nuts left whole for additional bite. Both mum and I were impressed with this dish and mum agreed that it was certainly like versions she’s had in Lucknow.

Also from the Lucknow menu, we chose the Peethiwali Macchli (£13.95). The menu explained that sea bass fillets are coated in a rice batter before being fried in mustard oil and simmered in an Avadhi sauce. (Lucknow is located in what was originally known as the Avadh region and hence the cuisine of the area is often referred to as Avadhi). Again the fish inside the crispy coating was soft and moist and the flavours in the coating and sauce were delicious. I was a little disappointed to encounter quite a few fish bones in this dish, but again, we both enjoyed it very much.

From the regular menu side vegetables dishes we tried the Sesame Baby Aubergine (£3.50). Cooked with mustard and curry leaves this reminded me a lot of mum’s stuffed aubergine recipe, which is best made with small sized vegetables. The only negative here was that my little aubergine was undercooked, with that slightly tongue-furring texture that aubergine has until cooked through. But mum’s pieces were cooked al the way through. Good flavours.

We also tried a South Indian style stir fry Vegetables (£3.50) which we quickly realised wasn’t a good fit with anything else we ordered.

Roomali roti (£2.25) was nothing like the soft, draping ones I so enjoy at Dishoom. Rather it was dry and brittle, and we left it to one side.

But the Sheermal (£2.95) from the Lucknow menu was lovely. A rich, thick and soft bread baked in the tandoor and flavoured (and coloured) with saffron milk, this was like a sweet naan and very nice with the fish and vegetable curries.

As mum’s a pescetarian, I’d intended to avoid meat dishes as there were plenty of seafood and vegetable ones for us to choose from. However the friendly restaurant manager Mannu Dahiya recommended that I try the lamb chops, and since the restaurant prides itself on its grilled offerings, I agreed to try a half portion. They were pretty good, with robust spicing and soft meat, cooked deftly to retain a touch of pink inside but with the lovely flavour of charring on the surface. My only disappointment was that, typically for Indian style, every last scrap of fat had been trimmed away, denying me the very special pleasure of lamb chop fat cooked over charcoal. London Turkish restaurants get this right, always leaving a tasty layer of fat on their lamb chops.

Full to bursting, but when we learned that the Rasmalai (£3.95) is made in house, we ordered one portion to share. This sweet dessert is made from paneer or milk curds, cooked in cardamom-flavoured milk or cream. Usually, the balls are served in the cooking liquid, but Namaaste Kitchen presented the dish in a more modern way, with the liquid served chilled in a small shot glass. The liquid was thinner than usual, though this worked well given the way it was served. The curd ball was well flavoured, and not as sweet as it can often be in India. This was definitely a good thing!

We finished with Masala Chai (£2.50 per person) which was served in individual tea pots. We both liked that the tea is made unsweetened, allowing customers to sweeten to their taste, enjoy unsweetened or use artificial sweeteners if they prefer. As mum’s diabetic, this is really helpful.

In the main part, we really enjoyed our meal with some dishes really standing out above the rest. A few let downs mean the meal wasn’t wholly fantastic, but I’d certainly visit again.

We were looked after by a friendly team including Johnny, our waiter and Mannu, the manager who took our order and was able to give us some extra information on the dishes. It was good to see that the owner, Mr Karim, was also on site, and he answered a few more of our questions about the special menu in particular.

Kavey Eats dined as guests of Namaaste Kitchen.

Carom Indian Restaurant at Meza

17 May 2012 No Responses »

May 172012

I met up with a PR friend recently, to discuss new brands and projects her agency are working on, and to catch up about blogging in general. She also has her own blog, so can see things from both perspectives, which is a welcome insight.

We met at Carom at Meza (one of her clients) to sample their lunch menu and a couple of items from their a la carte.

The interior is absolutely cavernous, with regular dining tables near the front window and a mix of regular dining tables, lower chairs, sofas and coffee tables and even some booths towards the back. Quite an effort has been made to break up the space into different areas, and to inject colour. However, it still feels more like a bar and nightclub and given that there’s a DJ playing tunes from Wednesday through to Saturday nights, that’s not a big surprise.

I did like the huge stuffed toy tiger, much more fun than real taxidermy – Indian tigers belong in the wild, alive – not shot and stuffed for display.

The lunch menu offers a choice of three wraps (fish, chicken or vegetable) priced at £4.50 takeaway or £5.50 to eat in or the curry of the day (£5/ £6).

Or you can choose a bento box style meal, available to eat in only. Priced at £7.45 for the vegetarian, £7.95 for chicken or £8.45 for lamb, it’s a little spendy for lunch – you’re looking at a tenner (plus tip) when you include a drink. The box includes a portion of curry plus lentils, salad, raita, bread, poppadum, steamed rice and a dessert.

The a la carte menu is not usually available during lunch, but the kitchen kindly allowed us to order a couple of starters from it, which we enjoyed before our lunch boxes.

The bhelpuri, described on the menu as a puffed rice salad (£3.50), was excellent and a generous portion too. Crunchy puffed rice and sev (fried chickpea flour noodles), fresh red onion, pomegranate seeds and herbs mixed through with a sweet sharp tangy sauce; we both really loved it and the flavours were spot on to the ones I know and love.

The crisp fried chilli squid (£4.75) was described as being tossed in spice mix and served with a coriander dip. The dip seemed more like a sweet and sour than coriander, but was fine. The spicing on the squid was superb, and I was immediately delighted by the pungent taste and smell of kala namak. Kala namak is a dark volcanic salt which contains impurities which give it a very distinct sulphurous kick.

We asked our waitress to find out what spices were used, but to my surprise, she came back with a negative on kala namak. Later, we spoke to some of the chefs who explained that they use a ready-made chat masala, to which they add some roasted ground cumin and chilli flakes. They didn’t know the ingredients of the chat but I’m confident that it must contain this black salt. In any case, the spices worked really well with the fried squid, and I’d definitely go back for this dish.

The chicken curry of the day was butter chicken, which my friend really enjoyed. The lamb of the day was kofta curry, which I liked but didn’t love. Both curries were hotter than we expected, and I found mine a little on the sweet side. The bread was good, hot and freshly made. The lentils were in the form of a thick, tasty yellow daal. I liked that the salad included raw red onion, a very Indian choice though perhaps not ideal if returning to the office after. The raita was little more than a couple of teaspoons of yoghurt for dipping the mini poppadums and the poppadums themselves were the packet crisp style, rather than freshly cooked to order. The biggest disappointment was the stodgy pudding – an oddly sweet but bland blob, which both of us left.

Whilst I enjoyed the meal well enough, it didn’t stand out and wasn’t half as good as the Delhi Grill lunch thali which I tried recently. (I also preferred that Delhi Grill’s was served in Indian thali plates rather than Japanese style bento boxes, as here).

Kavey Eats dined as a guest of Carom at Meza restaurant.

Delhi Grill Lunch Thali

21 Mar 2012 6 Responses »

Mar 212012

Though I have been back to Delhi Grill a number of times since my first visit, I’d not had a chance to catch up with Aman Grewal (one of the two brothers who own the restaurant) for a long time.

When he told me about their new lunch thali, I popped down to check it out and to catch up with him about the latest developments.

Although they still sell lunch wraps at the stall just outside the restaurant, Aman and Preet now also offer a fast sit down lunch option. They’ve redeveloped the space by the entrance, and created a larger counter area. Trays and plates are at the ready, as are pots of piping hot food. Instead of wasting time sitting down, waiting for table service, placing an order and waiting again for their food, diners queue directly at the counter as they come in, make their selection between the meat or vegetable option of the day and choose either rice or roti as their accompaniment. These are quickly dished up into the compartmentalised metal plates (which took me straight back to childhood), along with a side portion of dal, an additional snack, two chutneys, a little plain yoghurt and mixed chopped salad.

With the meat choice, the lunch thali is £6.90, or £6.40 with the vegetarian choice.

On the day of my visit I chose chicken kofta curry (over the potato curry vegetarian choice of the day) and roti (which was satisfyingly enormous). I was also served a rich yellow dal, two potato tikkis (spiced potato cakes), a fresh coriander chutney and a mango chutney plus a dollop of natural yoghurt and a small side salad. Everything was very good, as I’ve come to expect, and I was absolutely stuffed. It’s probably just as well I don’t live closer, to be honest!

For me, this quick and tasty lunch thali really did bring to mind the food and style of a real Indian dhaba.

The Grewals are currently working on a new food cart which will allow them to serve a wider range of hot snacks out front, things like pakoras, served piping out out of the oil. They’ve not yet blinged the cart up, and I’m strongly urging them towards an OTT Tata truck kind of style!

If you work near Chapel Market (near Angel tube station) or are passing by, I thoroughly recommend trying the new thali for a quick and affordable lunch break. Delhi Grill are planning to update their website, to show the meat and vegetarian dishes of the day, but in the meantime, you can always ask them via twitter!

Kavey Eats dined as a guest of Delhi Grill

Celebrating Holi

08 Mar 2012 4 Responses »

Mar 082012

Holi is a Hindu festival, also known as the festival of colours, and is celebrated all over India. It is divided into two parts, Holika Dahan and Holi. Scheduled according to the lunar calendar, it is celebrated at the end of the winter, on the last full moon day in the lunar month of Phalguna, which falls in February and March.

This year, Holika Dahan falls on the 8th March and Holi on the 9th.

There are many aspects to the origins of Holi and many different reasons to celebrate it, today

Originally, it was a festival to celebrate the coming of the light and fertility of Spring, after the cold and dark Winter.

For religious believers, it commemorates events in the religious myths or stories of Hinduism. Long ago lived a race of giant demons, the Daityas. Their king, Hiranyakashyap, prayed long and hard to the great god Brahma, and was rewarded with a boon that protected him from death. He could not be killed by man or animal, god or demon, or by any weapon made under the sun. Safe from all enemies and heady with power, he began conquering the world, declaring himself king of the underworld, the earth and finally, of heaven. He defeated Indra, king of the gods, and the others fled, and took on the appearance of ordinary men and women. As ruler of the world, Hiranyakashyap ruled that no one could worship any being but himself. But his own son, Prahlad, disobeyed, singing the praises of Lord Vishnu. In fury, Hiranyakashyap ordered his attendants to kill his son. But their swords failed to hurt him. Hiranyakashyap called upon the snakes of the underworld and the great white elephants of the sky but none could harm Prahlad, who claimed the protection of his god, Vishnu. Finally, Hiranyakashyap enlisted his sister Holika, who had also received a special boon – no fire could harm her. A great fire was built, and Holika was ordered to carry Prahlad into the fire, which would surely kill him. To the king’s surprise, once the fire had died down, he saw that his sister Holika was dead, but Prahlad survived. When Prahlad again thanked Vishnu for saving him, Hiranyakashyap roared in anger, slapping a stone pillar, asking, if Vishnu was everywhere, where was he, was he in the stone itself? The pillar broke and from it emerged a creature, half-man and half-lion – Vishnu in the form of Narsimha. He rushed at Hiranyakashyap and killed him with his claws, neither man nor animal, and using no weapon made under the sun. Order was restored to the world, the gods took their rightful places once again and Prahlad became the king of the Daityas; a just and kind ruler. At the end of his life, instead of dying to be born again like other mortals, Vishnu took Prahlad into himself. Holi is a celebration of this victory of good over evil.

These days, what many love about Holi is the custom to put aside rigid social structures, allowing those of different ages, sexes, castes, professional status and wealth to behave as equals and celebrate together. Formality is forgotten, and there is an atmosphere of fun, exhilaration, celebration, love.

Traditionally, Holika Dahan is celebrated with a bout of spring cleaning in the home, big communal bonfires out in the street and lots of neighbourhood socialising. Then, Holi itself is a frenzied day of throwing and smearing gulal (coloured powder) over everyone else. People prepare for the onslaught by dressing in their oldest clothes – white is a good choice as it allows the colours to show well. Youngsters enjoy catching their elders with the dyes; workers can colour-bomb their managers with impunity.

My understanding is that the significance of throwing of coloured powders is two fold: the powders were once made from medicinal herbs and spices prescribed by Ayurvedic practitioners to protect against illness and the bright colours also represent the colours of Spring.

At the end of the day, one goes home and bathes away the coloured dyes, dresses in new clothes, and sits down with family for a traditional meal. You can find many of our favourite family recipes at my mum’s site, Mamta’s Kitchen.

There are many traditional foods and drinks served during Holi, but one you might not expect is the ingestion of bhang (cannabis), most commonly in a drink sometimes referred to as bhang lassi but actually called bhang ki thandai. The buds and leaves of the cannabis are ground into a paste with ghee and spices such as fennel, cardamom and saffron and mixed with almonds, milk and sugar to make a drink. The paste is also used to make a green bhang halva and other cannabis-laden sweets.

Happy Holi!

Happy Diwali!

26 Oct 2011 6 Responses »

Oct 262011

Today is Diwali, the Hindu festival of lights. Happy Diwali!

The name itself means “a row of lamps” and describes the traditional ghee-filled earthenware lamps which are traditionally lit in their hundreds and thousands. An unforgettably beautiful sight.

There are a number of different reasons and stories behind the festival which you can read about here and here.

In our family, we light a candle in every single room of the house, and also place one at each external door. Mum cooks a wonderful Indian vegetarian meal for us to share.

My favourite dishes include mum’s simple potato curry with gravy served with fresh, hot, crispy pooris.

image by Arne Hückelheim, Wikimedia Commons

This year, my personal Diwali celebrations started early, when I was invited to a Diwali-themed supper club hosted by Luiz (The London Foodie), catered by Maunika (Cook In A Curry) and sponsored by Tilda Basmati Rice.

This was a great coming together. Luiz is a consummate host and I’ve enjoyed many a wonderful evening in his beautiful home. The newly extended and refitted kitchen was even more envy-inducing than the old one, and is a fabulous venue for his regular cooking clubs and supper clubs.

I regularly find myself salivating when reading Maunika’s twitter stream, as she describes in loving detail the many fabulous Indian dishes she cooks on a regular basis, both at home and in her career as private chef, food writer and radio presenter. Born in Bombay, Maunika has researched and become an expert in the many varied cuisines of the Indian subcontinent and shared several of her favourites with us during the evening.

The unique properties of basmati rice – the magical flowery scent and woody undertones – are well known. Tilda is a brand that has been associated with sourcing and selling top quality basmati rice since the late 1960s, when it started a business importing and selling to the immigrant Asian community in the UK. Today Tilda’s rice is readily available in the UK and over 40 more countries worldwide. If you are of the mind set that “rice is rice” and surely all basmati rice is much of a muchness, I set you the challenge of buying a bag of Tilda and a bag of the cheapest value brand of basmati you can find. You will notice the difference!

My favourite dishes of the evening were a Paneer Haraa Tikka for which Maunika marinaded cubes of paneer with garlic, chillies and sprinkled them with kala namak (dark Indian rock salt with a distinctive pungent taste from the dissolved sulhur), a fantastic Pineapple and Black Pepper Chutney, a flavour-packed Haraa Masala Chicken hailing from the Khoha community of India, full of coriander, mint and caramelised onions and a Keralan Fish Curry called Meen Moilee, consisting of moist fillets of sea bass in a rich coconutty gravy. Maunika’s Lamb Yakhni Pulao, made of course with Tilda Basmati, included succulent morsels of lamb mixed with rice that had been cooked in lamb stock and butter.

All delicious and very enjoyable. Thank you to Luiz, Maunika, Tilda and Wildcard for a wonderful evening. Happy Diwali!

Mamta’s Kitchen Cookery Class II

21 Jun 2011 2 Responses »

Jun 212011

In May, we ran the first Mamta’s Kitchen cookery class, teaching three eager students more than 14 different recipes during a long but successful day. That class was to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Mamta’s Kitchen , and also the milestone of over 7 million visits. And we donated over £200 to the Khushboo Welfare Society too.

Now we’re ready to offer further classes covering “An Indian Meal”, “Indian Breads” and “Pickles, Chutneys & Ketchups”, the first of which is detailed below.

Date: Saturday 30th July
Class: An Indian Meal
Time: 11.30 am to approximately 8 pm
Location: Mamta’s Kitchen, Luton, Bedfordshire
Price: £95 per person

Included

Tea, coffee and biscuits arrival
A light lunch that you will cook together
A tasty dinner that you will cook together
Wine and soft drinks with dinner
Tea, coffee and biscuits during the day
Printed recipes

Provisional Menu

These are the dishes we are planning to make during the day, however the exact menu will depend on availability of ingredients, so we may switch one or more dishes nearer the time.

Lunch: Pooris
Lunch: Train Journey Aloo Bhaji
Lunch: Pakoras
Lunch: Green coriander chutney
Break: Chai or Lassi
Dinner: Basic Curry Sauce and Meatball Curry
Dinner: Spiced Fried Fish
Dinner: Stuffed Aubergines
Dinner: Urad Daal Khada Masala
Dinner: Matar Pulao (Pilaf)
Dinner: Rotis
Dinner: Vermicelli Kheer

Mum will also make an Indian salad and some raita, to serve with dinner. And you will also be able to taste some of her home-made pickles and chutneys during the meals.

Additional Information

The class will start at 11.30 am and includes a refreshments on arrival, lunch and dinner, drinks and snacks during the day, and wine and soft drinks with dinner. We’ll aim to sit down for dinner at around 6 pm so finish time will be approximately 8 pm.

We are limiting class size to 4 students. They will be joined for the meals by Mamta’s little helpers, Pete and Kavey, and possibly one or two other family members for dinner.

As the class is being held in a domestic kitchen, with a single oven and stove top, students will be working together to create the dishes and will need to take turns to participate. But don’t worry, there will be plenty of hands on experience throughout the day.

The (Luton) address will be provided on confirmation of booking. Plenty of (free) parking is available. Alternatively, you can train to Luton station which is a short bus/ taxi ride from our house. We may be able to collect you from the station if we can coordinate your arrival times.

You can read detailed feedback from the participants of our May course, here.

Booking

Please email kavey@mamtaskitchen.com to book your place.

For information on future courses subscribe to our email mailing list. (The list will only be used to send you information about Mamta’s Kitchen Cooking Classes and nothing else).

Bombay Brasserie Then & Now

22 Nov 2010 4 Responses »

Nov 222010

I grew up in the culinary wastelands of Luton. My love of good food came from my parents and family friends. Not only did mum teach herself to cook dishes from around the world, we also encountered all kinds of new tastes and techniques whilst travelling overseas during the holidays. My dad enjoyed eating out so we went to restaurants from a young age, most often a simple steak house chain and a fantastic local Chinese (which I still miss since it closed a few years ago).

Of course, Indian food featured regularly too. Mum most commonly cooked dishes from Northern India where she and my dad grew up. She had learned some as she grew up but taught herself many more, gleaning recipes from family members still in India and local Indian friends too.

Just around the corner from us lived my “Auntie” Krishna who, to my sister and I, isolated from our blood family in India, was much more than ‘just’ a family friend. Her mother, who we called “Nani” (Grandmother) Maya, would visit from India for months at a time, like my own grandmothers did. Nani Maya was from Kolkata and taught mum many dishes from her regional repertoire.

Food was something that drew our families (plus a few other local friends) together – many happy moments were spent cooking and eating together in one or other nearby houses.

One day Auntie Krishna arranged for us to go to London to visit a high end Indian restaurant that had opened a couple of years earlier. A cousin or uncle of hers was a regular visitor there and wanted to take us all to visit. That restaurant was The Bombay Brasserie.

More than 25 years later, I still remember the high glass ceilings of the conservatory, the greenery around the room, the elegant days-of-the-Raj interior and the attentive service. Back then, a restaurant serving authentic dishes from different regions in India was a huge contrast to the more common flock wallpapered curry house.

Of course, The Bombay Brasserie was of it’s time. It opened the same year that Gandhi was released. Our visit, two years later, coincided with both The Jewel in the Crown and Passage to India (the film). India was all the rage!

All I recall about the food is that, whilst everyone agreed it was tasty good, it was really, really, really hot! The visit was a big treat – we went out to restaurants regularly but Luton certainly had nothing to compare to this kind of establishment – hence it sticking in my memory.

Fast forward to 2010 and I received an invitation to visit Bombay Brasserie to review.

Of course, I couldn’t resist going back after two and a half decades. Would I recognise the place? Would the food and service be as good as my teenage memories? How had Bombay Brasserie evolved in the face of increasing awareness and interest in authentic regional Indian cuisine and stiffer competition from the new kids on the block?

I didn’t recognise the main dining area but once we walked into the rounded conservatory area, the déjà vu hit me. The furniture is lighter and more modern and there’s less greenery than I remember, but the sloped wooden and glass ceiling is unchanged.

The conservatory part of the restaurant is most familiar, though lighter and more modern

The main dining area is more traditional with a huge chandelier hanging below the high, elegantly corniced ceiling and a glorious round glass window at one end (which has lights installed to give different colours). Although it’s grand, it’s not as unusual as the conservatory and somehow has a bit of a posh but dated hotel feel about it.

Both are comfortable places to sit, but I’d choose the conservatory, especially for a day time visit.

That said, I do wish they hadn’t reduced the flora so much; I rather liked that slightly jungle feel about it, though perhaps I’m misremembering!

The main dining room, Chef Hegde

Before lunch, we’d arranged to meet and talk to Executive Chef, Prahlad Hegde who joined The Bombay Brasserie as a sous chef in 1991 and now heads up the restaurant team. He works in partnership with Hemant Oberoi who is the Executive Chef for the entire Taj Group, and visits this London outpost once or twice a year to work on menu development with Hedge. I was disappointed to miss an opportunity to meet Chef Oberoi during his recent visit, but very happy to chat to Chef Hegde who is responsible for the restaurant on a daily basis.

This mural was originally in the main dining room but was moved into the conservatory during last year’s refurbishment

We made a short video of part of our chat with Chef Prahlad Hegde:

Before lunch we ordered a drink to enjoy in the entrance bar area.

Drinks and snacks in the bar area

I ordered a Blackberry cocktail from a section of the bar drinks menu called “Smashes”, which I really enjoyed. Pete’s Cappuccino Martini, on the other hand, was very poor, lacking almost completely in flavour and with virtually no alcohol kick whatsoever. It tasted mostly of cream.

With the cocktails were served some perfectly spiced and salted roasted almonds and some very moreish spicy orange crisps.

Time for lunch!

First out was a plate of crudités and fried snacks with a lightly spiced tomato dip.

Having looked at the menu and spoken to Chef Hegde, we mentioned a couple of dishes we particularly wanted to try and left the rest of the selection to him. For starters, he sent out a mixed plate so we could try a number of the most popular starters.

Selection of starters

Chicken tikka ‘doodha’ was firm but tender with a surprising smokiness and wonderful blend of spices. It wasn’t as soft as the Delhi Grill chicken tikka but soft enough, and the flavour really was wonderful.

The Curry leaf scallops on peppered crab were also a hit. Even with Pete, who would not normally eat scallops or crab let alone find anything positive to say about them. The scallop was subtly spiced and perfectly cooked. The peppered crab was incredible, somehow delivering some fairly robust spicing without overwhelming the sweet flavour of the crab, which came through very clearly.

Ganderi seekh (lamb kebabs on sugarcane sticks) were served in little shot glasses of green coriander and mint chutney. They were soft and moist, though the wet chutney made the crumbed exterior a bit soggy. Although I liked the release of sweet juice as I crunched down on the sugarcane, the flavours in the kebab didn’t wow me.

But that’s OK because the palak pakodi chaat blew me away. Thin leaves of spinach (palak) were deep fried in a very light gram flour batter to make unusually light pakora (as I know them in Hindi) , or pakodi (as they are called by Telegu speakers). These battered spinach leaves provided the crunchy element of the chaat (more commonly provided by fried bread or pastry) against the natural yoghurt, coriander, tamarind chutney, raw red onions and tomatoes and chaat masala (spices). It was a heavenly dish and a lunch of nothing more than an immense bowl of this palak pakodi chaat would make me a very happy Kavey indeed!

Selection of mains

I resisted begging for more palak pakodi chaat and we went onto the mains.

The Chilean seabass on spinach and mushroom was decent. Again, the fish was beautifully cooked and nicely spiced. The soft spinach beneath was a good match.

The Dum ki nalli was impressive. Delivered in one piece to the table, the slow cooked lamb shank in saffron curry was then slipped off the bone at the table to make for easier serving. Whilst I couldn’t detect the distinct bitter muddiness of the saffron, I did think the spicing delicious and the lamb itself very tender. And how lovely to get a decent serving of the gravy, all the better to dip the lovely lightly scorched naan bread and flaky-layered laccha paratha into!

Aloo katliyan didn’t appeal at all. The spiced potato slices were undercooked hard and the flavours too bitter for our tastes.

We also had a mint and cucumber raita; a decent side, but the natural yoghurt is not as flavoursome as the home-made stuff they have at Quilon.

Sugarcane juice

I loved the fresh sugarcane juice soft drink I ordered, though it was a touch heavy on the ginger for my tastes. The sweet earthy taste worked well against the spicy mains.

After our mains tiny dishes with a solid white tablet in them were brought to the table. I cannot describe them better than Marina O’Loughlin in her review of a year and a half ago:

What looks like a large indigestion tablet arrives, tumescing into a meringuey tube as the waiter baptises it with boiling water. I wonder how many people have attempted to eat this hot towel?

Still, they amused me greatly. It doesn’t take much!

Dessert

Dessert was disappointing. The malai kulfi was actually good, though it didn’t really match well with the crispy pastry case in which it was served. The ginger brioche and butter pudding was a let down. Lacking in flavour and collapsed sadly into it’s ramekin, it wasn’t a good ending.

So, what’s the low down?

I quite like Terry Durack’s comment: “Not only does [Bombay Brasserie] have a grand sense of space, it has an equally grand sense of time.” There’s certainly a sense of longevity and tradition, aided by the black and white photographs of Indian maharajah’s and British colonials that adorn the walls in the bar area. A visit does have a sense of occasion, though atmosphere is somewhat let down by the lack of fellow diners on a weekday lunch time!

My biggest problem is the price. Starters range from £5 to £11.50, with most of them around the £9-£10 mark. Mains are between £18.50 and £30 each plus extra for the various side vegetables, breads, rices and raita. Desserts are £6.50.

Rowan Moore said “It made me feel more slumdog than millionaire” and he has a very good point.

With so many great alternatives for fantastic Indian food in London, those are hefty prices and one senses that one is paying a large part of that for the rarefied atmosphere and decor – A Saudi prince made a last minute dinner booking for a large party just the night before our visit and I can’t imagine him taking his guests along to the more everyman Delhi Grill or Dishoom!

You can also see from my review that I absolutely loved the starters, enjoyed the mains well enough and didn’t think much of the desserts, so it’s a little hit and miss. And for these prices, it needs to be hit and hit!

That said, there are less expensive options. A weekday lunch tiffin is priced at £22 per person and includes small servings of a couple of starters, a selection of mains with rice and naan, dessert and tea or coffee. Served in a modern take on a tiffin box, portions are just right for a working day lunch.

However, my next visit shall be for the weekend lunch buffet. Also priced at £22 a head and available between 12 and 3 on Saturdays and Sundays, this is a great way to enjoy many of the restaurants classic dishes without a bill of royal proportions. Since Chef Hegde assures me the buffet includes the palak pakodi chaat, I’m there!

Kavey Eats dined as a guest of Bombay Brasserie.

Home-Style Cooking at Delhi Grill

09 Oct 2010 20 Responses »

Oct 092010

There is no greater compliment I can give about North Indian food than that it matches my mum’s home cooking. So it’s not an accolade I give lightly.

It is one I give to Delhi Grill having finally made my way to this new Chapel Market Indian restaurant in Angel Islington last month.

May it be the first visit of many. Many, many.

Based on a traditional Indian dhaba – a casual canteen or restaurant stop serving tasty, inexpensive local dishes to a really wide range of clientele, from truckers and rickshaw-wallahs to suits from nearby offices – Delhi Grill doesn’t follow the usual British curry house propensity for long, long menus. Instead it offers a short, balanced range of traditionally cooked dishes, many cooked long and slow after overnight marinating.

In addition, during lunch times and and on Sundays (when the Chapel Market Farmers Market is on) you can buy freshly made wraps and lassis from the Delhi Grill market stall set up in the street outside the restaurant.

(The stall has been winning over customers since May, the restaurant opened mid-September).

Delhi Grill is a proper family business. Brothers Aman and Preet Grewal wanted to create a down-to-earth restaurant serving the kind of food Indians cook and eat at home. Recipe development is lead by Preet’s wife, Satpal who has drawn heavily on family recipes from parents, aunts and cousins. The three together have spent many hours tweaking each recipe and continue to review dishes regularly.

Also vital to the team is Ashik, restaurant manager, who ensures that the stall and restaurant are running smoothly while Aman, Preet and Satpal look after the recipes and work behind the scenes. In the kitchen, chefs Ashraf and Shamshu make sure that the dishes sent out are exactly as they should be according to Satpi’s final recipes.

The menu is short and sweet (though with plenty enough to tempt) and we’re quickly ready to order.

Pete drinks a large Bangla (£3.75) from the range of Indian beers, most available in small and larger bottles. A strong, simple lager designed to compliment Indian food, it does the job.

I can’t resist the lassi (£2). It’s lovely – light, frothy and a proper natural yoghurt flavour. It’s very much like what I whizz up at home and perfect with the food to come.

Delhi Grill; condiments

We start with the Delhi Grill (£6.50). Four chicken tikka pieces, two lamb chops and two sheekh kebabs piled over sizzling onions are served alongside three condiments: a coriander chutney, beetroot and garlic and one other.

The chicken tikka is the first surprise. Typically, this is a dish I feel so-so about. It’s chicken. It’s been marinated. It’s been grilled. It has no sauce and is often a bit dry. But this is quite a revelation, mostly because of how very juicy it is. Moist spicy chicken goodness; definitely one we both love.

The sheekh kebabs impress too because they taste just like my mum’s. And I love my mum’s home made kebabs! Gently spiced, a traditional texture (though I also have a soft spot for the very finely minced Dishoom version) and as moist as the chicken tikka, these are really rather good and disappear far too quickly. I could eat a lot of these.

The lamb chops are good but don’t wow me as much as the other two grill dishes. They have been slow cooked, cooled and then marinated before being grilled so there’s no juicy pink inside, though they are reasonably tender. But the main issue for me is my addiction to chargrilled lamb chop fat and these chops don’t give me any! Perfectly nice but their plate mates win the day.

Oh and I mustn’t fail to mention the onions. I think of these as mere garnish but the onions on the platter are so tasty we eat every last piece.

rogan gosht; cholay; matter paneer

For our mains we choose rogan gosht (£6.95), cholay (£3.95) and matter paneer (from the specials board, £5.95) plus a naan (£1.50) and a raita (£1.50) and a couple of rotis (£1 each).

The rogan gosht (lamb curry) consists of tender, juicy pieces of lamb (no cheap, gristly cuts in sight) in a rich, deftly spiced tomato sauce. The traditional recipe and slow cooking really shine through. I really like this.

The cholay (chickpea curry) is another dish that is just like mum’s. Unlike many Indian restaurants, the spicing is completely different from the lamb curry. The chick peas are cooked as I like them; the balance between soft and firm is just right. For me this and a pile of freshly cooked rotis is the next best thing to going home to mum.

Yet again, the matter paneer (cheesy peas, as I’ve heard it called) has it’s own blend of spices and is distinct from the other two dishes. This time the recipe is quite different from mum’s, though it’s clearly still a Northern Indian family recipe. I love the firm cubes of fried paneer and slippery peas. This one is Pete’s favourite.

roti being made; roti

One thing I really appreciate is the freshly cooked rotis. During our meal we watch roti-wallah, Gautam, roll and cook them for us and other tables. When the restaurant is packed, I’m told that the main kitchen also gets roti-making to meet demand. For me, they could do with a little more browning but taste, texture and thickness is spot on.

naan

The naan isn’t bad either though my personal taste is for it to be a touch thicker. It’s decent but I’m won over by the rotis, delivered piping hot as they’re made.

raita

Raita is a simple dish – natural yoghurt, cucumber and a light sprinkling of spices. It goes well with the rest of our order and balances the chilli heat of the dishes.

After all that, we are far too full for pudding; in fact we take away leftovers for the next day as we can’t even finish what we’ve ordered!

Our bill is just under £30 before service (though the rotis were being offered to guests to try during our visit so the four we had would normally add another £4 to the bill). I think this is a great deal in London and just wish Delhi Grill were my local Indian restaurant!

After our meal we take the opportunity to chat to owner Aman. You can watch my impromptu interview here. I didn’t plan to do an interview, so I didn’t prepare any questions – these are a little spur-of-the-moment. Not too incoherent, I hope!

Quilon: A Taste Of The Malabar Coast

25 Sep 2010 4 Responses »

Sep 252010

A little skeptical about Michelin’s standards after our recent meal at Holbeck Ghyll I was nonetheless curious to visit Quilon, an Indian restaurant in the heart of Westminster that I’d heard very little about.

Familiar with a wide range of Northern Indian dishes (well, I would be, wouldn’t I? This is my mum’s website) I know very little about the cuisine of the South-western states of the Malabar Coast, from which chef Sriram Aylur takes inspiration.

Unlike many Michelin starred chefs, Aylur doesn’t seem to be interested in celebrity, so I do some googling to find out more. I learn that he gave up studying law to follow his real passion and his father’s footsteps. He started cooking in his father’s restaurant, working his way up to head chef at the Taj Gateway Hotel in Bangalore and launching the much-lauded Karavali restaurant. There he earned himself a reputation as one of the very top chefs in India. Just over 10 years ago, he was invited by the owner of the famous Bombay Brasserie, Mr RK Krishna Kumar, to move to London and open Quilon.

He has described his food as “authentic cooking but with a slight twist for the UK market”.

It’s time to find out more!

Lunch offers the promise of a taste of Goa, Karnataka and Kerala for just £23.00 for three courses plus tea or coffee. Better still, you can select from a whopping great choice of 6 starters, 7 seafood/meat main dishes or 7 vegetarian ones or 2 thalis, 10 sides and 5 desserts!

miniatures from the Elephant Parade 2010, raising funds to save the Asian elephant from extinction in the wild

Struggling to choose from the many temptations, the restaurant manager suggests, as we’ve been invited to review the restaurant, that we might prefer to taste a selection of the chef’s dishes in small portions. This seems a fantastic opportunity, so we mention a couple of dishes that have particularly caught our eye and leave the rest to chef.

Now the food is taken care of, what about the drinks?

I cannot resist the temptation of freshly squeezed pomegranate juice (£7), something my grandmother used to squeeze for her children when they were poorly, and which my mum has sometimes made for me – it’s a fiddly job; you can’t take the easy route of blending or the bitter seeds will affect the taste. I’ve never found a shop-bought pomegranate juice that tastes remotely right but this is it – freshly squeezed from the fruit.

Later I order a sweet lassi (£4) and am blown away even more. So many places seem to miss the essence of a lassi – the yoghurt itself. But chef Sriram Aylur has my undying respect for his lassi alone – it has the unmistakable rich tang of home-made yoghurt. It’s thick and creamy with just the right balance between sweet and tart. I’d like it to be served a little cooler, but otherwise, it’s absolutely fantastic and I can’t stop myself grinning and exclaiming about as I drink it!

Pete is very pleased to choose from Quilon’s special beer list. Sadly more than a little sticky from the previous guests’ fingers, the list is nonetheless quite an intriguing one, with some familiar names and a few he’s not encountered before.

He starts with a Kasteel Cru Rosé and moves on to a Pietra (both £4.50). We’ll be posting separate reviews of these beers soon but, in summary, the former has a subtle lager taste with champagne style tiny bubbles and a pink hue whereas the latter has a distinct flavour from the chestnuts it’s made with.

Tiny popadums are served to all diners, with coconut and tomato dips. We also supplement these with the table condiments; from left to right they are ginger and tamarind, red chilli and lime and garlic, mustard seeds and oil.

As we sit munching the little crisp breads, we take in our surroundings. I have to say, they’re a little disappointing. Although I rather like the somewhat kitsch murals of gentle Malabar backwater scenes – luscious rubber plants, monkeys grooming beneath the trees, boats sailing along the water. But neither they nor the wall-mounted bromeliads manage to negate the hotel restaurant feel of the space.

Still, it’s all about the food and it’s not long before we’re presented with a taster of three starters to catch our attention. From left to right are dakshini pepper chicken, seafood broth and crab cakes.

Although the dakshini pepper chicken (from the lunch menu or £9 à la carte) is described as ‘green pepper corn, yoghurt and chilli flavoured’ the dominant flavour for me is aromatic cardamom. The chicken is extremely moist and soft and the flavours are delightful. It’s served on some gentle curry sauce, which adds a nice kick.

The seafood broth (from the lunch menu or £9 à la carte) is my least favourite, though Pete’s more of a fan. In the bowl are plump prawns, a slice of scallop, some soft squid and a mussel. Our waiter pours the broth over them at the table. Whilst Pete likes the light spicing in the broth I find it too bland and slightly muddy tasting.

The crab cakes (£10 from the à la carte menu) are gorgeous. The menu describes them as ‘crab claw meat tossed with curry leaves, ginger and green chillies’. Certainly, the quality and sweetness of the crab meat, and it’s distinctive texture, come through clearly. So much crab meat is used that the cakes only just hold together! The sweetness is balanced by a mustard sauce beneath that brings a welcome sharpness.

After the starters, all diners are served an small glass of rasam – a warm tomato, lentil, coriander and tamarind soup that tastes a little like a hot, spicy bloody mary. It’s fresh and fiery but not too heavy – this is the kind of kick I’d have enjoyed in place of the seafood broth.

We’re slightly overwhelmed by the number of dishes that come out next, though we remind ourselves that the idea is to try – we don’t have to finish them all!

Guinea fowl masala (from the lunch menu or £17 à la carte) comes covered in what is described as a coriander, green chilli and tomato ‘rug’. I can’t detect any tomato but the paste reminds me of my mum’s green chutney, which I adore. The guinea fowl is surprisingly soft – it’s so often been tough when I’ve ordered it elsewhere. If you love coriander as much as I do, this is a dish you’ll enjoy, but it may be a little OTT on the herb for some.

The pistachio lamb (from the lunch menu or £17 à la carte) looks more impressive than it tastes. The green sauce is vibrant but lacks punch and I simply can’t detect the flavour of pistachio at all, despite the colour. There is a lot of sauce to meat but the three pieces of meat are extremely tender. This is a very mild dish.

Two type prawns are available on the lunch menu for a £6.50 supplement, or à la carte for £10/£20 for a small or regular portion. One bread-crumbed and deep fried, the other plain, the giant prawns are served on a ‘Manglorean masala’. Whilst the prawns taste great, I find them altogether too chewy – I prefer prawns to be softer and juicier. The tomatoey masala sauce beneath them is good though, especially with the paratha.

The cottage cheese and coloured peppers with lotus (from the lunch menu or £8 à la carte) is not like anything we’ve had before. The paneer is cut into small slivers and is firm like halloumi. I like that, though Pete expresses a preference for a softer, crumblier paneer texture. The small deep-fried kofte or balls of vegetable – presumably lotus – are fantastic. Pete rates them one of his favourite elements of the whole meal. Both cheese and kofte are lifted by the sweet crunch of peppers that have not been cooked to a mush and soft browned onions. The spicing is excellent.

The baked black cod might just be the most fantastic thing that’s passed through my lips this year! The cod is as soft as silk and juicy, so juicy! And the charred edges of spice and molasses are smoky heaven. Available à la carte for £12/£24 for a small or regular portion, it’s one of the few things we try that’s not included in the set lunch menu. It is, we’re told after enthusing about it, one of chef Sriram Aylur’s signature dishes. It’s a revelation; I’ve never had anything like it and have thought of it every single day since our visit!

Of course, black cod, you may be muttering to yourself, is a sub-Antarctic species and hardly forms a part of traditional Indian cuisine. Is this fusion? Chef Sriram Aylur’s describes it rather as the “progress of food“. Keen to remain grounded in his Indian roots, nonetheless he is happy to apply his own take on a traditional recipe, a take that makes use of ingredients available here in the UK.

From the long list of accompaniments we choose a Malabar paratha and lemon rice (both £3 à la carte). The paratha is flaky, soft and suitably ghee-laden – Pete says it reminds him of a flat, savoury croissant! The sour lemon rice (basmati with lime juice, curry leaves, split bengal gram and ghee) is not to either of our tastes.

I’m really not sure why we order desserts, other than the fact that we’re greedy and we’re curious. Curious, greedy bastards! And they’re part of that great value set lunch menu too.

Pete selects the manuka honey cakes served with pistachio ice cream and white chocolate mousse (£8). The cakes are sodden with sharp, tangy manuka honey. They are good. The white chocolate mousse, served in a dark chocolate cup, is declared rich and creamy. The pistachio tuile I eat, as Pete’s not a fan of nutty textures. It’s delightfully crisp and crunchy and the very essence of pistachio. Disappointingly, the pistachio ice-cream, like the sauce for the lamb, doesn’t taste of pistachio at all.

I go for hot rice kheer (£8), described as ‘creamy hot rice pudding served with rose ice cream’. I love rice pudding and am not fussy about style, having grown up enjoying both the stodgy rice puddings of school dinners and my mum’s lighter Indian kheers. But I really don’t like this version at all. The texture is gritty, like it’s full of broken rice and sand. The taste is bland. It’s not sweet enough, though as the waiter was about to drop my ball of rose ice cream into the kheer before I stopped him, I guess that would have added sweetness. The sharp, acidic pieces of fruit beneath and on top of the rice pudding clash with the cream, for me.

The rose ice cream, on the other hand, is delightful, and I’m pleased I saved it from the sandy bowl of rice sludge. It’s a very refreshing scoop of turkish delight flavoured cream.

Coffee (£4 or included in the lunch menu) comes prettily presented with sugar and a chocolate.

When I ask for mint tea (£4 or included in the lunch menu), made with real mint leaves please, I’m impressed to be immediately asked whether I’d prefer an infusion of the leaves or for them to mixed with black tea. I go for the former and am also rewarded with a little chocolate alongside.

Finally, our meal is over and we are replete. We’ve enjoyed a fantastic introduction to South-western Indian cuisine and have been very impressed indeed by much of what we’ve tried.

So much so that I’m determined to take my mum to visit soon – I know she’ll enjoy it.

Pete, through a modern art glass sculpture near St James Park tube station

Of course, our bill for such a feast would have been higher for the vast number of dishes we tried than if we’d stuck to the set lunch deal. But we were very impressed with the choices on the £23 menu and would happily choose from this on a future visit.

Many thanks to Quilon and SLO London for arranging our visit.

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