Daniel Ford is a media entrepreneur, writer, editor and publisher who specialises in launches and re-launches. He is the Publishing Director of media company Chase My Snail. He was previously Editor-in-Chief of GQ (South Africa), Editor-in-Chief of Sunday Life magazine (Independent News & Media) and CEO of the African design magazine Ogojii. He has consulted on digital media, magazines and books in England, India, the USA and South Africa, including creating a glossy print edition of the SABC's TV show Top Billing and branding for the Laureus World Sports Awards. He has written a number of books on fitness, sport and travel, which have been published all over the world, from China to Africa and from Russia to Australia. He loves carefully crafted words, digital and print publications produced with passion. And curry.
The Greenwich Curry Club always like to check out new curry venues so we were delighted to be the very first customer at Balti Base, the name chosen by the new owners of the takeaway at 106 Blackheath Road. Previously Curry to Go, and before that Medina, they have some tough competition with Le Popadom, Indelicious, Green Chillies and Chutney all close.
But the young owners have a spark that makes me believe they could thrive. A smiley, friendly service (I was number one customer after all…) goes a long way, but you’re going to love the prices even more. Old-school curries like Bhuna, Rogan and so on come in at £3.75 for chicken and 50p more for lamb, while you can sample specials like Chicken Honey Khany (nuts and sultana in a sweet yoghurt sauce) for £5.25 or the King Prawn Special with mushrooms for £6.25.
Parking: on the side streets off Blackheath Road.
Delivery: free on orders over £12 although the menu doesn’t specify which areas this covers.
Specials: free Bombay Potato on orders over £15 that are collected.
Beer while you’re waiting: the Graduate is over the road.
Spice World at 101 Trafalgar Road in Greenwich, the on-the-face-of-it chicken shop, has rebranded itself as Lahore so people realise it makes decent curry (it really does). There is the full range of curries from the classic favourites to a good selection of specials (including Green Curry and Chicken Rajeshwani) but the lunch specials catch the eye. A ready-made selection of three curries (Lamb, Chicken or Meatball when I visited) comes with rice for just £4.50. There is also dal and a vegetable curry available. Fried chicken, pizzas and kebabs are still on the menu but this is now firmly in the curry camp.
Kerala Village, another new Greenwich curry venture can be found at 119 Trafalgar Road. Offering South Indian, Sri Lankan and North Indian dishes, all the usual dishes are there if you want them. But there are many unusual dishes, including four egg curries and an extensive range of seafood offerings such as Mussels Fry, Squid Fry, and the intriguing Fish Molly. And vegetable fans have a range that is second to none with dishes incorporating beetroot, cabbage, aubergine as well as the more usual paneer, chick peas and dal.
Real Taste, the chicken, chips and kebab place next to the Co-op in Greenwich town centre has cut its offerings of curry. The venue used to offer a full range of spicy food including all the old-school favourites at decent prices under the banner of Real Spice. However, this has been trimmed back, although a small range of biryanis is still offered and makes a nice alternative to fried chicken and chips.
Fifteen of the Greenwich Curry Club descended on the newish Mountain View restaurant with recommendations from numerous people still ringing in our ears. The Nepalese recently replaced the Mehak along Trafalgar Road and although its predecessor was pretty decent the Mountain View has raised the bar.
We arrived on what we thought was banquet night only to be told that offer no longer was being run. The Curry Club’s chief grumbler suspected it was because we had turned up en mass but frankly I suspect the offer has been withdrawn because their reputation has grown so quickly they simply don’t need it to attract customers. On the night we visited (Wednesday) the restaurant was packed with a great buzz about the place.
A challenger for the world’s greatest samosas
The food was top-notch and the table heaving with different dishes. Lets start, as so many meals do, with the popadoms. In all my years of visiting and reviewing Indian food the normal process has been for people to break off a bit of the giant crisp, load it up with pickles and fill up their mouths to stave off the hunger pangs before the starters arrived. This is the first time I have ever heard anyone, let alone more than one person comment that they taste so good. I’m not a big fan of popadoms myself and thought they were just a way for the restaurant to add a few sneaky pounds to the bill. After all, who says no to them?
Then came the Lamb and Vegetable Samosas (both £2.45 for two). Well, in actual fact, then came an array of starters but it was the humble samosa that took centre stage. Super plump and well-filled, the samosas are crisp to the bite and the pastry not too thick – the perfect combination.
Well, if a restaurant can get plaudits for its popadoms and samosas then the curries are likely to be a walk in the park. I can’t personally confirm this is the case for one classic dish because our newest (Canadian) member, unversed in the sharing ways of the Curry Club, swiftly tipped his Chicken Tikka Masala onto his plate before you could say, “Where’s the rice?”. But from his clean plate at the end I think we can assume they were as good as other classics such as Lamb Vindaloo (£6.25), Chicken Madras (£5.95), Lamb Dhansak (£6.95), Lamb Biryani (£8.95) and the Lamb and Chicken Jalfrezis (both £6.95), which it should be mentioned were a touch hotter than you’d find in other restaurants but carrying a lovely blend of spice and heat.
Three happy Curry Club members discuss the merits of Cobra beer
Meanwhile the Malabar Fish Curry (£8.95) has made me completely revise my view of the Bangladeshi freshwater fish tilapia. Normally dry, this was tender and smothered in a delicious coconut-based sauce. And finally, for fresh veg lovers the Diwani Handi (£5.95) will hit the mark; crunchy asparagus, baby corn and green beans in dark, dry sauce.
Although we were eating a little bit early on a Saturday night I was surprised this curry house wasn’t a bit busier. Aroma Spice is a good-to-honest curry house that ticks all the boxes: smart interior, friendly enough service and food that hits the mark. All in all this is what all curry houses were like before the contemporary restaurants started appearing.
The restaurant was recommended by a local resident and if I lived in Macclesfield this is the sort of place that I would visit regularly for my curry needs. Restaurants across Britain have been churning out classic starters like Tandoori Chicken (£2.90), Sheek and Shami Kebabs (both £2.50) for years – and the chef here certainly has perfected them in that classic (lots of red and salad) way. They all hit the spot.
The stand-out main dish was the Zinga Garlic Chill (£9.90) with plump prawns coated in a thick, juicy sauce littered with garlic, although there was certainly no complaints about the Chicken Tikka Masala (£7.50) or the Chicken Dupiazia (£6.20). Special Pilau Rice was £2.80 and a rather good Keema Nan £2.50.
Classic starters: Tandoori Chicken and Shami Kebabs
I like this idea, although the cream must have run out towards the end of the word! When I ordered a Napali Chicken at Chutney, in Blackheath Road, the chef spelt the name of the restaurant… Bit of fun I thought, although I can only make out Chu.
Chilli jam may sound unusual but don’t think the sweetness of the jam will save you from the fire – especially with the Bhut Jalokia variety! Indeed, if anything, it lulls you into a false sense of security before fully hitting you with the chilli.
Made by the Chilli Jam Factory in Kent, the range of four jams – Original, Bonnet Blaster, Nitro Naga and Jhut Balokia (marked as for over 18s only) – is stocked by Lockies Shellfish, which operates from the Lord Hood pub in Greenwich.
Here are a few spicy products to keep your eyes open for the next time you’re in Africa…
First up is the superb named Chilly Willy hot sauce. Discovered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, it’s hot enough for a decent kick, but it won’t blow off your head. It’s ideal for spicing up a bland chicken sandwich at the airport.
Chilly Willy hot sauce, Ethiopia
Another sauce a bit further south (Cape Town, South Africa) that is worth a try is the homemade Vasco de Gama chilli sauce. No airs and graces here, but the Vasco is a legendary Portuguese pub-restaurant (3 Alfred Street, Greenpoint. Tel: +27 (0)21 425 2157). Try it with a Prego Roll.
Not found in an Indian restaurant, but it’s certainly hot
And as if to prove that the best finds really are to be found tucked away in obscure places, you can now enjoy genuine German Curry Wurst made in a small microbrewery based on land that was formerly used by the South African explosives company AECI. The Triggerfish Brewery (Cnr De Beers Avenue and Broadway Road, Somerset West. Tel: +27 (0)21 851 5861) is not something you stumble across by accident but it’s fast becoming popular and as it’s run by a German couple you can enjoy that nation’s contribution to the curry world for just R45 (a bit less than £3).
A microbrewery in South Africa is not where you’d expect to find Curry Wurst… …but, hey presto, there it is!
And not too far from Triggerfish is Sweetwell Butchery & Deli (Sweetwell Farm, near Winery Road, off the R44, the road between Somerset West and Stellenbosch. Tel: +27 (0)21 855 1203) is where you will find Braun Curry, which is essentially a spicy, rough mixed pâté. Good with eggs and toast at breakfast time.
Sweets to tempt you as you enter… and leave Mughals
When in Bradford, one of the UK’s curry capitals (I don’t want to get into arguments here…) you should head to the busy and long Leeds Road we are told by nearly everyone. Assuming you’re after a curry, of course. Zouk’s Tea Bar and Akbars are two places that are highly recommended. But these were rammed and there were queues so we plumped for a less-assuming place.
Mughals is essentially a takeaway but it has a few of those plastic canteen style tables so you can eat in if you choose. Its fronted by a huge display of colourful sweets and desserts, and many people pass through to do nothing more than pick up a few treats.
But we’ve got our mind on something more spicy. We go for Seekh Kebab (£1.95 each) and Lamb Chops (£4), all mouth-watering and up there with the best tandoori you’ll find anywhere. Then we add a Paya Balti (trotters) at £6.95, to be scooped up with chapattis (35p each). Yes that is 35p each.
To those who don’t like trotters I can only describe this as sucking spicy fat off a bone. You’ll find more meat in the African Chicken Feet recipe that is posted elsewhere on this site. But a man I know who is a big fan of goat’s and cow’s trotters (it’s obviously off-limits to Hindus) says tucking into paya is like “really eating the cow”. And he was licking his lips as he told me. He also told me a nan (£1.60 in Mughals) would be better than the chapattis with a dish he describes as a winter dish or a dish ideal for cold mornings.
• No alcohol is served but you can bring your own and there are shops nearby.
The Royal Curry Club 