It’s been a while now but for those who don’t know, the Taste of India has closed. I always liked the place, especially the lunch buffet, which gave a good opportunity to taste a few dishes in one sitting. But, it seems, central Greenwich, unlike the rest of the country, seems incapable of sustaining more than one curry house in the same street. Only one thing for it… eat more curry you lot.
Author: Daniel Ford
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.
Where’s the sizzle?
River Spice, Brighton
Empty restaurants tend to turn people off, yet in this busy street of smart bars and eating places (a fair few curry houses), River Spice was buzzing so it must have something going for it.
I’m always a sucker for a fresh-smelling sizzling dish. It’s the theatre. So when a very tasty tandoori (no false colour added) arrived at the next table, I was hooked.
‘That’s the Mixed Grill’, (£10.95) the passing waiter told me when pressed, although he looked a little uncertain. But when the Mixed Grill (Tandoori Chicken, Chicken Tikka, Lamb Tikka and Seekh Kebab) arrived the sizzle had mysteriously disapeared (in all senses).
It wasn’t the same dish the neighbouring table was enjoying (more likely it was Chicken Shashlik, £7.50) and it wasn’t sizzling. Look, if it’s theatre you’re after at the table then it’s theatre you should get.
Still, the replacement Punch and Judy show looked okay. Er… sadly not. A Mixed Grill of (really) tough lamb and over-cooked chicken; just why was this place busy? Had the chef who won the 2010 Curry Chef of the Year Award from Brighton & Hove City Council moved on? The saving grace of the dish was the beautifully spiced Seekh Kebab. Very tasty.
The Chicken Tikka Chilli Masala (£7.50) redeemd things to some degree with its eye-watering chilli kick, although if you skirted the fresh chillis, the sauce was surprisingly tomato-based bland.
Maybe I just had the hump at this stage. Which was not helped by the Papadum Tax either. A whopping £3.60 for four paps indeed, thanks to 60p per papadum and £1.20 for the chutneys. I kid you not.
River Spice, 17 Preston Street, Brighton, BN1 2HN. Tel: 01273 739 183. Open: lunch daily except Friday, and daily 6pm-11pm.
River Spice snapshot
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Spice on the beach
Karma Café, Goa, India
Although it’s not a Goan dish, Chicken Kolhapuri is found in many of the restaurants in the region. One of the best places to enjoy this spicy dish is in the super chilled beach bar, Karma Café.
Karma is run by the energetic owner Baba who’ll be seen doing everything from ferrying fresh fish from the market, serving beers, cooking food and fixing the pool table between spells of popping down to the beach to chat to his wife and little boy.
Kolhapuri is named after the town Kolhapur, which is to the north of Goa in Maharashtra. It’s about as hot as Goa’s most famous dish, vindaloo, but dare I say it, has more flavour, somehow combining burn-in-the-mouth fire with great taste at the same time. It’s addictive and should, of course, be washed down with a cold Kingfisher. Or three.
Watching it being cooked in the small kitchen out back is mesmerizing. Cooked in a pan heated to the limit over an open flame, the chef tosses in ingredients – onions, garlic, ginger, spices and chicken in turn, with the wild sizzle from the pan only being doused briefly when he adds a spoon of sauce from giant pot of masala sauce on the side. At the same time the chef uses a pot of steaming oil to cook popadoms fresh in seconds, the flat disk recoiling into its familiar post-cooked shape of curls and twists almost instantly.
Of course, it tasted better because I had watched it being cooked, but back at the table of this open-air restaurant, with my feet wiggled firmly into the sand floor and watching the moon bounce off the Arabian sea out front, it would be impossible not to get a kick from this dish.
Karma Café, Baga Beach, Goa, India. Open: about 10am–midnight (sometimes later) in season (October to April).
Karma Café snapshot
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Nothing like the real thing baby…
Jamies, Goa, India
Jamies is an oasis in the madness of Baga Road. When you’ve had enough of endless tooting horns (nobody seems to realise they are meaningless when used so often), hawkers, and dirt and grime of this vibrant road, pop into Jamies, without doubt one of the best restaurants in the area.
A beautiful restaurant, nicely designed and well laid so every table has plenty of space to breathe (you need it occasionally in India), this is relaxed outdoor eating at its best.
The restaurant specialises in barbeque and tandoor cooking so not everything is ‘Indian’ but the tasty Tarkari Jalfriezi (Rs 195) was hot and spicy and if anyone can find a more tender, tasty Murgh Tikka (Rs 195) than this place does then I want to know about it. Mop it all up with freshly cooked rotis (Rs 25 each) and Kingfishers.
* At the time of the visit £1 = Rs 70, $1 = Rs 45.
Jamies, 7/188 Sauntavaddo, Baga Main Road, Goa, India. Tel: 00 91 976 4362 379/976 4364 377.
Jamies snapshot
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Whisky and curry
Mandeep Grewal, Johnnie Walker brand ambassador, pairs his whiskies with some classic Indian dishes.
• Chicken Tikka Masala (tandoor-cooked chicken in a creamy tomato sauce)
A classic dish deserves a classic like Johnnie Walker Black Label. Although Chicken Tikka Masala seems a fairly simple dish the preparation is very complex: from marinating the chicken with selected balanced spices to putting it on charcoal fire and then using a number of natural flavours like tomatoes, nuts, spices and fresh cream. There is a lot that goes behind the scenes. In a similar way the natural flavours of Scotch whiskies present in Black Label make it a complex but a very balanced whisky, using whiskies from all the regions of Scotland. There are creamy vanilla notes from the Lowland Grain whiskies, fresh fruit and citrus notes from the Speyside malts, rich and dried fruits from the Highlands and a hint of smoke or barbecue from the Islands and Islay. Also, just like the slow marination and slow cooking process of Chicken Tikka Masala, nothing is rushed to produce Black Label. Only whiskies aged in oak casks for 12 years or over are selected for the blend. Try the whisky on rocks or with a splash of spring water.
• Lamb Vindaloo (very hot with a little vinegar)
This robust classic deserves a robust beauty such as Lagavulin 16 year old malt from Islay. It is the only whisky that can tame the fiery nature of this dish. Also Lagavulin has a meaty body that complemnets the red meat in the dish. Try this whisky with a splash of mineral water.
• Prawn Dhansak (sweet and sour with vegetables and lentils)
Fairly hot, sweet and sour prepared with lentils this is a great sea dish that would be complemented by the only whisky from the Isle of Skye – Talisker 10 year old malt. The flavours of the sea in the prawns are further enhanced by the sea weed, salty notes and a warm peppery finish of Talisker. Try this whisky with a single cube of ice or a splash of chilled mineral water.
• Chicken Korma (mild, aromatic and creamy)
This extremely pleasant and mild creamy dish can be lifted up by the balanced flavours of the sea, forest and fruit present in the blended malt Johnnie Walker Green Label. The four signature single malts in this blended malt – Cragganmore (Speyside), Talisker (Isle of Skye), Caolila (Islay) and Linkwood (Speyside) – are subtly apparent but work in harmony to form a smooth flavour that changes each time you pick up a glass. Each of the single malts in the blend are matured for a minimum of 15 years in oak casks. The smoothness of Green Label complements the smooth and nutty flavour in Chicken Korma. Try this whisky with just 2-3 ice cubes and let the ice melt slowly while sipping it.
• Onion bhaji (spicy onion in batter)
This spicy and herby starter is balanced with the robust blend Johnnie Walker Red Label. These Indian dumplings are fried with flavour and work just right with the younger whiskies present in Johnnie Walker Red Label. As it is a starter I would recommend to enjoy Red Label with lots of ice topped up with either soda water or dry ginger ale. It’s a great refresher that would complement this classic starter.
• Kulfi (Indian ice cream)
Finally the dessert whisky. My choice would be frozen Johnnie Walker Gold Label or frozen Clynelish 14 year old. Gold Label is a blend of whiskies aged 18 years or more and is the lightest blend in the range. The malt whisky that sits at the heart of this blend is Clynelish whose distillery’s water prospectors once panned for gold deposits released from the red granite rock. When frozen these whiskies give a honey heather flavour that finishes with some dark chocolate notes, making it a unique dessert or after dinner drink. Serve from the freezer and sip from a frozen shot glass along with the creamy kulfi.
• This article first appeared in the SA Whisky Handbook 2009
1926 and counting
Veeraswamy, Regent Street, London
It’s not often (make that never) the GCC has to book a table for its monthly curry. But, hey, it’s Christmas (almost), so a month’s notice was in order (and even then we had to change nights). But it was worth it to try the oldest curry house in the country.
Veeraswamy has been around since 1926 and they don’t mind reminding you of the fact on everything you see in the place, from menus to wine lists and more, so much so you’d think the place is actually called Veeraswamy 1926. But who can blame them? Because although this wasn’t the first Indian to open in England (that’s said to be the Hindoostane Coffee House, 1810), it’s the oldest surviving one, and that’s some achievement.
‘Not exactly the _ _ _ _ [insert name of any local curry house] is it?’ exclaimed the GCC members at first sight of the décor, with the array of turbans lining the walls, the gold screens and the mellow lighting (no flash photography in here please).
Prices are double a decent curry elsewhere and treble a cheap and cheerful one down your local, but you don’t come to Veeraswamy to save money.
Crab kebab (£11.50), Duck kebab (£10), both served on banana leaf, and very plump Scallop Moilee (£11.50) got the ball rolling for starters along with a round of Cobras (£5.85 each).
But the best was yet to come. Huge portions of Raan Akbari (lamb shanks) and Hyderbad Lamb Biryani (both at £23) set the tone with super soft and tasty lamb, spiced to perfection, clearly with delicious and fresh whole spices. The latter is said to have been on the menu back when they kicked off in 1926 so they’ve clearly had some time to perfect it. Which they have.
The Chingri Malai (£23) also didn’t disappoint when it came to huge plump prawns in its creamy sauce. No fiddling around looking for shrimps in this dish. Ideal for dipping the Tandoori Roti (£6.70) into. Heaven knows, the GCC knows a few things about Indian food, but it’s not often they rave about a roti like they did here.
Gosht Hara Salan (£23) and soft, soft Saag (£7) cooked with tasty, tiny chunks of crunchy onion, ensured there was plenty of green on the table, while a Murgh Makhani (£17) delivered a sense of normality to proceedings.
The Nectarine Tandoori (£6.75) soon put paid to any thoughts of normal though. Whoever thought up this slightly caramelised dish, well done to you. Tandoori Nectarine indeed.
But like the place, it has to be tried by every curry lover.
Veeraswamy, Victory House, 99 Regent Street, London, W1B 4RS (entrance on Swallow Street). Tel: 020 7734 1401.
Veeraswamy snapshot
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Meeting (December 2010)
Billed as the oldest Indian restaurant in the capital, it’s only fitting that Veeraswamy (99 Regent Street) will be hosting the GCC’s Christmas shindig. Monday 6 December, meet in Cheers further down Regent Street for general discussion about party poppers and paper hats in this strictly-needs-booking place.
Cobra 2-4-1 curries
Check out cobrabeer.com/nationalcurryweek for 2-4-1 offers when you buy a Cobra. There a few participating places near SE10 but the offer only lasts till 25 Nov…
Half-price offer no. 2
The recently opened Greenwich Tandoori Takeaway is offering 50% off between 1-7 November if you are collecting your food.
There is free delivery within a four-mile radius for orders over £8 (plus a free papadum), while if you spend over £15 you’ll get a vegetable side dish thrown in as well.
Dishes include Salmon Sashlick (£6.95), Prawn Chilli Masala (£5.95), Fish Rangila (£5.95) and Tawa Lamb (£5.95), while old-time favourites such as Chicken Madras, Prawn Vindaloo and Meat Dupiaza are keenly priced at £3.60, £4.50 and £3.95 respectively.
Greenwich Tandoori (44 Woolwich Road, Greenwich, London, SE10 0JU. Tel: 020 8858 9559/9998).Open: daily 17.30-23.30 (23.00 Sunday)
Half-price offer no.1
Monsoon in New Cross are running a special of half-price food and drinks for ‘a limited period only’ (which they don’t specify) when dining in. If you’re after a takeaway you need to get your hands on one of their £5 off curry vouchers (when spending £20) to add to your free delivery and free onion salad.
Specialities include Chicken or Lamb Tikka Zala Masala (£5.95), Prawn Makhani (£5.65), Lamb Tikka Badami Pasanda (£5.85) and Tandoori King Prawn Masala (£7.85).
Monsoon (338 New Cross Road, New Cross, London SE14 6AG. Tel: 020 8692 1588). Opening hours: daily 17.30-midnight.
The Royal Curry Club 