Kastoori - The Return of The TCC

Greetings,

I can only apologise for the lack of content on here during my travels around South America. It appears that the two left in charge in my absence could not organise a naan fest in a tandoor oven and so the blog remained sadly blank for six months. But I am back now and the TCC is back in the mix so fear not. I can hear the collective sighs of relief all across south London from here. My time in South America was fantastic but there is a real dearth of curry out there so my taste buds were keen to be reunited with my old friends like bhajia and paneer on my return. Sorry to my real friends and family who should have been the main cause of my homesickness. Sadly it was just the curry I missed.

The rules of TCC have slightly changed. We've done away with the free-for-all, all welcome approach that pervaded before my departure and have now tightened the invite list. If you are reading this, considered yourself a member of TCC and were not invited then I am sorry. The problem we had was trying to rate a restaurant fairly with 14 drunk people baying for popadoms. We are a more discreet, better honed curry rating machine now.

Present were:

Berry7
Big Dunc.
English Matt
Desmondo
JP (Our legal advisor)
Dubya
Moun

I have wanted to try this restaurant for some time now because I have heard good things about the vegetarian wares that are available. Having shorn the group of drunken fools who always complained if we suggested a vegetarian restaurant, we were able to stroll along and get involved.

It was early in the week when we went but the place was reasonably busy and the atmosphere seemed lively when we entered. A couple sat near us began regaling us about the food and we were immediately seated with polite speed. The service was forthcoming and helpful with a flurry of activity greeting our arrival and popadoms and drinks brought quickly. The popadoms were average and I seem to remember that the dips were nothing exciting.

The variety of dishes available on the starter list was really impressive and anyone who is short sighted enough to think that vegetarian curry is limited, should really get a grip and come to a place like this. The menu threw up some exciting alternatives to the usual fare that greets you in a standard restaurant and it was refreshing to take so long scanning the menu.

To start we had chilli paneer, dahi ruri, onion bhajia and samosas. All were very satisfying with the dahi ruri being a veritable work of art in its preparation. I have pictures on my phone which I will attempt to transfer onto here as it was an impressive starter in its own right. The chilli paneer veered away from the horribly tomatoey sauce we have become accustomed to in some restaurants and the onion bhajia was fluffy and very enjoyable. Even the samosas had a great kick of cinammon in them which was a nice variant.

The mains were equally intriguing with a large selection of "specials" of which one only one dish was ever available per day. This was a nice touch as it immediately made you want the ones that weren't available and makes you start planning your next trip to try the others. They all looked very exotic and showed the diversity of the menu. The pick of the mains were the Mutter Panir, Special Tomato Curry and the Chilli Banana Special although all of them were very tasty. There was a definite sense that you were eating something made fresh and without heaps of additives and colourings. Each dish tasted thoroughly different to the last and you could identify the vegetables in each easily. The flavours were really impressive and this is not the sort of restaurant where each dish is just made from one standard base.

As the meal wore on and the dishes got banded about, you could not help but feel that this place deserved its reputation as providing high quality, vegetarian dishes that stood out in a sea of Indian restaurants.

The place - 8 out of 10. The restaurant did all it could to be a friendly and warm place to have dinner. The decor is clean and tasteful and the atmosphere inside was welcoming. Everything from the interior to the table itself were clean and modern in appearance.

The Service - 8 out of 10. The owner spent a large amount of time talking us through the dishes. I think he clocked that we were curry nerds when we came in and decided that on a quiet night he could afford to indulge our geekishness. We learnt about the sourcing of vegetables, the combination of Ugandan and Indian cooking and how the specials are prepared. The order was correct throughout. The boss definitely made it though as the rest of the staff were very pleasant without being extraordinary.

Starters and Sundries - 7 out of 10. I am wondering if this score was a tad harsh. Being our first meeting in six months, I think we were scared to just start raving about a place. Possibly a 7.5 or 8 would have been fairer. The starters were good and the variety on offer excellent. The popadoms were possibly a bit bland and the dips on offer not that exciting but the bhajia and chilli paneer were very tasty. Chapatis and rice were good.

Curry - 9 out of 10. Very, very enjoyable. The selection was varied and the special list was extensive. The chilli banana was so tasty and the special tomato curry, as recommended by Ash Akhtar months ago on our comments section, was so flavourful as to be almost confusing. How can tomatoes taste so good? Too many good curries to list but the veggie curry with aubergine was also great. Must stop or I will keep writing.

Value for Money - 7 out of 10. Not that cheap. But then we did drink a fair bit and maybe this skewed our feeling of how much we paid. I think the bill was £21 a head including tip and this included a couple of pints each. Again I am wondering if this mark is a little harsh as value is based on quality as well as price. Perhaps an 8 would be fairer but the marks cannot be changed!

Total - 39 out of 50. A new leader and deservedly so. This place provided so much quality and diversity that it is impossible to argue with this result. It could easily have broken 40 as well I think but such is the drunken voting system of the TCC after six months out. If you have not been here then get down there. It really will not disappoint

Happy meal costs were:
Tarka dall - £2.95.
Chapatai (no naan) - £1.50 (two pieces).
Plain rice - £2.50.
Mango lassi (no plain) - £2.75.

Total - £9.70. Expensive. Think this is skewed by the pricey mango lassi. Perhaps they would have done a plain lassi on demand.

So we're back. To come back to a curry of this standard was most pleasing and a definite contender to take people who may not like the canteen style restaurants that we love like Lahore and Mirch. In fact I think this provides a really nice balance of price, quality and comfort and is somewhere you need to visit if you have not already. Good to be back. See you all soon.

Berry7.