I haven't been to India, I think I would find it too overwhelming. The hustle and bustle on the busy streets. Tuk Tuk's zooming here, there and everywhere. I'd imagine it would be crowded chaos, but you never know. It would definitely be an experience.
One thing I will say, is that Indian food is everywhere in the UK. It's popular with just about everyone and there is no denying that it is tasty.
Sizzling meat in Ghee, with decadent spices, and the aromas of somewhere exotic, last night I decided to try a local Indians in my area. Rated as top of the Indian takeaways and boasting something a little different, I tried GinGer, which serves up Indian Street Food dishes.
Now then, like me, you might be a little confused about the name, but this place doesn't exactly serve street food. As the owner explained because of British licensing laws you can't serve street food, and I wasn't able to eat it outside the premises.
He explained that it's quite difficult to eat a curry out in the street, and that it would be easier for me to stay in the restaurant. Instead he explained that GinGer serves authentic dishes with those Indian street food flavours and that is what makes it unique compared to other Indian restaurants.
I also asked him how he is coping with inflation and the price of ingredients for his restaurant and he explained he's raised the special price menu by £2 but this barely covers the increased food prices and energy bills. However, he went on to say that he is always busy and so he likes to keep the prices as low as he can so that his menu is accessible to everyone.
The staff here were really polite, despite me asking so many questions about the restaurant and India. I ordered the set menu which cost £10.95 for two courses, or you could upgrade to £14.95 for a bigger range of dishes.
This included a starter, main and rice dish. The portions were pretty huge, but I ordered a couple of extra things on the side, purely to try them. They were happy for me to take the rest home, as I couldn't finish it, but enjoyed the variety of flavours.
For starters I chose the Somosa Chat and the Hariyali chicken tikka. The Somosa was smothered in a spicy based sauce with chickpeas. I haven't seen Samosa's served like this before. The pastry was crispy and inside it was filled with a vegetable stuffing of potatoes and more chickpeas. It was a bit of a chickpea overload and I was expecting some meat, but I guess a vegetarian would find this filling. The part that stood out the most to me was the yogurt drizzle on top.
Next the Hariyali chicken was not what I was expecting, as some sort of variation of chicken tikka. Instead it was mild with no spice, and coated in a salty yogurt sauce which had then been barbecued in a tandoori oven. It wasn't like any chicken tikka I've tried before, but after I got used to the different flavour I cleaned the plate.
For the mains I ordered the Deshi fish massala. I wanted something traditional, and as I've never tried Indian-style fish, it sounded both mouthwatering and unusual. The fish was a dry dish, served with fried peppers and onions, a mint yogurt dip and an orange salad. The fish was tender and not over cooked and all the flavour complemented each other.
Next, I was given a lamb curry that was made for the staff. The owner wanted me to try something really traditional. It consisted of a flavourful curry sauce served with lamb chunks on the bone. This was off the menu but absolutely delicious. The lamb fell off the bone. When I asked which part of the lamb was used he told me, “the whole lamb.”
This went really well with the GinGer special rice, although it contained more chickpeas, so I found this difficult to eat after my starter.
I also ordered a side dish of Okra, as it's something I haven't tried before. Served with peppers the Okra, also known as lady's fingers, is a small green vegetable with an almost simply texture. Full of fiber, vitamin A, K, C, B6 and magnesium. This vegetable is eaten for health purposes. I wasn't too keen on the texture but considering I wanted to taste India, this place really gave me a taste explosion of culture.
The last dish was a butter chicken dish which also had Okra, in it. While it tasted nice, the only thing that was missing was the spiciness. He did ask me at the beginning how I would like my spice and told me he tailored each dish to his customers needs. I asked for medium. That may have been an error on my part as I really wanted one dish that was hot, but not to worry. I will definitely be back to try this street food. Next time I will ask for more spice.
What I like about this place is it's quirkiness, variety and the fact that the staff go out of their way to get to know you. I'd give this place a 7 out of 10. Thanks for reading.
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