The first time I set foot in an Indian restaurant my life changed. Forever!!!! It was 1973, the Star of India, in Gants Hill. And it was mind-blowing. Ok, and stomach blowing too, but isn’t that now a considerable benefit? When I returned from California and got myself a flat, it was a 3-minute walk to my nearest Injun. That was the primary criterion I gave the estate agents. The Rose of India. If a restaurant didn’t have the word ‘India’ in the title, it wasn’t Indian. So thought the Indians who opened them anyway. Although as we all know, over 90% of Indian restaurants are owned and run by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Which is absolutely fine by me. Because for me, as for most Brits, they create the ‘authentic’ taste of Indian food. As we learn it and know it. It’s only when you go to a ‘real’ Indian restaurant, catering mainly for ‘real Indians’, or even if you go to India itself, that you realise what ‘they’ eat is not exactly ‘chicken tikka masala and chips please, go heavy on the chilli, an’ a pint of whatever Gandhi would have’.

Not sure if Gandhi was a big boozer, but he was certainly a vegetarian. In common with a very high majority of Hindu Indian people. Hence all the Pakistanis and Bangladeshis catering to our South Asian requirements. And doing a great job of it, I must say.

Now, of course, the world has moved on. Not just the prerequisite for one of the words: Indian, Tandoori, Balti to appear in the eaterie’s name, that’s gone. ‘Dishoom’, ‘Gymkhana’, ‘Naan’a That’, they all allude to the cuisine rather than paint it in day-glo colours. And many Indian restaurants have ‘upped their game’, have achieved Michelin stardom, have out-priced the Savoy Grill. And I don’t mind that at all. You have choice. You pay £8.95 for chicken jalfreizi or you can pay £39.50 for the same thing but described in more detail on the menu.

We go to our local version. For no other reason than: as much as I love curry, Mel doesn’t. She spent 3 weeks in India eating pizza. And our little local place she considers ‘safe’. They won’t add a bucket of chilli to her meal. Whereas they will to mine if I beg them to. And I do. Furthermore, as their Google page shows: however expensive, however many Michelin stars, there is NO Indian in the entire UK that can promise a better view of Golders Green bus station.

We went the other night. Spectacular meal. As always. It’s the New Balti Tandoori for us every time. Even the name’s right.

Happy Friday

A xxxx