This was our first meal out of the new year and I really couldn’t think of a better spot for it. There’s always a warm welcome and we’ve never had a duff dish here, let alone a duff meal.
We’d not tried ragada pattice before. It’s two smallish potato “croquettes”, surrounded by white chickpeas (ragada) mixed with a couple of sweet and tangy chutneys which nicely perk up the croquettes. Masala dosa was the other starter and it comes as a smaller version than you get in many places, so definitely starter size, leaving you room for a main course. It’s crisp, filled with lightly spiced potatoes, and served with a nice vegetable sambhar and a coconut chutney.
For main courses, one of us went with the lamb chamku which has proved to be a regular order for us here. We particularly like the fact it’s a dryish, clingy sauce enhanced with the earthy sweetness of beetroot. Chicken kolhapuri is another dish we’ve eaten before. The meat is moist and not over-cooked and the sauce is lovely – well rounded and with a serious chilli kick. They do a vegetable version and it’s a toss-up whether I prefer that or the chicken. Sandeep also brought us a sample of chicken fried rice to try. I assume it’s an Indo-Chinese dish – certainly looked like a Chinese fried rice but the spicing seemed 100% Indian. Really nice.
As ever, carbs were excellent. We shared a portion of fluffy pilau rice. One of us also had a tandoori roti which comes exactly as you want it – soft but with the odd crispy bit round the edges. And one of us had the chilli and onion kulcha which has a nice “edge” to the flavour over a more classic naan.
Now, if everywhere else we go this year feeds us as well as B2M, then it’ll be a cracker of a year.