News [30 June]

Gurkha Durbar, Grayshott on Wed 9th July.

Drinks at the F&P.

Sha Pla, Alresford was our venue on Wednesday 11th June.  In my view, still the best in the area, though Gurkha Durbar, Gurkha Chautari and Madhuban are near to its standard.

Will has written on the blog site and until I find my notes of the evening, that will have to do. Just close your eyes as you read past his execrable joke, which I first heard from my daughter (who graduated last week) when she was 5.

Chilli Night, Haslemere, on Wednesday 14th May, 20:30

As usual, we had a fine evening at Chilli Night.  Attendance was a little lower than expected, but the food was well varied:  chicken jalfrezi, garlic chilli chicken, lamb rogan, Ayre karai, achari lamb and prawn madras.  These were accompanied by a good selection of rice, lentil, vegetables, and naans. 

Fine food, very well presented, and all it lacked was the appetite of Will to hoover up the excess.  He missed his first meeting in over a year - I hope the family holiday made up for it.

Unbelievably, we hadn't been to Spice Lounge since May 2007. There's so much strong competition from the other restaurants in the area - in fact the only one we've visited twice in the last year is Gurkha Chautari in Liphook. Anyway, we didn't let them down, and a good turnout of Curry Club members enjoyed food to match, after seriously denting the kitty over aperitifs at Foggys.

Following a mixed starter of bhajis, samosas, kebab and tikka chicken, we had a great array of dishes. Chicken came as CTM, chicken chilli mossala, garlic chilli chicken, and murgh Khyber Pass; prawn dishes included zingha zafrani (tiger prawns), king prawn sag and prawn jalfrezi. Lamb dishes were achari lamb and a balti, and side dishes included chana dhal, tarka dhal, a selection of plain, keema and garlic naans.

Will missed his first Curry Club meeting in over a year, so you won't be getting one of his ratings for this meal. I thought the food OK, reliable, but not outstanding. Possibly the decision to serve so many main dishes made it less easy to perfect any of them. The only disappointment for me was the tarka dhal which seemed all thick dhal and no tarka (sizzling garlic oil on top). But as ever, we were made very welcome and we shouldn't leave it another 11 months before we go back

Madhuban!   Will writes...

It had been at least 3 years since the Curry Club visited the Madhuban. Plans for a February return were postponed due to the Miah brothers' refurbishment. And what a change they have wrought! The house colours, once rich gold and royal blue, are now deep maroon and off white; the dining room, a slick and airy rectangle, is certainly more spacious than the cosy L- shaped den of before.

That said, our table ended crammed with dishes, some new additions to the time honoured menu, reprinted and updated. One such, a brilliant tart and grapefruit-y Lamb Shatkora accompanied by an earthy dhal. Of the familiar, Jalfrezi was as sly, hot and delicious as ever with slabs of tender, salty duck, and the Madhuban's saffron yellow pilau remains the best.

A woody, aromatic King Prawn curry with cinnamon and cardamom as well as mixed vegetables were pleasant and though the Madhuban Special was mild and in truth bland, our starter platter comprising well spiced lamb and chicken kebabs, onion bhajis, keema khumbi (breadcrumbed mushroom cups stuffed with lovely stodgy mince) arranged around a serving of superlative chicken chat was very good.

Although it was a nondescript Wednesday evening, we were surrounded. Success breeds success and the team have built upon reliable, sometimes excellent cuisine, vivacious, assured service (no clammy handshakes, abstract mutterings) and an established reputation. No wonder their name is a byword locally for fine and proper curry.

John writes: I've posted some photos on the Facebook Group.  Here's a link.

Gurkha Chautari at Liphook on Wednesday 13th February, 20:30 (Will organised the meeting and did the write-up this month)

This was a late change of plan because Madhuban was undergoing refurbishment on this date.

Since the last curry club visit the owners of Grayshott's Gurkha Durbar have taken over the place. Waiters now dressed in the house waistcoat. The quality of the food was uniformly excellent too.

A starter platter included slippery meat dumplings (momo), moist potato cakes sweetened with carrot, delicious chicken livers (kalejo) and sinka prawn.

Served a profusion of main courses to sample. Among the best, battered strips of chicken in a tasty dish infused with sesame oil, strangely reminiscent of pancakes with brown sugar and lemon. Elsewhere on the table really tart and smoky clay oven chicken, plump prawns in a syrupy and sour orange sauce possessing a surprisingly petulant little chilli kick, a rich and savoury curry of stewy lamb and spinach as well as a lovely stir fry, fresh and vibrant with green chillies (piro kurkhura) were distinguished.

Standout sundries included a garlicky ochre dahl, ever so slightly burnt, Aloo Jeera, spicy rotund baby new potatoes and toothsome Gulio Rotis spread with almond flour.

We lingered a while to let the feast digest, sipping brandies and watched a couple of tight but loose females flop in and out, before being turned away from the Chinese takeaway across the road. I wonder if they remember.

Dhanmondi at Bordon on Wednesday 9th January

We had a good dinner at Dhanmondi - reasonably good turnout although 5 fewer than the same meeting in 2007.  The mixed starter included chicken liver, sheek kebab and meat samosa.  The mains included lamb balti, chicken jalfrezi and a prawn special.  The food was certainly very warming on a cold winter evening.

We had a chance to visit the kitchen and watch the amazing rapid cooking that can be done with the tandoor oven.  I timed the naan at 1 minute 40 seconds from start to finish.  You can see some pictures here.

Some of us visited the new Whitehill pub, the Woodlark, before walking down to Dhanmondi. Very airy and spacious, properly decorated, even comfortable, it's aimed at the diner rather than the drinking trade, but a useful new local amenity.  Sad though, that this Marstons pub didn't serve any Marstons bottled beers and that the Pedigree had neither the colour nor the flavour you'd expect from a premium ale.  One member pointed out "too far South for Marstons -  no mild!".

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