Bhangra Beat - South Woodford

The wonder of Indian food has taken Britain by storm over the past two decades, to the point where it is a serious rival to other ethnic cuisines. Considering curry was originally created for the British in India this a slightly ironic twist to events, but it could explain why every self respecting town, and many villages now have their own Indian restaurant, and the phrase "nipping down for an Indian" has taken on a significance that excites the taste buds like crazy.

So no surprise at all to find that South Woodford, historically part of Essex, and located where the North Circular Road starts some kind of uneasy relationship with the M11, hosts one of the best Indian restaurants to be found, Bhangra Beat. The driving force behind it is Shamim Ahmed Khan, whose aim is to offer excellent food and value for money, if not exactly on the same plate at least in close relationship to each other.

The décor is a cool setting of gentle colours, with sparkling wooden floors, spotless table settings and gives an overall impression of solid comfort and creates the right mood. At the weekends live jazz music brings some of the best jazz acts in London to the restaurant, giving a special lift without shifting the balance of pleasure from the table. Shamim has not been slow to recognise the take-away, and the quality of their meals to take home is superb in every detail.

The menu features delicious and unusual starters such as baja mach, pan grilled steaks of salmon marinated with a spicy masala, served on a bed of flamed onions, tomatoes and chillies, and prawn pepper fry, batter fried morsels sautéed with mustard seeds and curry leaves. The selection of kebabs is enticing with lemon flavoured prawns leading the way followed by Tandoori chicken, lamb, paneer and duck tikkas.

Curry lovers will find a whole new range of delicacies such as jungle curry, chicken fillets stir fried with spring onions, green pepper, ginger and crushed chillies or the handi gosht, spring lamb cooked with onions, tomatoes, ginger and coarsely ground spices. Dhansak, pasanda and rogan josh, well loved favourites, are also present while the speciality would no doubt be the Rajasthani influenced Bhangra Raj which has chicken fillets cooked with dried and crushed red chillies.

Lifelong carnivores may find that some of Bhangra's vegetarian dishes are worth more than passing consideration. The spicy, hot chilli paneer relies on fresh green chillies and soft Indian cheese to create a distinct flavour while the sabji malai korma has an assortment of vegetables in a creamy yoghurt sauce for a light and pleasing taste.

Reliability in any restaurant is a cardinal virtue, particularly where a cuisine other than one's own is concerned. The host of compliments received from both regular and new customers at Bhangra is a sure indication this has been achieved.

Find out more by a clicking on their straightforward Website.