Bindi Restaurant

For a variety of reasons which this strictly non-political guide would not even presume to mention Grantham has not always had a good press. The implication of one over-reported comment was that the town in general should get a life. Whether or not that is true matters not, but if for one moment it was, it might be that Muhammed Karim and his charismatic family have, by creating Bindi, gone some way towards bringing a welcome new dimension to this old established and historic Lincolnshire market town.

The building started off life as the local Liberal Party headquarters in 1897, a mildly baronial structure to which Muhammed and Ella have devoted their entrepreneurial skills. When you learn that their daughters Karishma and Henna were responsible for the bright, fresh interior décor which lends the restaurant a cheerful and vibrant atmosphere, worthy of the new wave of Indian restaurants in Britain, you will see this is truly a family enterprise.

Bindi takes Indian cuisine and presents it in a way that retains its integrity, make some minor concessions to national susceptibilities if need be, and looks at the origins of each individual dish with care. For instance from the Chef's pan there are five well known curries, all of which demand a blend of at least twelve individual flavours of herbs and freshly ground spices. Their spices are prepared freshly each day and whether your taste is for rogan josh, korma, bhuna or dansak, the chicken, meat or prawns that you have chosen will be very identifiable. This is cooking with care, not a big pot in the centre of the kitchen adapted to suit the dish on order.

More exotic specialities come in the form of a king prawn delight with barbecued Bengal Tiger king prawns cooked in delicate, mild flavoured yoghurt sauce, or a lamb tikka badam bahar, where pieces of barbecued lamb are cooked with fresh cream, cultured yoghurt, almond powder, lemon juice and selected, highly-flavoured spices and sultanas.

Indian weddings are often graced by moglai murgi, hanndi cooked in the traditional way, with chicken cooked on the bone in a rich spicy cinnamon-flavoured curry with a hard-boiled spiced egg. The dish can be ordered on or off the bone, and as a free range or organic option. Other dishes in this range include maach ka salom, ghust ka salom and lal mirchi borta. If you are not familiar with them, trust this Guide's recommendation and order, preferably a day or so in advance. This is not off the shelf cooking, believe me.

Tandoori cooking is done in the all-purpose tandoor, a simple device which serves several purposes and in Indian traditional families was seldom cold. It is dependent upon the sealing in of the goodness in the food with the special flavour given by smouldering charcoal heat. Seven tandoori dishes include lamb tikka, jambo ka kazana which is a sort of mixed grill of chicken, lamb, sheek kebab, tandoori king prawn and nan bread, served with a bhuna sauce.

If you already appreciate the delights of Indian cooking, Bindi is for you, offering you perhaps an extension into a gourmet level. If you are a newcomer Bindi will take you by the hand and introduce you to a new experience that for many provides a deeper understanding of the great sub continent and its civilisation.

As a first step enjoy their Website and meet the Family.