Imli - Indian Tapas

It was more or less inevitable that Indian cuisine should pick up on tapas - after all what is Mumbai street food but a form of tapas? At Imli, run by the same team that operates Tamarind, a more homely, less formal version of Indian food is the vogue. Its other major virtue is that a wider choice of tastes and flavours is immediately available, either hot or cold. Whatever you have ordered is brought to your table in one fell swoop, and courses as such cease to exist.

Generally three items per head are reckoned to be the equivalent of a two course meal, but the choice is entirely yours. Many order crispy papadums and home made chutney to keep the pangs at bay as they work though the menu making their selections. Quite obviously this is tremendous fun with a party, giving ample opportunity for self expression.

Amongst the cold choices look for papdi chaat, whole wheat crisps and bean sprouts with vermicelli, sweet yoghurt and mint chutney, or prawns, mango and green beans salad in a lime and ginger dressing. Moving on to the hot, a delightful experience is Indian bread served with a selection of daal and curry dipping sauces, coriander vadi, gram flour and coriander wedges with jaggery and ginger, tomato mint and chutney.

I suppose the truth is that Indian food presented as tapas is one of the ultimates in comfort food, a sort of exercise in grasshopper grazing, no experience lasting too long but always repeatable if the call comes. India?s great stretches of coast with accessibility to vast swathes of ocean mean that seafood is always going to be popular. The likes of crab and prawn cakes, creamed and served on roasted red peppers is but a foretaste.

My childhood memories of friends home from India are of people who seemed to talk incessantly of eating vegetables and chickens, two forms of food that have diminished quite severely on my popularity scale more recently, though one must concede that Indian chefs make a wonderful job of cooking both, so chicken shammi, pan fried chicken cakes with brown onion and ginger served with mint chutney, or bhindi aloo, a combination of okra and potatoes cooked in a freshly made masala sauce, should most certainly not be lightly ignored.

In almost any cuisine on earth there comes a point where stew erupts on to the scene. Nothing wrong with stew, one of the most nourishing dishes on earth if properly prepared like the one here which is a South Indian speciality made with mussels, squid, prawns and fish cooked in a spicy coconut sauce. Those who may not always find squid too exciting should try the crisp fried variety, done here in a spicy batter and served with lemon. Delicious! But for the big one consider the masala grilled pork with coriander and avocado sauce, served with cumin and turmeric mash.

Desserts could include Gulab Jamun milk dumplings served with fig and ginger ice cream, or carrot fudge made with carrots, melon seeds and raisins reduced in sweetened condensed milk.

It is customary to find an Indian nouvelle restaurant with an ample list of exotic cocktails and Imli is no exception, served with enthusiasm and precision. The customary list of quality beers, spirits and fruit beverages is extended by a limited range of wines, several from south of the Equator.

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