Madhu's

Madhu's restaurant was started by Sanjay Anand and Sanjeev Anand over 25 years ago, they are the third generation of their family to be in the catering/hotel industry. Now their efforts have achieved Royal recognition, as Sanjay was awarded the MBE on Thursday 6th December 2007, for his services to the hospitality industry.

Madhu's is not only a local Indian restaurant in the Southall area but also a popular Asian wedding catering company. The tandoori style dishes make up the best of the menu, with their sound spicing, and portions they are generous and the prices reasonable, but with so many rival establishments on its doorstep to keep it on its culinary toes Madhu's continues to innovate to keep ahead of the competition.

The sheer scale and size of the menus is deeply impressive. Vegetarian dishes play a wide part, and lightly spiced fried potato cakes, flavoured with pomegranate seeds topped with yoghurt, chickpeas and sweet and sour tamarind sauce is enough to make even me think of converting. Asian seafood at its best is unbeatable and their take on king prawn masala, that dish adopted by the English as its very own, is on its own a cause for visiting Madhu's.

For those who must have their curry try the kofte and anday version from North India, made with minced meat balls and eggs cooked in a light curry sauce, or another old favourite, rogan josh, tender pieces of lamb cooked with a blend of fresh ground roasted spices, onions and bell peppers.

I always think that raita dishes are a good test of the true quality of an Indian restaurant, and their range of these dishes is quite superb, with boondi leading the way; freshly made yoghurt flavoured with cumin and ground black pepper with tiny crisp gramflour puff-balls.

If an indication of the regard in which Madhu's is held both by its customers and the profession, it is worth noting that it was honoured as the Best UK Restaurant in the 2004 Good Curry Guide and is a consistent favourite in south west London.

Some opinion does not speak highly of Indian desserts, but this is largely a matter of whether or not you have a sweet tooth. Move away from kulfi and try the shahi tukra, crisp bread slices soaked in condensed milk syrup, enriched with dry fruits, truly a dish for the comfort of the soul as well as the appetite. For tradition seek out the jalebi, a batter of flour and milk deep fried into golden, curly crisp rings soaked in sugar syrup - sweet, yes but definitely more-ish.

Find out more information about this fascinating restaurant and the other services that they offer from their Website.