Mother India's Cafe - Edinburgh

[Stephen Lindsay]

Mother India's Cafe, Edinburgh opened in May 2008, they also are in Glasgow.

Their menu is a "twist on tapas". You are not presented with a menu of the usual BIR favourites but a laminated sheet of A4 with 30 to 40 dishes and you select 3 or 4 between two people as each dish is a small portion served in a bowl. We had Chicken Achari (chicken cooked in a lime & chilli pickle), Chilli King Prawns (king prawn marinated in spices), Chilli Chicken Dosa (crispy rice & lentil pancake stuffed with spicy chicken) and Chilli Garlic Chicken (diced chicken cooked in a rich pepper sauce), all served with rice, chapati and nan.

This is not your usual BIR fare, but it does give you the chance to try a few different things at very reasonable prices. The food was most enjoyable. Our total bill including 4 beers came to ?34 for two which is probably the least I have paid for a sit-in meal in a long while.

It's also worth mentioning that as well as lamb and chicken, the menu has a lot of vegetable or fish dishes.

Mother India's Cafe
3-5 Infirmary Street
Edinburgh
EH1 1LT
Telephone: 0131 524 9801

[Secret Santa]

You are not presented with a menu of the usual BIR favourites but a laminated sheet of A4 with 30 to 40 dishes and you select 3 or 4 between two people as each dish is a small portion served in a bowl.

This is a great idea as it sounds like a thali but with more choice, and I love thali. It's a pity I'm not closer as I'd definitely give it a go. It'd be interesting to know just how are they cooking all those small portions. Each one individually?

[Stephen Lindsay]

Yes Santa it does sound a bit like the old thali idea. I know that Ashoka have used the tapas idea before but theirs is the usual variations on BIR dishes. Some of the dishes are served wrapped in tinfoil, e.g. our prawn dish and I suspect it was some raw prawns, a few spices and a bit of garlic/ginger/onion paste. The chicken dishes could well be variations on the BIR cooking style, the main difference I would say is that none of the dishes were smothered in sauce, they were more like "home style" curries, i.e. more dry with a bit of sauce clinging to each piece of meat.

[coops125]

The Raj Mohal in Louth, Lincolnshire - Got to be one of the best curry houses in the county. They do an absolute demon Madras. I always judge a place on its Madras and now I always judge a place on how its Madras compares to the Raj Mohal's.

The cost is very reasonable - a meal for 2, starter and main, including a couple of beers is approx ?30.

Raj Mohal
Aswell Street
Louth

01507 608227