Absolutely superb Pakistani cooking at this family run restaurant. The food is very different to anything else available around here, the sauces (not that there is much sauce in most dishes) tending to be a reddish colour. Spicing is exquisite. The Armaan platter is a huge starter for two people, with samosas, sheik and shami kebabs, chicken and lamb tikka pieces, etc., for less than ?7.00. Meats are grilled in a tandoor rather than fried, and less oil than the norm is used in the curries, too. They claim this makes their food healthier than anyone else's in the area. There is a large selection of vegetarian dishes; they also specialise in fish curries. Family naans are suspended from a metal table stand. Prices are very reasonable. The restaurant is not licensed, but bring your own is allowed. The restaurant is unusual in that it attracts customers from both the white and Asian communities, including Muslim family groups (very unusual indeed, in my experience). It has a large upstairs function room which caters to weddings etc. for both communities. Service is efficient and very friendly. I can't recommend Armaan highly enough. Give it a try. I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

Hi folks

living as I do in the middle of a large Asian population, I don't get too many of the restaurant-style curries most of you seem to crave. Round here, they're usually pretty genuine Asian curries, or a compromise between those and the standard restaurant curries (and they vary in quality from awful to brilliant).

I've got Kris Dhillon's book, but I don't think I've ever tried to cook using her base sauce. Might have a go at it soon though. I base most of my home-cooked curries on Madhur Jaffrey's recipes, or those of J. Harvey Day (who collected and published recipes from expat housewives in India in the 50's).

So I'm going to be learning quite a bit in here, I think. Look forward to it

Cheers

Tyke