Best indian restaurant in leicester?

[Zingari]

Some of the stuff written on here makes me laugh, most restaurants serve shit compared to the proper stuff, people mentioning rogan josh, madras blah, blah..........go to India and they will think your mad!!!!!!!!

I agree , but those packets of Vesta curries are authentic , aren't they?

[Guest MattP]

Sands is shit, hardly know a person in Glenfield who goes there.

Not overly keen on Indian food but Rise of the Raj was ok if you want a cheap night out.

[ithuriel]

That cooking show thats on satutrday morning had an indian actress on and the head guy asked her where the best place to get an indian meal is in England, she said Leicester.

He then asked why she did not say Birmingham and she said no, Leicester! do not pass go, go straight to Leicester.

[Bellend Sebastian]

It's a veggie restaurant. What else did he expect?

It was when it opened, but hasn't been for ages

[Raw Dykes]

Here's a link to the other thread about this...

http://www.foxestalk.co.uk/forums/topic/76421-best-curry-in-leics/page__hl__+best%20+curry%20+leicester#entry1998546

[The Doctor]

Definitely cuisine of India in wigston, love the place.

Damn it, now I want a curry but feeling really nauseous.

[Dr The Singh]

I bet you can't get decent roast beef in India.

Hmm, dunno, but you can't get decent british Fish and Chip

I agree , but those packets of Vesta curries are authentic , aren't they?

Unique???

[Simo86]

Theres one out Countesthorpe, Blaby area of the county that i can't remember the name of, been there three times and it is good, Chutney & Ivy near the Curve is good too

The one in Countesthorpe is called Dine India. Best curry I've had in a while there. Supposedly one of Kasabian's favourite restaurants

[Dr The Singh]

Yes we know, but we aren't in india, we're in England. So we eat these versions, and frankly they are good enough for me to enjoy.

I see the Grand Dubar mentioned quite a few times, but I've been in three times and the food was average at best and the place was full of scum bags every time. Would never go back there again.

I live in England and eat authentic, at home mate?? Not knocking any of you personally, it's the termanology people use to describe south asian food that makes me laugh. To be fair some restaurants do make good tasting food here!!

[Dr The Singh]

Have you been to Cuisine of India, Doctor? I haven't, and only ask because the lady I bought my house from worked as a missionary in India (and Bangladesh as well, I think) for most of her working life and she likes it because in her eyes it's 'proper' south Asian cooking.

I went to that place at the top of Granby Street a while back and didn't recognise anything on the menu, and strangely enough what I had was wonderful. Fair play to them, one of the blokes we were with asked them to make him a Jalfrezi and they refused

Not been, but it could be good. I think i wasn't clear in my post, i find the terminology that people use funny ie madras, rogan josh etc.

There are some good south asian restaurant, most i have been to have been shit.

A proper curry takes 2 hours to make, restaurant curry usually 10, saying that though, some are still nice!!!

[Dr The Singh]

So recommend one where you would eat

John, i rarely eat indian when go out, cus ms can make the stuff better quality, healthier and better tasting then most. the onlys punjabi i like going out to eat is the tandoor, tikka or bbq pitt stuff as we can't cook them at home. The place i like to go are in west brom or smethwick, they include the sportsman club, havelli, desi 2, all of which are punjabi run pubs!!

[Dr The Singh]

That cooking show thats on satutrday morning had an indian actress on and the head guy asked her where the best place to get an indian meal is in England, she said Leicester.

He then asked why she did not say Birmingham and she said no, Leicester! do not pass go, go straight to Leicester.

Veggie food i agree, but otherwise Brum has a much wider selection. Everyone has there own tastes i suppose

[pSinatra]

The one in Countesthorpe is called Dine India. Best curry I've had in a while there. Supposedly one of Kasabian's favourite restaurants

I've only ever had take-away from Dine India & it has always been good. I know someone who's a hygiene inspector for the council & she mentioned this place. You've been warned!!

[Bellend Sebastian]

Not been, but it could be good. I think i wasn't clear in my post, i find the terminology that people use funny ie madras, rogan josh etc.

There are some good south asian restaurant, most i have been to have been shit.

A proper curry takes 2 hours to make, restaurant curry usually 10, saying that though, some are still nice!!!

Am I right in saying that a lot of this stuff is made up just for us and aren't proper traditional recipes? Personally I like it when I see things that aren't familiar, but that's really only because whenever I've tried them they've happened to be great.

Went for lunch at an Indian friend's house not long ago and her mum had been cooking since 8 that morning. It was worth the effort, bloody lovely it was. She took great delight in opening up all the kitchen cupboards to show the vast array of ingredients and spices that had gone into the myriad dishes that were served up. There seemed to be hundreds of them, blooming mind boggling

[notnow john]

Recently ive noticed in the windows or on doors of restaurants there is a placard giving a hygiene rating , from one to five stars.

This is apparently a Food Hygene Agency initiative. I don't know if it is mandatory but was bit concerned when the Barlestone Chinese takeaway only got three stars.

[Dr The Singh]

Am I right in saying that a lot of this stuff is made up just for us and aren't proper traditional recipes? Personally I like it when I see things that aren't familiar, but that's really only because whenever I've tried them they've happened to be great.

Went for lunch at an Indian friend's house not long ago and her mum had been cooking since 8 that morning. It was worth the effort, bloody lovely it was. She took great delight in opening up all the kitchen cupboards to show the vast array of ingredients and spices that had gone into the myriad dishes that were served up. There seemed to be hundreds of them, blooming mind boggling

As far as I know there made up, my grannies and grandpa wouldn't have a clue!!! Nor woud my native relatives!

Yep, depending on style, preference and regional differences, a curry can taste very different, my mrs often tries different spices to give a different taste!!

[Dr The Singh]

Recently ive noticed in the windows or on doors of restaurants there is a placard giving a hygiene rating , from one to five stars.

This is apparently a Food Hygene Agency initiative. I don't know if it is mandatory but was bit concerned when the Barlestone Chinese takeaway only got three stars.

Atleast it past!

[Webbo]

Some of the stuff written on here makes me laugh, most restaurants serve shit compared to the proper stuff, people mentioning rogan josh, madras blah, blah..........go to India and they will think your mad!!!!!!!!

I know what you're saying Singhy. When I talk to my Asian customers about Rogan Josh or Jalfrezi they say (or claim at least) that they haven't heard of them. I have eaten in Indian people's houses and what they make me is more like chicken in spicy oxo gravy. It's okay but I prefer a thicker sauce, it's what you're used to I suppose.

[James.]

I'm pretty much obsessed with curry and partly agree with what Singh says. However when I was in India I was actually quite surprised at how much of the "British terminology" I saw. That said it was often the case that even though it had the same name it was a completely different dish. For example vindaloo is actually an authentic Goan dish with a fruity, tangy sauce. Over here it's just a shitload of chilli with a potato lobbed in (I like both although the Goan ones I had were off the chart).

The problem with British Indian food is that it is pretty much all Bengali-based whereas in India the food changes dramatically depending on where in the country you are. For example in places like Kerala in the South there is much more rice because of the land and climate (it's wet) together with lots of coconut. But then in somewhere like the Punjab in the North the curries are heavier and generally eaten with bread (naan, paratha, roti, etc) and not necessarily rice. Obviously there's shitoads more variations both within and between regions.

I'd recommend something like Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible as a great introduction to authentic curries, not just from India but all over the world (the last one I cooked was a Coriander Chicken Curry from Kenya). Generally home made curries are so much tastier and healther than most restaurants (many of which use pretty much the same base for all their curries then simply add meat/extra spice/whatever to distinguish it), you just need to be willing to put in the effort.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

If you go to Shimla Pinks near the train station double check your bill, I have been 3 times and the bill has always had dishes and drinks on it which we never ordered/received, very good food but be careful especially if you go with a group of well oiled friends.

[Babylon]

Is Shimla Pinks even still open? I thought it closed down.

[Mark 'expert' Lawrenson]

Is Shimla Pinks even still open? I thought it closed down.

Maybe it has now I went there during the summer though I am sure I did.

[Bellend Sebastian]

It shut down for ages but did re-open and I think it's there at the moment. Not been in its current incarnation, but I used to love the lunchtime buffet. Never that impressed by the evening menu though, seemed very expensive for what it was

[Dr The Singh]

I know what you're saying Singhy. When I talk to my Asian customers about Rogan Josh or Jalfrezi they say (or claim at least) that they haven't heard of them. I have eaten in Indian people's houses and what they make me is more like chicken in spicy oxo gravy. It's okay but I prefer a thicker sauce, it's what you're used to I suppose.

There's different variations we prefer s much richer thicker sauce , which is the standard, a more watery we call thari, and a much dryer curry we call sukha. It depends on the type of indian, all have different versions, one shouldn't assume Indian as being a collective set of people.

[Webbo]

There's different variations we prefer s much richer thicker sauce , which is the standard, a more watery we call thari, and a much dryer curry we call sukha. It depends on the type of indian, all have different versions, one shouldn't assume Indian as being a collective set of people.

I except that. I can differentiate between Hindu, Sikh and Muslim but I don't know enough to separate those people into different groups.