I like learning.
I think this is why I have such an interest in food – because there is so much learning involved. From the learning of how food is processed in our bodies and how they feed our minds and our physical bodies to the learning of how different cultures of foods were developed.
One evening I discovered a great Indian restaurant in Stanmore called Maurya – the greatness of it was that it is an authentic family owned restaurant where you can taste their love for cooking in their dishes. They pride themselves in healthy cooking with using minimal oils and butters and creams that are usually found in Indian curries.
While we flicked through the menu and chatted away we munched on some crispy poppadoms with some mango chutney, a spicy chutney and a mint and yogurt sauce.
We started by sharing some Murg Malai Tikka (£4.95), which are pieces of boneless chicken that have been marinated in a cream, yogurt and spices and then cooked in a clay oven and some Nizami Seekh Kebab (£4.95), which are kebabs that are made of minced lamb mixed with gorgeous spices and cooked in a clay oven.
I believe that Asian cuisine is usually about sharing different dishes and sharing all the experiences of the dishes together. It is a very social affair.
The chicken was tender and succulent and it had a lovely subtle flavour. The kebabs were bursting with flavours and spices and the texture was very soft.
For our mains we shared some Palak Paneer (£4.95), a paneer and spinach curry, and some Rogan Josh (£7.45), a lamb curry cooked with onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. We also had some Kesar Pilau (£2.95), a saffron flavoured rice, and some Garlic Naan, a chewy flat bread, to go along with the curries.
Both curries were full of flavour – the Paneer was the perfect mixture of hard and soft and the lamb was soft and fell apart. Paneer is a cheese made of cows milk which has the flavour of mozzarella but the texture of halloumi. The spinach has melted into the curry sauce and gave it a fresh taste. The lamb curry sauce had some flavours of the lamb stock and the creaminess was delicious.
Well priced, good food and had a chilled out feel – a mixture of a pub and an Indian restaurant.
