The Times
Punjabi food was another theme this week, with Jay Rayner heading at the behest of Jikoni founder Ravinder Bhogal to a Southall restaurant (the name means ‘Our Punjab’) that serves the “best Amritsari kulchas”, a tandoori-baked flaky bread stuffed with spiced mashed potato and served drenched in garlicky, herby ghee. “It truly is a marvel”, drooled Jay, “one of Greater London’s greater dishes.”
The restaurant consists of a narrow dining room with room for just 20 guests and a wall lined with photographs of chef Inder Mehemi with the Bollywood film stars he has fed on their trips to London: “That’s the real story here. In its own world this small, unassuming restaurant is a very big thing.”
The long menu has Nepalese-style momos and Indo-Chinese dishes labelled ‘Manchurian’, but the “real action” is with Punjabi dishes such as “khasta” (a crisp samosa); a mixed grill of chicken and lamb chops that have been “treated with uncommon care and attention, verging on the subtle”; and slow-cooked black-and-yellow lentil “Dhaba” daal, finished with hunks of cold butter.
Jay Rayner - 2025-09-14
