HEALTH & BEAUTY
- life
Indian food at
its very best
The Tamarind introduces a new meaning to Indian food
as we know it. With exciting new dishes backed up with
presentation and service that you would expect from a
two rosette establishment, we are left with no doubts that
this new and exciting restaurant will thrive.
There’s been a revolution
going on in Indian cuisine and
at last, the ripples from the
big splash that happened in
London a few years ago, are
reaching our Island shores.
The Tamarind restaurant in Upper
St James Street, Newport is quietly
bringing a new look and new
tastes to the traditional image of a
Friday night curry.
Forget flock wallpaper – here
the décor is more understated
urban cool with its white walls and
floors and crisp white tablecloths.
The staff are friendly and attentive
and are more than happy to discuss
the finer points of Indian regional
cuisine.
Fish is a staple in the diet
of many coastal regions of
India and this is reflected in
the menu at the Tamarind.
Along with the more traditional
chicken tikka, and lamb tikka
kebabs (£4.50), our starters
included mussels steamed with
garlic, shallots and wine (£5.65)
and tiger prawns cooked with
butter and peanut sauce (£5.45)
Samosas are out in favour of
the more delicately made and
flavoured Shingara (£3.05); a
light homemade pastry filled with
vegetables and served with salad.
Other starters rarely seen in
a standard curry house include
baby squid stir-fried with shallots,
green peppers and tomatoes and
sprinkled with black pepper and a
Nargis Kebab, minced lamb lightly
spiced with eggs (£3.50).
Our
main
courses
were
just as varied and delicious.
We
tried
Chicken
Jalfrezi,
marinated
chicken
prepared
with onions, tomatoes, capsicum
and
green
chillies
(£8.50)
which was wonderfully tender.
Another favourite was the Crispy
Chicken which is deep fried with
pineapple and tossed in a sweet
and sour sauce (£8.95) – according
to staff this dish is proving a big
hit with the island’s young female
population.
The standard mixed vegetable
curry makes way for Bhutta
Hara Pyaaz, a dish of stir fried
baby corn with mushroom and
spring onion (£4.95) and Paneer
do Piaza, home-made cottage
cheese with bell pepper, green
chilli and spring onion (£4.95).
Instead of the usual bowl of plain
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rice we tried the vegetable and
mushroom rice – the addition of
the shredded vegetables made the
rice wonderfully light.
The delicious Naan bread proved
an effective weapon in lessening
the heat from a rogue mustard seed
in the Dum Ke Aloo, hot and spicy
potatoes cooked with mustard
seeds and tomatoes (£3.50).
And the Baingan Mirchi Ka Salan,
baby aubergine in chilli peanut,
coconut and tamarind was another
pleasantly hot adventure.
On a return visit I would be
tempted to try the Tandoori Sea
Bass (£12.95) or the Samundai
Machlic, roasted cod with crispy
squid served with tomato, chilli
and yoghurt sauce (£13.10).
If all this seems a little too new
for some tastes don’t worry
– the menu still in 6