— how do they do it at the price? Plus superior house wines and great puddinng
EDINBURGH Indian
0 Kalpna (Vegetarian) Restauraan 3 St Patrick's Square. 667 9890. Mon-Sat 5.3tl-l 1pm; closed Sun. liven tigon Ronay agrees there's something special about Kalpna. Exquisite spicy food in airy surroundings. forthose who prefer their taste-buds to he titillated. not trampled. (£2thi25 l. IThe Cottage Tandoori Restaurant (1 Brougham Place. 22‘) 383‘). ()ite ring vegetarian options along with the carnivorous. this is a roomy. attractive restaurant. usualy v ery busy. After-dinner dolly mixtures add an unusually sweet touch. 0 Lancers S l lilmilttltl Place. Stockhridge. 3. 344-1. Mon- Stilt noon—2.30pm and 5.30—1 1.30pm. Moreehic than most and pricier. Lancers doexeellent vegetarian dishes and good curries for carnivores. Slightly starchy service from men in stiff collars. (23”) I Shaniana Ha Brougham Street.22‘)5578. Mon Sat o—l1.30pm.(‘losedStin Romantic atmosphere and charming sei'v ice. supplemented by delicious food. ( t-“ Hill 0 The Raj s0 Uta
‘l swearby mince,‘ says Gurmeet Mattu, native of Cromarty and the Punjab, author of anti-racist plays and D. c. Thomson comic strips, and selt-conlessed atypical Indian. His admiration for that most versatile ol victuals reflects his whole approach to cooking: ‘I like experimenting. I wouldn‘t buy a recipe book.‘
Having ‘picked up bits and pieces‘ lrom the parental kitchen. Gurmeet adopted the casual approach to Indian cuisine. ‘Most North Indian cooking
Henderson Strect(Leithl. 553308“. Mon Stiii noon 2.3Hpmand
5.3“ ll.3llpni. film set ‘ eum restaurant complete vyith cocktail shakers. I propeller tans. and , hit-part yv aitcrs. The colonial atmosphere may he take. but the loud is really .ivyltilly good.old chap. l £22l
I The Verandah Restaurant l“ l);ilry Road. 33~v 5828. Mon Sun noonv2.3t|pm and 5 ll vlipm. Small some vsould say intimate — and vvorth the queuing
vs hieh is almost ines itahle at weekends. l-irst-class tood, sttlitle and not too hot. and escellcnt service. (L25)
0 Royal Bengal 4 lioi rest Rtltltl. 2:5 fillti‘l. \ltin- Stilt noon ‘. *l'pmaiid 5.3Hpm midnight ('osy eotitei eiitiy house. Nice li‘iitl .ll lll\ c‘ [it lL‘L‘\
(LIN Lj\:
I Lothian Restaurant— KUShlS in l )i lltlllllt‘lttl Street. ‘ ‘IIS'NM. .\loii Sat
llt 't‘ll *pm and * \3llpin
t‘heap .lllti l‘.l\lc. iii titie gill tradition. but
\sell until: .in
investigative trip l'nliceiised. hut drinksto he had hour the [‘tll‘ next tlt‘tll til ll
lShanaz Tandoori Restaurant l2‘la Rose Street. IjolSol \lon Sat noon 2 3"pmand * 4" llpm. Sun.“ llpm. Distinttlv tin-lndiandecor and highly .itteiitivestatl llt‘llv‘ltltl‘». surprisingly
lllL'\l‘L'll\!\ e [nod and
COWBOY COOK
! starts with a basic sauce. You just start
enough per portion to feed a legion. (‘hef's speciality dinners for tvvo £23 £20
including wine.
0 Omar Khayyam l (irosy'enor Street. 225 2-18] Mon—Sat noon—midnight; Sun 4.3t)pm--midnight. Big. pleasant. edible. good vegetarian. not pricey. (£32)
I Himalaya Restaurant 171 Bruntsl'ield Place. 22‘) 8216. Mon---Stln
noon —2pm and Split-l‘llldlllgllll l-‘ri Sat till lam. Sit-in and takeaway. reasonath priced and pleasantly spiced. even it the cuisine doesn't quite scale the culinary heights its name suggests. l’lcasant atmosphere and stall. (£25)
Italians
I Tinelli l3” Iiastci' Road. (521932.31on—Sat \oon--2.3tlpm.
o. 10— l lpm. liscape from the icy Winds oil I .cith into this warm cave ol a restaurant. (harming
\y alters sc rye ltalian cuisine vvith a nod in the direction of local ingredients. l'nique menu at surprisingly reasonable prices. (£16)
I Gordon's Trattoria 331 High Street. 225 7992, Noon- 3am. seven days. l)imn—to-carth. but highly edihlc food in a long. thin restaurant on the Royal .‘ylileBtisy' vvhcn it gets late but tisually very tricndly. (£16)
chopping up onions and trying them.
i Thenlstartloolingabout.‘
Being an lndian who cooks is. says Gurmeet, a great weight on his shoulders and he is persuaded into doing a lot of entertaining. He dismisses the Indian restaurant approach to eating as ‘a bit like meat and two veg.“ At home, he tends to cooki a lot at dillerentthings—a meat curry. vegetable curry, dhal, salad. pooris. ‘lt‘s nice tuthrowtogethera selection and everyone justdives in.‘ I
There are certain delicacies from the : Mattu kitchen which don‘t appear in most restaurants: ‘cornbread (that's a
pure bastard to make), and i make
kebabs like very small hamburgers spiced and tried. That sounds disgusting. tull ol colesterol.‘ From his ‘long, thin kitchen‘, Gurmeet Mattu is prepared to give away one trade secret, at risk at threats‘ from irate restaurateurs. ‘Westerners. it seems, could learn something from the Eastern approach to the onion. ‘Don‘t chop them. Purée the buggers and throw them in the pot and you’re there. That's how restaurants thicken the sauce — it makes all the ditterence.‘ You read it here lirst. (Julie Morrice)
‘ “ * ‘ DARIO’
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.- . .- ,g.‘ign_¢jl.e,\i?§giings.till late. on 226 2633.
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'l‘he list is ":s .-\pril was 59