Mumtaz, Bradford

I might just be falling out of love with Mumtaz. I’ve been a big fan since my first visit to the original Bradford restaurant 7 or 8 years ago, and have never been disappointed with a meal there or in the Leeds branch.

Not everything they produce is quite so good though. The supermarket ready meals are a mixed bag (although still better than virtually all the store own branded versions) and I’ve had poor food from the Jaldi Jaldi takeaway outlets. There were just a few signs in our Bradford meal over the weekend that all might not be well in mothership of the empire either.

That’s not to say we weren’t well fed though. Some things were very good, like they always have been. The pickle tray has always been a cut above, and still is. The tamarind chutney is gooey and tangy and lovely, there are two varieties of raita both made with proper, thick yoghurt and the lime pickle is fierce. What the hell the cheap pitted black olives are doing there I have no idea but I’m willing to overlook them as a foolish mistake.

A piece of chicken tikka on the bone was even hotter than the lime pickle, surprising but not in a bad way. The heat was tempered by lovely bits of charred marinade, singing with ginger, encasing still tender meat.

It was the curries that let the side down a bit. Both a karahi lamb and a karahi channa tasted a bit mass-produced, a bit like commodity curries made in bulk from a base paste. I could be completely wide of the mark but I have a sneaking suspicion they pre-cook everything in the same kitchen that supplies those ready meals and takeaways.

If I’m right then they still scrub up well after being fried in a good splash of ghee with extra ginger, garlic and coriander. I was merrily scooping away with my roti for ages. Something was slightly lacking though, they didn’t have that vibrancy and depth of flavour I seem to recall from visits past.

Back to the usual high standard with the bread though, each tandoori roti costing 85p a pop was thin, beautifully crisped and absolutely bloody enormous. They know how to cook rice too.

I haven’t fallen out of love with Mumtaz yet, and I hope they don’t give me cause to. A visit here is always a pleasure, the huge, bling, marble clad restaurant is an experience in itself and I like the atmosphere, lively with the chatter of families rather than the clatter of the booze-fuelled. That lack of booze also makes it nigh on impossible to spend over fifteen quid a head. We paid £28 including a tip. 

7/10

Great Horton Road

Bradford

BD7 3HS

www.mumtaz.co.uk

Chappati Corner, Cheetham Hill, Manchester

The cheap and cheerful theme is continuing round here at the moment, I've not been out for a meal costing more than a tenner in weeks. I had to travel from Salford up to Oldham a few days ago, and with only six quid on me and a large appetite a curry café visit en route through Manchester was inevitable.

Chapatti Corner is one of several on the Cheetham Hill Road strip, none of which I'm familiar with.  Selected completely at random it did the job with aplomb. A colossal portion, reasonably distinctive curries (far better than the beige slop appearance would suggest) of which the chickpeas were the best and added zip from a generous topping of ginger, coriander and chilli.

Given the name of the place I had to order a chapati on the side, anyone hanging the name of their restaurant on one particular foodstuff ought to make sure they do it well. Thankfully they did. The bread was the best thing about the meal, big, light and crisp, probably the best bread I've had in a curry caff and a bargain at 50p.

I was charged a fiver for rice and three curries, less than the £5.80 advertised on the menu, and handy given I needed my spare quid for that chapati. Cheap, satisfying food in a grubby caff, cricket in Urdu on the telly. That's how they roll in Cheetham Hill.

6/10

Chappati Corner
Cheetham Hill Road
Manchester

Kebab week: Tikkas

And finally, to round off kebab week (belatedly, I should have called it kebab fortnight) I bring you tikkas. Apparently the word tikka means simply bits or pieces, so anything will do really. Get some meat, or perhaps even some cheese, marinade it, skewer it and grill it. The essence of a kebab, Indian style.

My recipe isn't agressively spiced as I like something fairly gentle with chicken. It's fragrant rather than fiery, with the flavour of ginger and garam masala to the fore. Chicken thighs are best for this as they're moister and tastier, although they can sometimes go a bit rubbery when you grill them the marinading should take care of that. As an alternative a bit of liver would also work well.

I served these with chapattis, home made raita and a spiced carrot and fennel salad.

This is enough to serve 2 people

For the chicken

400g (about 4) chicken thighs, each one cut into 3 or 4 pieces
large thumb ginger
3-4 cloves garlic
juice large lemon
1 tsp salt
100 ml thick natural yoghurt
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp hot curry powder

 For the carrot and fennel salad

1 head of fennel
2 carrots
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
sunflower oil and salt

1. Throw the chicken pieces into a bowl with the lemon juice and salt. Grate or crush the garlic and ginger and add them to the bowl. Give it a good mix then cover and put in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour, or up to 4.

2. After at least an hour throw in the other marinade ingredients with the chicken (the yoghurt, garam masala, curry powder and turmeric). Give it a good mix up then cover and put back in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour, but overnight will be just fine.

3. Remove the chicken from the fridge at least an hour before you want to cook it, and thread the pieces onto skewers.

4. Make the carrot and fennel salad by thinly slicing the fennel and grating the carrot into a bowl, then heat a tablespoon of oil in a pan and throw in the cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Leave them in the pan until they start to crackle and smell fragrant, then take them off the heat before they burn. Leave to cool for a couple of minutes then stir them through the carrot and fennel and a grind of salt to taste.

5. Heat up the grill and grill your kebabs until they're tender inside and a bit charred on the edges. It will probably take around 7 or 8 minutes in total.

6. Serve immediately with warmed chapattis or naan, the carrot and fennel salad and some home made of shop bought raita.

That's it for kebab week. As well as tikkas I've made koftas, falafel and satay. All delicious in their own way but my favourite has to be the kofta, you just can't beat lamb when it comes to kebabs. Over and out, I'm off for a doner...