3 Indians; 11-18 Jun 10

There was a time when all Indian restaurants were the same. There was one in every town and most villages and they served the same formulaic fare: lamb, beef, chicken or fish with each of maybe 6 or 8 different curries. There was an element of the restaurant equivalent of  ‘pile it high sell it cheap’ and generations of students have survived on little else.

The fact that they were all run by Bangladeshis didn’t concern us. As far as we were concerned they were all Indians and the right place to go after an evening at the pub. And they were brilliantly parodied by ‘Goodness Gracious Me’ where Indians ended up a night at an English restaurant demanding ‘mild food’.

But the world slowly changes and the Indian restaurant scene is no different and in the last week or so I’ve enjoyed ‘Indian food’ in 3 quite different ‘Indian restaurants’.

Indian number 1 was the Massala Club in Ludlow. You might ask why on earth I would eat Indian food in Ludlow, generally regarded as the foodie capital of the UK. Fair question but it’s a bit of a tradition for me and a group of colleagues from a company in the neighbourhood with which I work. And in these days of tough economic conditions you can’t be breaking the corporate bank on expensive gourmet fare.

But the Massala Club is not an Indian restaurant. It proudly advertises itself as a Balgladeshi restaurant selling ‘authentic bangladeshi cuisine’ from the Sylhet region. Inside its bright and cheerful with a modern decor and an excellent menu including ‘signature dishes’ . My how times have changed. And there is also a decent selection of wines by the glass.

Then earlier this week I went with Fiona and Peter, colleagues from the County Council, to Cocum on Castle Hill in Cambridge. Now Cocum is an Indian restaurant specialising in Kerala village cuisine. Of the three restaurants in this review it was perhaps the closest to the old model in terms of decor and surroundings but the food was definitely something else. Kerala is in the South West of India and boasts fine sea food and fiery curries. Cocum excels in such dishes and in Dosas and Biriyanies which are specialties of that part of the world.

Finally last night it was time to celebrate my wedding anniversary (32 years!) with friends at Shilpa in Papworth Everard. Shipla is really smart (remember Shilpa Shetty on Big Brother, also really smart but as far as I know no connection). Light and airy, white table cloths, quality table ware with the sort of fancy shaped plates that modern restaurants indulge in and a menu featuring ‘fusion dishes’. But just for a change Shilpa is still owned and run by Bangladeshis but claims to be offering modern Indian dishes from across the sub-continent. In common with the other two prices are still reasonable with main courses below £10 and, because we were there mid-week, an incredible menu offering for £13.50. It was a splendid evening .

So: Indian food comes of age. That’s good news but the only disappointment might be a natural consequence. The curries themselves see to have calmed down. Maybe that’s the result of a maturing cuisine when it’s not necessary to use strength of the curry to conceal the poor quality of the meat. With less fire there’s more chance for the flavour of all the other herbs and spices being used to come through. But it’s still not the same if you don’t experience a strong curry after-burn!