A review of Chaula's new Brighton restaurant in the Argus Guide, Friday March 23, 2012.

Andrew Kay smashes the coconut and cuts the ribbon at the new Chaula's in Brighton

I thought I'd eaten everything on Chaula's menu. As a regular take-away customer, I was pretty sure I'd been through the lot, so when I took a friend there for lunch on Saturday, I was confident my recommendation of chicken methi (fenugreek leaves) and baby aubergines stuffed with cashews would impress...

"We started up Friday Night Curry Night every third week on a Friday, at first we did it for five people but after a while I making them for 200 people"

I first encountered Chaula's back in the mist of time when it was a small take-away establishment just up the hill from Lewes Station. That said, it was no ordinary take-away, rather a shop selling pre-prepared Indian foods and snacks that you could take home and re-heat. I clearly remember buying a bag of assorted snacks and, having eaten them before I reached the car, going back for more...

After finding success selling her home-cooked, pre-packed Indian meals from a newsagents in Station Road, Lewes, Chaula Patel went on to open an Indian deli in the street. In 2007, she launched her first restaurant and 'one-stop food bar' in Eastgate House, bringing 'the food of India, not just Indian food' straight to people's tables. Following a refit and the launch of a new delivery service, The Guide caught up with Chaula to find out what's taken her business from strength to strength...

Providing an authentic taste of Gujarat, Chaula's in Station Street is not your average Indian take away, serving a mixture of chilled and frozen dishes taken from authentic recipes as eaten by Gujurati families at home with a few dishes invented by owner Chaula Patel.

It's a beautiful day. Sitting on some steps in the sunshine, I've got food from Chaula's, a bottle of French cider, and my lunch companion has been detained...

Name: Chaula Patel

Business Name: Chaula's

What do you sell? We sell curries which we make in the back of the shop. They are Gujurati style curries, and we make them all from scratch, which means we don't just put different ingredients into the same ready-made sauce, like some other places do. We use no preservatives and no additives. We make our own masalas to go into the curries, too...