Andrew Kay is curry crazy and hot for Chaula's in
Lewes
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.
When proprietor and cook Chaula opened the restaurant proper she
created what has to be one of the best Indian restaurants for miles
around. Now I know that of late I have written favourably about a
few Indian restaurants. I believe this to be a general improvement
in Indian cuisine as a whole and that people like Chaula have upped
the ante.
It's a while since I had been in and the first thing I noticed
were vast changes in the layout: an extra dining room and new
facilities, all very smart and far more open. Chaula, as ever, was
on hand with a warm welcome and I simply handed her the reins.
There were bound to be new dishes that she would want me to try and
I am happy to leave those decisions to the chef.
Our waiter brought us a beer and asked if we would like
poppadoms. We of course said yes and asked for some plain and some
spicy. The surprise is that they are the lightest of poppadoms,
wafer thin and crisp, and rather than having pepper in the spiced
ones, they are sprinkled with finely diced onion, chilli and
spices. We almost fought over the last fragments.
Our starters then arrived, Chaula clearly of the opinion that I
have a far greater appetite than is a reality, but I did my best
and so did Mr R. We loved the cassava chips, a fiery dish that
balances sweet with hot. Likewise the mushrooms with ginger and
garlic, which was delightfully fresh. The chicken wings were meaty
and sticky with spice but my favourite was a bhel puri, crisp puffs
filled with chick pea and dressed with crisp vermicelli, tamarind
and yoghurt and lots of spice. I wanted to eat the lot but was
scared to peak too soon.
And I was right to stop when I did as our next dishes soon
arrived. A lamb curry heavy with ginger and garlic was cooked to
perfection, the meat simply falling apart at the touch of a fork
and yet retaining a good meaty flavour. Chicken jalfrezi was
equally good, buzzing with flavour, fiery but not agonisingly so.
An art that Chaula has is the use of chilli to impart flavour
rather than simply delivering tongue-searing heat.
As a lover of paneer I was delighted to see a sweet paneer
curry, rich with tomato and fresh spice. The tarka dahl was also
completely delicious as was a bowl of plain spinach, another
favourite of mine that hit exactly the right note.
With so much going on one hardly needs side dishes but true to
form out came perfect pilau rice and a good roti. I was loathe to
accept the offer of a naan but hated to refuse. How glad I was when
the lightest of breads arrived shiny with ghee and speckled with
chilli and garlic. If this is what naan should be like, then bring
me more.
Chaula is passionate about what she does and her regional dishes
are superb. The service is faultless too and the entire operation
runs like clockwork, even when dealing with a massive party at the
table by us who wanted to order individually and have separate
bills.
With no room for dessert I have had the gulab jammu before and
had to open a button - Chaula looked crestfallen. So we accepted
kulfi, mango for Mr R and a spicy one for me. It was almost a dish
too far but we managed.
Chaula's is worth a drive to Lewes for sure, and I hope she
keeps her promise and finds premises in Brighton very soon. Until
then you can find her prepared dishes in good shops like Infinity
Foods.
Chaula's, Eastgate House, 6 Eastgate Street, Lewes BN7 2LP
Tel: 01273 476707
www.chaulas.co.uk
Review from Latest Homes magazine - thelatest.co.uk
Where do you go for hot stuff? andrew@thelatest.co.uk