EATING OUT
A firm favourite RACHEL MARTIN DISCOVERS WHY ASHOKA HAS BEEN ONE OF SHEFFIELD’S PREMIER INDIAN RESTAURANTS FOR NEARLY 50 YEARS. hen Ashoka opened 49 years ago it put Indian cuisine on Sheffield’s culinary map, and a quick glance through the plate glass frontage confirms that this is far from your average Indian restaurant. Inside the look is antiquated and timehonoured - walnut veneer, white tiled walls and olde English geometric flooring - meets brown leather banquettes and industrial ducting. Throw in a gallery of striking black and white family photographs and trendy chrome lighting and the place really comes to life. Easing our taste buds into the Indian swing we began the evening with an assortment of poppadums (0.85p), accompanied by a selection of homemade chutneys: including mango, red chilli and green tomato, mint yoghurt and a finely diced onion salad (0.85p). This was accompanied by a sneaky sampler of the famed Taxi Driver Curry - a delightful dry spiced dish of chicken and minced lamb, made at the request of a taxi driver who called into the restaurant some years ago (£11.50). On this occasion we skipped the starters, as we knew that we were in for a treat with our selection of main courses, which are sectioned up into tandoor, vegetables, curry and biryani.
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I have always been a creature of habit when it comes to Indian cuisine, and favour cream-based curries over those with a kick. I very much liked the sound of the Makhan Wallah (£10.50): a lightly spiced, richly flavoured creamy sauce with roasted cashew nuts, which paired fittingly with the smokey chicken tikka. My dining companion opted for a more adventurous dish and ordered the King Prawn Karamalised Kashmiri - labelled Ashoka’s most popular dish year-on-year. “How is your Kashmiri?” I asked. A minute of silence until my companion finally looked up, after demolishing half of it. “One of the best I have ever eaten” she replied, with a smile. I laughed, mainly because I was thinking the same about mine. Neither main course skimped on the main ingredient - chicken and prawns respectively which is often my gripe with curry. The Makhan Wallah gave off a lovely fragrance, with floral notes, and the Kashmiri king prawns were faultlessly cooked over charcoal and delicately spiced with cardamom and cloves. At Ashoka it really is all about the earthiness of the meat itself, which is of a different calibre. We ate all this with a selection of
impeccable breads; I would recommend the charcoal baked garlic butter naan (£3), which is superbly light and airy. I washed it down with an accompanying glass of Prosecco Borgo Gritti (£5.50). On the surface, the pocket-sized restaurant might not look like much, but inside it is a place of pilgrimage for curry connoisseurs. Year-on-year, Ashoka continues to be one of Sheffield’s most popular Indian restaurants – and rightly so – and on the evidence of the service and food on our visit, it has many more good years ahead. Ashoka 307 Ecclesall Rd, Sheffield, S11 8NX Tel: 0114 268 3029 www.ashoka1967.com
AT A GLANCE... * One for curry connoisseurs * Taxi driver special! * Faultless cooking
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