Moidul’s Hampton Wick Tandoori

Concerning Indian, I am a notorious snob. I’d like to think I don’t fall into the gap yahh, I have such an affinitehhh with Indiyahh clique, but it is true that I have spent quite a lot of time there and have logged it in my little and particular store of locations that truly speak to my heart. Rome and Southern India hold the top two spots, though London is quickly climbing the charts. The fact is, though, that having emotionally invested in a country and its cuisine it scourges me unbelievably to be served up a butchery of it. Akin to entering my house on Christmas day and spitting under my tree, really. And sadly, this is too often the case I find with Indian in the UK and even worse abroad on the continent or in the US. It is not the anglicised versions of Indian dishes that offends me so much (because, by the way, Chicken Tikka Masala doesn’t actually exist in India) – indeed, some of these taste fabulous and I’m not the sort to kick a fabulous dish out of bed. Ho ho. No – it’s the tasteless spicing, heavy handed use of cream, stale herbs, FOOD COLOURING absent seasoning, absent taste of much ‘Indian’ food that I object towards. There is absolutely nothing natural that can be put on fresh chicken to turn it red. Absolutely nothing.

Consequently, I eat a lot of deeply average Indian food and so when something special, something real comes along it rocks me right to my core. Excessive appreciation, effusive praise and a hell of a lot of gorging goes down. Do you normally find that when eating Indian, you almost always order far too much food and finish your dinner with metal bowls and plates of uneaten curry lining your table? Yeah, me too. Normally. Not this time. This was the experience I underwent when dining at Moidul’s Hampton Wick Tandoori, Hampton, South West London.

From the outside it looks like absolutely nothing. Peeling red paint, cringy lunch specials advertised. But forget appearances – this is the real deal and almost at real life Indian prices too! A whole banquet for ­­­9.95; consisting of a starter, main, vegetable side dish and rice or naan. Here size does in no way compensate for quantity. Almost day light robbery. My moral compass even clicked in on paying the tiny, tiny cheque at the end. Everything I ate was delicious, everything special and I was ashamed that this was to my utter shock. Homemade lime pickles in four different varieties including mango. Excellent raita – again, I’m a nightmare about raita – excellent mango chutney. Lamb Samosas which were fresh, incredibly deep with lamb and delicately spiced with cumin, coriander seed and chilli to compliment not complicate. Onion Bajis that were most obviously freshly made, not refried from frozen, and gigantic.