Fiona Adams enjoys a tasty trip to Noush in Twickenham. "...unlike any other Indian restaurant that I’ve been in..."
Turkey, turkey, turkey. Sounds great before Christmas, but come December 26 I can guarantee you’ll be sick of the stuff. If that’s the case, head down to Noush in Twickenham, a new Indian restaurant and brainchild of Anil Dhar, former head chef of London’s famous Chutney Mary. You’ll shake up your tastebuds with new and unknown flavour combinations and banish turkey forever.
First of all, Noush (which means ‘to eat’ in Persian) is unlike any other Indian restaurant that I’ve been in. It is stylish with cool colours and clean lines and a light, airy feel. It doesn’t feel like somewhere you’d head after the pub, but a proper grown-up dining experience.
Its sounds crazy, but the food very much complements the décor with light, delicate flavours. Anil has long been fighting the classic British approach to curry and wants his customers to experience authentic flavours from all over India. The result is a diverse and interesting menu but what a delight it was to discover.
To start we tried crispy fried squid, Mattar Tikki Chaat (crispy mashed patties of green peas with tamarind and sweet yoghurt) and Pani Puri , a popular street snack in the Indian subcontinent comprising a spiced water (here with tamarind and mint) alongside crispy doughballs. The latter was a revelation, unlike anything I’ve ever tasted. You pour a little of the liquid on to your doughballs and pop it into your mouth for a flavour explosion.
For our main courses, I tried a Kerala prawn curry, flavoured with coconut. It was a glorious vibrant orange but its spices were carefully balanced. A few more prawns would have made it perfect but I could have happily eaten the sauce all night. I had wanted to plump for lemon rice but Anil advised that it would be too overpowering, so instead I had plain rice and an aubergine side dish, roasted with tomatoes. The rice was perfectly fluffy – the stuff of dreams when you’re trying to cook it at home.
We also sampled the Amritsari Chicken, a Kadhai style plate flavoured with stone moss and my husband’s favourite side dish, a dal, here with black lentils and tomato puree, which was rich and sumptuous. Incidentally, Anil has taken great care to select his wine list and recommended a fine Sangiovese to us, which matched the dishes very well.
I don’t usually make it to pudding but the choices here will suit any palate, whether you want something more ‘Western’ like the Chocolate Caramel Duo with salted caramel ice cream or a little more authentic like the Carrot Halwa with Shortcrust biscuits and Saffron Ice Cream. Here the carrots are steeped in milk and spices and cooked until they are almost cake-like. Cinnamon is threaded through it and it certainly feels Christmassy on a cold night. I went for a kulfi – or Indian ice cream – flavoured with pistachio. It was the perfect cooling finish to our exotic exploration.
Yes, we had a damn good nosh at Noush; it is definitely worth a visit.
You can take a look at the full Noush menu and make a reservation at noushrichmond.co.uk
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