REVIEW: Mad(ras) Men

Booking Name: Cameron Virtue (as chosen by The Bulldosa)
The Pub Aforehand: The Bon Accord, North Street
In Attendance: The Bulldosa, Trampy, The Tramp, Ravi Peshwari, The Gheezer ... and a returning special guest!
Decor: Large and airy, neutral colours and art prints on the wall, the odd pot plant.
Expectations: Few Clubbers recognised the name initally but there were flickers of recognition when they were informed that the Madras Palace was previously Panjea, with the award-winning chef PJ. That seemed to stoke up anticipation of a good feed.
The Experience:
October is a good month for revolutions. Just ask the Russians. But what on Earth would TATTGOC be like if long-time spicy architects Trampy and The Tramp were overthrown? That was the tantalising prospect of October’s recent official meet-up, where long-suffering lieutenant The Bulldosa took up the reins to organise what would undoubtedly be the most spectacular TATTGOC to date ...
One immediate upshot of meeting on a Friday was the busyness of the pub aforehand – the Bon Accord, Charing Cross’s destination boozer for the real ale crowd, was stowed by 7pm, where youngling mastermind The Bulldosa sat, alone, waiting for the first domino in his elaborate schema to fall. The Gheezer was first to arrive, closely followed by The Tramps, who both had a cheerful countenance and notable spring in their step having shucked off the heavy logistical load of TATTGOC responsibility (The Tramp still had his trusty camera though). Then Ravi Peshwari arrived, giving the thumbs-up to Inveralmond Brewery's ale Ossian as a pre-curry sharpener. Those offering their apologies included Sir Spicy Lover (babysitting), Rogan Josh Homme (London Film Festival) and Rabbie Shankar (working late and “wet pants”). The Bulldosa did have one special ace to play however ... a special returning guest.


The name is new but the place has been around for a while. Formerly Panjea, and before that PJ’s (and before even that a garage), the current incarnation retains a selection of notable press clippings in the vestibule to attest to its spicy provenance. Inside, it’s a big, single room – large enough to accommodate a decent bar and a separate but notably comfortable-looking waiting area for those picking up takeaways. In a burst of initial enthusiasm, the Bulldosa had initially enquired about a table for eight or so but it looked like it would be another six-strong outing, although the promised wild card/wild rover had yet to materialise. The restaurant was pretty much empty but some inviting mood music and tantalising odours made it seem most welcoming.
The Madras Palace boasted Kingfisher on tap and since that venerable company have been kind enough to support the blog, it seemed appropriate to order up a round. Clearly comfortable in his leading role, the Bulldosa rapped out how things would go down – for only the second (or maybe third) time in TATTGOC history, we’d be chowing down on a buffet. The assembled Curry Clubbers got a sneak preview of their choices as they attended the buffet to pick up some poppadoms and selected dips (including, to Ravi Peshwari’s approval, some jalapeno chilis alongside the usual mango chutney and spiced onions). Just as the team cracked into their poppadoms, the mystery guest swung in the door like Dick Turpin, or perhaps Zorro: it was none other than The Birmingham Wan, who’d returned from his current home of Leeds to report back to his TATTGOC brethren!


Another round of Kingfishers was sought, while the Clubbers took a wee break between courses. The Bulldosa confessed he’d been swayed to undertake the buffet option to avoid tangling with the ever-knotty rice/naan equation but to that end, he had only half-succeeded; while Clubbers would be able to help themselves to as much or little rice as they desired during their visit to the buffet proper, there was still the responsibility of ordering a la carte naans for the assembled. With bold authority that belied his nervousness, the Bulldosa requested the classic tricolore of plain, garlic and peshwari.



In fact, it looked like a particularly hellish Stars In Their Eyes instalment in which two bearded brickies had both decided to emulate late-career Cher. "Where's your wiccan hat?" asked one Clubber. "On my wiccan head!" replied Trampy. The hideous rubber noses were passed around for general hijinx, including some unwelcome trouser-based manipulations that would give even Grotbags pause (there's some pictorial evidence in the sidebar slideshow but be warned: those conks go in some fairly unsavoury places).


And while you might imagine things will get back to normal next month, bear in mind it will be the blog's second birthday ...
Range Of Drinks: The mighty Kingfisher on tap, and Tennent’s too.

Lowlights: The smallish turnout was emphasised by a lack of other diners.
The Verdict: A filling – and fulfilling – experience!
The Damage: £108.00 (tip £12)
SOME OTHER RECENT TATTGOC OUTINGS
The Viceroy, Paisley Road
Thali, Merchant City
Alishan Tandoori, Battlefield Road
Chillies West End, Woodlands Road
Tastin' With The Tramps: Bakin' The Nation's Noodle!

Recently, TATTGOC has been putting a considerable amount of effort into sourcing free curry-related products. For who better to be a spicy focus group than the Curry Lovers Of The Year 2010? That's the thinking behind Tastin' With The Tramps, a taste test with a difference in that ... in that ... actually, it's pretty much what you would expect from a standard taste test. So what's on the menu this time? It's a brand-new flavour of The Nation's Noodle. Let's go tastin' with The Tramps!
The Product: The Nation's Noodle, Chip Shop Curry flavour

The Pitch: A tip of the hat to the PR company handling The Nation's Noodle account. Mere days after news broke that TATTGOC had been awarded Scottish Curry Lovers Of The Year 2010, a keen PR representative got in touch with the blog and suggested – nay, DEMANDED – that we be sent a stack of Chip Shop Curry flavour noodles. At that time (like, about six months ago) this mysterious new flavour had yet to hit supermarket and all-night garage shelves. Super!

The Packaging: At first glance, you might well mistake the black pot of the The Nation's Noodle for a Pot Noodle (specifically the black-potted Bombay Bad Boy flavour). It might also be confusing because The Nation's Noodle is produced by Golden Wonder and, hey, didn't Golden Wonder used to make Pot Noodle? So what happened? After a period of online investigation, The Tramp discovered that Golden Wonder were bought by Unilever in 1995, and then sold on to another company in 2006 (except Unilever hung on to the Pot Noodle brand). So Golden Wonder launched The Nation's Noodle (in seven different flavours) to compete directly with their former product, essentially plotting to murder its own offspring. It's like a classic Greek tragedy! Except instead of blood you have those little sachets of sauce ... although, rather disappointingly, The Nation's Noodle doesn't contain those little sachets of sauce. See? No sachets ...

The Process: So simple to prepare, even a child could do it (although you probably wouldn't want your kid to be mucking about with boiling water). The traditional "fill line" seemed a little lower than The Tramps remembered but maybe they were just proportionally bigger. So after adding the suggested amount of boiling water, The Tramps then had to wait for five minutes ...

... and one stir later, the noodles were good to go. But it was only at this late stage that Trampy realised that The Nation's Noodle included sultanas in their Curry Chip Shop recipe. He no like sultanas! Or any dried fruit! Still, the noodles seemed to rehydrate OK.

So after some initially tentative forkfuls, what did the Tramps think?
Trampy says: "Grrr, sultanas. And there are bits of apple in here too. Still, I like noodles and these ones are OK, although I had a different sort of flavour in my head ... I think chip shop curry sauce is maybe more of an English thing, like mushy peas? I could be wrong. It seems like sacrilege for a curry lover to say this but I almost wish we'd been sent one of the other flavours. [THREE MINUTES LATER] Hey, I totally ate all of it, even some of the sultanas! I guess I must have been hungry ..."

The Tramp says: "My initial reaction was shock that there was no sachet involved. In terms of taste, it's not very spicy but it does have that mild powdered curry sauce feel to it. The taste improved towards the bottom of the pot as it thickened up a bit. It's been many years since I've had a potted noodle so this was an interesting experiment. I wouldn't necessarily go out of my way to buy it ... but I am now intrigued enough to try some rival brands. It would be very easy to mistake The Nation's Noodle for a Pot Noodle on the shelf, which I assume must be deliberate."

The Verdict: As far as instant hot snacks targeted at young men aged 12-30 are concerned, The Nation's Noodle ticks a lot of boxes. And while this particular taste test might not have got the Tramps jumping up and down in excitement, it has alerted them to the many different curry-flavoured instant noodles that are currently available. Which means more analysis ahead!
Do you have a curry-related foodstuff you're launching into the crowded modern marketplace where a recommendation from appropriate enthusiasts might help? If so, drop us an introductory line at trampyandthetramp@gmail.com and see YOUR product featured on ... Tastin' With The Tramps!
PREVIOUSLY DEVOURED
Mr Singh's Bangras!
From Our Foreign Curryspondent ... Dateline: Kerala!
Greetings from India, TATTGOC faithful. Myself and Saagatha Christie are a month into a three-month Indian odyssey and the food has been by far the highlight of our trip so far. In the north we were treated to incredible rich curries and side dishes with a huge array of breads to mop them up with. I thought that east London was good for Asian food but it isn't even close to the stuff we have been served, breakfast, lunch and dinner all over India. Rotis, naans, chapatis and parathas brought to your table freshly made and glistening with ghee. One particular paratha we ate was mixed with potato and the result was like a giant tattie scone. We got served three slices of this with our thali and I worked out that it was equivalent to around nine tattie scones. Gut-busting heaven. My diet has been high-fat, high-carb, mostly vegetarian ... but maximum taste and flavour.
I've eaten my own body weight in bread and half of that in paneer cheese. The occasional chicken dish such as Delhi's United Coffee House butter chicken is some of the finest food I have ever eaten. A new dish to me is Malai Kofta, which is paneer cheese and potato in crumb-coated balls, deep-fried (kind of like a cheesy potato croquette) which sits in an exquisite creamy, spicy, cashew sauce (or gravy as the sauces are known here). "Delicious gravies" is a phrase which is as nice to say and hear in an Indian accent as the "gravies" are to taste. Amazing dhals (spicy or cooling), curd, fried okra and various pickles and chutneys all add to the depth of variety in the cuisine. I really could eat it all day, every day.
In our favourite restaurant in Fort Cochin, Dal Roti, the owner (a real character who reminds us of one of the guys that Eddie Murphy plays in the barbershop of Coming To America) told us that there are thousands of dishes in India – all which have a particular combination of spices passed down through generations. Change an ingredient slightly or the quantity of spice and you change the dish. Gordon Ramsay apparently cooked in the Dal Roti kitchen during his recent TV tour of India and used olive oil instead of coconut oil. Ramsay's meal was deemed inferior in a taste-off between him and the Dal Roti cooks. Ye cannae teach yer granny to suck eggs!
This, according to the owner, means that India is a nation of cooks, not chefs. They do not necessarily innovate; they follow the wisdom of thousands of years. I'm in no position to argue with that.While in Kerala, myself and Saagatha Christie went on a day's cookery course with Nimmy Paul. We learned a whole host of Keralan dishes and then got to eat them. We learned to make sambar (a heart vegetable broth kind of like a dhal), rasaam (a fiery soup), marinated and shallow fried Karimmen or Black Pearl fish (like a perch) and Keralan prawn curry.
That was just for lunch ... our evening meal was as follows:
- Drumstick soup (drumstick is a vegetable called murungakkai ... nope, me neither)
- Paneer and potato curry with rice pancake
- Roast chicken, dhal and chapati
- Ginger cake and ice creamAll washed down with delicious Kingfisher beer.
The highlight for me was learning how to make my own paneer cheese. It's incredibly easy, actually. All you need is milk and lime. Bring the milk almost to the boil then add the juice of one lime. Turn off the heat and stir. Then drain off the liquid with a muslin cloth and put something heavy on it for a few minutes. Hey presto, delicious cheese!
We also made our own chapatis and paratha. A great day!
An honourable mention also goes to the massive blue King Prawns we bought beside the canal on a backwater boat trip in Kerala. The crew cooked them up for us and it was amazing – a really fiery, delicious treat.
That's all for now. I'm off to get some lunch ...
Perhaps Inevitably, The Race To Be Curry Capital Hots Up

Since we last reported on the new, revivified Curry Capital competition, the four restaurants that will represent Glasgow have been selected. They are:
Balbir's, 7 Church Street
KoolBa, 109 Candleriggs
Mister Singh's, 149 Elderslie Street
Mother India's Cafe, 1355 Argyle Street
As The Tramp might say, "oaft!" It's pretty strong team, we think you'll agree. But to genuinely get behind Glasgow's bid to win the crown for a record fourth time, you need to vote once (vote often). The closing date is November 1 and the overall winner will be announced in December. So get ye to:
www.glasgow.gov.uk/currycapital
Tell your friends!
REVIEW: Of Vice And Men

Booking Name: None required.
The Pub Aforehand: The Old Toll Bar, Paisley Road West
In Attendance: Trampy, The Tramp, The Bulldosa, Rabbie Shankar, Sir Spicy Lover and Ravi Peshwari
Decor: Just a couple of doors down from the legendary Grand Ole Opry, The Viceroy boasts classic signage that makes it look like burnished part of Glasgow’s rich curry heritage; inside, it’s bright and notably spotless, with a compact buffet station in one corner and tasteful art prints on its neutral walls.
Expectations: With no Curry Clubber claiming previous experience of The Viceroy, and a surprising lack of information about the establishment available online, this was truly to be a journey into the unknown.
The Experience:

Ravi Peshwari was first to arrive, and keen to share news of his latest technological acquisition. The Bulldosa was next, closely followed by Rabbie Shankar and Sir Spicy Lover, who managed to catch TATTGOC’s slackest of loose cannons right in the act of ordering drinks, therefore reaping the fizzy rewards. Among the general chit-chat and ribald bonhomie, there seemed to be a more intense level of anticipation than usual. The Viceroy, it seems, was an almost totally unknown quality, although everyone had a story about the nearby Grand Ole Opry, mostly of the rootin-tootin variety: the admirable but possibly confusing bar queueing system, late-night encounters with the chuck wagon and dramatic six-gun shootouts (staged, for the most part). But before you knew it, it was time to saddle up and mosey on over the road.

Even for these grizzled curry veterans, The Viceroy’s extensive menu took quite a while to properly parse – no great inconvenience when you have free lager, though. A request for poppadoms was placed, belayed and then sort-of placed again – the customary brittle discs arrived with spiced onions and also a thin, aromatic curry sauce which was a table-wide hit. Sensing hunger pangs, The Tramp whipped everyone toward a starter consensus, ensuring that there would be a spicy chop for each Clubber, on top of the shared tandoori and vegetarian platters. It seemed a winning ruse, and while the stylish square starter sideplates seemed slightly at odds with the cheerful red paper tableclothes, it hardly mattered when the sizzling dishes arrived. The selections were uniformly excellent, and the “one man, one chop” strategy appeared to survive its first contact with the enemy.

With bopping background music and another couple of tables in, there was an amiable atmosphere brewing in the Viceroy, and after such great starters, various Clubbers began to enquire as to how the Tramps stumbled onto the place. Turns out it was actually The Bulldosa who first spotted it while working nearby. After noting the classic signage, BuDo was also intrigued by a handwritten note in the window encouraging passers-by to try this “happy and cosy place”. Winningly, it invited interested parties to “come in and see our arrangement ... or come in for a chat”. That definitely sounds TATTGOC-friendly. There were also posters advertising a 2-for-1 curry offer, although that applied to a set menu and everyone knows the untameable free-thinkers of Curry Club generally prefer the wide open prairies of a la carte selections.

It’s traditional to get a tableshot of TATTGOC doing what they do best, but in this instance they were pre-empted by the waiter, who took a picture of the chomping crew for the restaurant’s own records (it’s unclear whether this portrait was taken before or after an impressive number of empty Kingfisher bottles began congregating at one end of the table). Despite the bountiful starters, there were clean plates and dishes all round, and a rousing murmur of appreciation for the Viceroy’s efforts. As the waiter presented the extremely reasonable bill, Sir Spicy Lover enquired as to how long the place had been open. Just six weeks, as it turned out. Hopefully it can carve out a niche among Southside curry lovers (although there already looks to be competition opening just a couple of doors down – a place called "Mr India’s Thali", already painted as a possible TATTGOC destination in 2011).

Highlights: Wide range of dishes, spotlessly clean, and terrific food across the board. BYOB a real bonus too.
Lowlights: Perhaps a little brightly-lit for intimate dining.
The Verdict: An enthralling experience!
The Damage: £94.75 (tip £13.25)
The Viceroy doesn't have a website but if you fancy checking out this TATTGOC-approved curryhouse, it's at 480 Paisley Road, G5 8RE and you can ring them at 0141 429 4161