A Prawn-Mutter Curry-Heute

A home made treat, for one

Hector has not cooked a Curry for weeks.
The King Prawn with Peas is probably the fastest Curry one can produce.

The Masala was reduced before adding the Prawns and the Israeli 'Zahatar' herbs added to make the Curry just how I like it.


Every day is a good day to eat Curry.

Yadgar : The Magnificent Seven plus one

Mr Holden is in town, we are 'Quore Ate'

Today is the day of the assembled mass at the Yadgar Kebab House (148 Calder St, Govanhill, Glasgow, G42 7QP). It is two weeks since Marg, Dr Stan and Hector first set foot in these premises. The Goshat Karahi was that impressive that Hector has being displaying his finest OCD character. Mr Holden is up from Bradford. The Village has already won him over, to get him to agree to this venue took persuasion.

If the Bradford resident approves then the place must be excellent.


Seven of us assembled at the venue bang on 15.00, one of us was fifteen minutes late.
The tables were arranged to accommodate our party, and eight plates and sets of cutlery were quickly brought to the table. No menus were issued as the order had been phoned in yesterday: no need to wait forty five minutes today.
The orders for the various accompaniments included Nan, Keema Nan, Pilau Rice, Plain Rice and Mushroom Rice for Hector.


A complementary plate of salad arrived and Mr Boyd declared that the single very large chili would be his. It was then passed around the table like a pipe of peace.
The Curry started to arrive: four Goshat Karahi on-the-bone and four off-the-bone.



What was very noticeable is the difference between the on-the-bone and the off-the-bone Curries. The former is decidedly darker and more intense. This is 'the full Bhuna!'.


The ladies were instantly impressed by the appearance of the Masala. The levels of expectation were there heightened. It took a few minutes to get all the sundries allocated, but one by one we ‘got stuck in’. Mr Holden with his Nan led the way. For once Mr Boyd was silent. There was a companionable silence as we ate this incredibly pleasant meal.



The man from Bradford says 'Yes!'.

Mr Holden described the taste as ‘old fashioned, but in a good way’.



Yvonne stated that the Curry was ‘flavoursome, with just the right amount of heat so as not to ruin the flavour’.
Mr Boyd spoke! ‘Good, excellent’.
Mags described her meal as 'the best, Curry-tastic!'.


Tracey limited her pleasure description to ‘yum!’.


Howard declared his meal to be ‘piquant and delicious’.
Jonathan left straight after the meal so his comments may appear below.



Hector is just left to wonder how a meal can be this good. There is no obvious dominant taste; it is a mélange of herbs and spices cooked to perfection.
The Mushroom Rice was last to arrive but as a consequence was steaming hot.


The bill arrived: £69.30 for eight people.

This is excellent value. At these prices every day could be a Curry Day.

Meet Mr Sha, The Chef



Hector of course had to meet the Chef. The Chef was duly dispatched from the kitchen and appeared to be quite bashful. The hand of Sha was shaken by us all and our pleasure related to a now beaming Chef.

Is this the best Curry-Heute in Glasgow?

Signs of progress at The Village

This is the first Blog since the brand new Website: “curry-heute.com” was established. 48 hours is a long time in Blogging. Hector has noticed that Google have now dropped this Blog from their search engine results for ‘Glasgow curry’. It used to appear straight after the presumably paid for selected restaurants. Now this Blog can only be found by Googling ‘Glasgow Curry Capital’. The Curry Karaoke (if someone can tell me when it is quiet Hector may pay a visit) now appear first - £££??? Do they want me to pay them, is this how it works?

Fifteen days is a Long time

It is Friday, it is a long time since Hector was at The Village (129 Nelson St, Tradeston, Glasgow, G5 8DZ).

The expansion of the Village downstairs is showing the first external signs of progress. There could be windows under the tarpaulin. The new premises will be vast and the exterior will hopefully not lead to descriptions as another 'Great Industrial Curry Shop of The North'.

Time will tell, meanwhile Hector feels at home in the temporary 'Villagio'.

The Curry-Heute is the Lamb Tawa (hot) with the usual Vegetable Rice. It is Friday teatime after all and ballast is required for the night to come at The Bon Accord. Ah, Hector has just been informed that Punk IPA is on tonight. We should have this finished by 2100.
Paul texted Robin last evening to tell him what was on at The Bon : The Celtic game... Oh how we laughed...



The Tawa is a close relative of the Village Lamb Desi Korma, it is slightly less intense. In a blind tasting Hector wonders if he could tell them apart. Can the Chef?
The Village curries do not instantly blow you away, the taste creeps up on you. The rich sauce (onion and yogurt based) has a citrus aftertaste that lingers for hours.
Today the Vegetable Rice was truly outstanding. There was much more potato than normal and the Rice arrived piping hot. Sometimes one sees it sitting waiting for the arrival of the Curry.
Tonight was a perfect Village experience.

A Glasgow Curry : Agra

Ten minutes from Hector's House
Only minutes from House is Temple home of the Agra (995 Crow Road North, Anniesland, Glasgow, G13 1JP ). Ten years ago this restaurant was a firm favourite. It was discovered due to its proximity to the then Miller’s Thumb microbrewery at The Canal. Over a period of eighteen months, an Agra Curry preceeding quantities of Independence Ale was a perfect night out. Alas the brewery closed around the time The Esquire House was redeveloped by Witherspoons. Hector was always impressed by the Agra and then sadly it was neglected.
This was Hector’s first visit for a very long time.



The Curry-Heute is Rajasthan Bhoona : available medium to hot and features strong herbs and tomatoes. Coriander and Onion Rice sounded somewhat different from the norm. One chapatti was a luxurious supplement.
The Agra features a selection of fair priced meals: the Fish dishes are on a par price-wise with the meat dishes. The house specialities are quite run of the mill, with no attempt at the current trend for Desi, Tawa et al.



Being the only customer the meal arrived without much delay. A generous portion of meat was accompanied by a more than generous bowl of Rice. The Masala was certainly onion based and a rich red colour, a testimony to the obvious concentration of tomato. The taste was not a million miles from the very familiar taste of the New Café Punjab in Clydebank, though the latter is decidedly more intense. The Coriander in the Rice did not hit the spot and the onions were exactly as Marg would dislike them: large slices. This made the feel of the dish approach a Dopiaza.



The experience was a pleasant one, but not outstanding.

In ten years, Glasgow Curry has come a long way. Mother India and The Village were setting new standards. Hector’s final comment is a consideration of the kebab shop directly across the street from the Agra: come on, who would buy a Curry-Heute from a Kebab House?

The Curry Leaf

The first, and last, visit



Marg free on a Sunday? The shape of things to come apparently: so off we headed to The West End. The Curry Leaf (192 Byres Rd, Glasgow, G12 8SN) is a venue Hector has been walking past for years; the usual haunts have always proved too seductive. The Curry Leaf is open on a Sunday afternoon, not all Glasgow outlets are. The menu on the outside wall had not exactly won me over. ‘Modern Indian Cuisine’ it says above the door, Hector had not spotted anything departing from the usual. Then we realised that meals were on offer as full courses or as Tapas. This was the clinching factor: Hector could have a Fish Masala and another Lamb dish. Marg hopefully would have somethng different.

With ground floor and upstairs seating, this is quite a roomy place. The style is something of an upmarket café, quite fitting for its location in one of Glasgow’s most prestigious locations. Two other sets of diners were completing their meals as we were seated.
On opening the menu the Chefs Specials were to the fore. A Tawa Gosht was tempting. The Lamb Nihari was an irresistible choice: Lamb on the bone cooked with special spices and cooked on slow fire for six hours. Garnished with fresh ginger and green chillies. So much for the fish.
Marg stuck to the original Tapas plan and ordered the Seekh Kebab and the Ginger Lime Chicken. Mushroom rice and two chapattis were the sides.

Whilst we waited we were treated so some quite up tempo modern sounding Indian music. Quite pleasant. After fifteen minutes or so Marg was becoming restless. They could have told us there would be a wait. From the kitchen came the sound of constant chopping. Somebody was working hard.

Another ten minutes or so passed and warm plates were brought to the table. We looked upon these for a further five minutes and then the food arrived.
The sauce on both the Lamb Nihari and the Ginger Lime Chicken had congealed. The dishes had clearly been sitting a while. The place was quiet so this is mysterious.



Marg describes her Ginger Lime Chicken as tangy, fruity and runny. The Masala was not one that contained sufficient onions. She believes coconut was meant to be part of the dish but there was no evidence of this. The Seekh Kebab was spicy and the accompanying Mint-Mango dip was the highlight.

The Lamb Nihari was a complete disappointment.


Hector likes his sauce to be thick and minimal. Having had The Village version of this Lamb shank dish I remember their sauce to be quite runny too, but it had a very distinctive taste. This sadly was the classic ‘Spicy Bisto’ experience. It was hot but decidedly bland. I see no fresh ginger or green chillies in this photograph. The meat tasted as if it had just been added to the sauce, Hector finds it hard to believe that these had been in each other’s company for six hours.

I am not a happy old Hector


That the consistency of Marg’s Ginger Lime Chicken and the Lamb Nihari were identical makes me conclude that this is the style of their cooking. This is not what I look for in a Curry Heute.

A questionnaire came with the bill. Hector has revealed his true name and address to this establishment along with this Blog URL.

Café Salma : Neil's Treat

If you don't ask...

This evening’s Curry-Heute began as a fruitless search for an outlet at Kelvinbridge which did not exist apparently. As Hector was Bon Accord bound, the Café Salma (523 Sauchiehall St, G3 7PQ) at Charing X seemed an obvious solution to the dilemma. It is no more than a ten minute walk at Hector’s pace past St George’s X and along Woodlands Rd from the West End.
Hassan, mein host, was at the door to greet my arrival in full costume . Being a Friday evening all of the staff were similarly attired. The welcome here is always outstanding.
On asking for a table for one, a familiar voice spoke from behind me: Neil was half way through his Curry. It was Neil who first made me aware of this venue earlier this year, one of life’s little ironies…


Neil was eating the Lahori Karahi with Lamb on the bone, the obvious choice. He too shares Hector’s disinterest in added Capsicum. (Why do so many places insist on adding this to Curry?) I ordered this with Mushroom Rice. Five minutes later the meal arrived. Given the wait for my previous two Curries (elsewhere) this brought an inward smile. Somehow I knew that given Neil’s notoriously slow eating pace, I would be finished before him. Hector was hungry!

The Lahori Karahi was oily, the taste was not as intense as the Yadgar, the memory of which still remains. The Café Salma experience is still highly distinctive. Hector declares this to be the 4th best Curry experience in Glasgow, Heute?

The waiter asked after five minutes if everything was well. Cue the Woody Allen line: I pointed out my observation that perhaps I had too much bone and not enough Lamb. The waiter disappeared for a moment, returned, took away my Karahi and it was filled with more meat. The fact that my ‘complaint’ was rectified immediately made the day.
Well actually Neil did. Having read the previous entries to this Blog, Neil decided that he too should say thank you for all of the work that went in to organising ‘Hector’s Hilpoltstein Happenstance’. There were fourteen of us on that trip – hint.

Yadgar again! Howard's Treat

The Consistency Test

Howard wished to say ‘thank you’ for the work put in by this reporter for the recent vacation: ‘Hector’s Hilpoltstein Happenstance’. There was only one venue that Hector would be visiting for Curry Heute: the Yadgar Kebab House ( 148 Calder St, Govanhill, Glasgow, G42 7QP) had to pass the consistency test.
Howard followed Hector’s lead and the Goshat Karahi (on-the-bone) was ordered once again. The waiter stated that there would be a 50 minute wait. I told him I had been there on Saturday and that I knew the wait would be worth it.
Howard and Hector, 50 minutes and no Bier today. There was time to count that the available seats numbered over 30. A couple came in and ordered an interesting kebab platter. Three more Chefs appeared one by one. The young waiter from Saturday came on duty. He eventually brought a plate of salad and a dip. Howard had ordered an Onion and Green Chilli Nan, Hector a Plain Paratha. When these appeared the excitement level grew… The Goshat Karahi arrived after 48 minutes.


The dish was oily and still had a thick sauce with tomato more evident. The taste is astonishing. Hector could cook a thousand Curry variants and never find this secret taste. Howard was impressed.


On our departure the waiter offered us the take-away menu. ‘Why don’t you phone next time and avoid the wait?’

More business will be brought to the Yadgar. Next time Hector will be forced to try something else on the menu. Even if this café is a one trick pony I can recommend the Goshat Karahi as one of the best Curry experiences in Glasgow.

Yadgar! a new Glagow Curry Heute!

This week’s ritual Saturday Curry Heute entry is another tip-off from Neil. Marg and Hector arrived early at the Yadgar Kebab House (148 Calder St, Govanhill, Glasgow G42 7QP) which is just along from the closed swimming baths and opposite the library. My first reaction was ‘Oh no, it’s just another kebab take-away outlet’ of which every city in Europe has too many. When the menu was presented it appeared that Curry was not going to be the main feature, pizzas and kebabs were inevitable inclusions. The engravings on the large glass frontage assured us otherwise: ‘Traditional Pakistani Food’. So no masquerade as ‘Indian’ here like the many Bangladeshi and Indo-Pak outlets across the city.

Dr Stan nearly walked past; perhaps he was taken by surprise too. The food counter was in the large room on the right, a more than adequate seating area occupies half of the floor area to the left. Twenty plus people could sit comfortably; we were the only three customers. This is a bright airy room, a cut above many such premises which offer sit-in meals. Marg did state later that she does prefer the ambience of restaurants-proper. Maybe this is a female thing.


Initially we were greeted by a chap who spoke excellent English but were subsequently served by a young waiter who struggled somewhat. Under the menu heading of Yadgar Tawa Karahi was the Goshat Karahi. Under the umbrella of Daily Specials was included the Alloo Gosht. The waiter did list the Daily Specials on offer , most sounded to be of a vegetarian nature. Asked exactly how the Alloo Gosht and the Goshat Karahi differ the answer was 'in the sauce'. No other information was being offered so Hector asked the waiter directly: ‘if you wish us to come back here every week, which dish should we order?’
The Goshat Karahi was the firm reply, but we were then told it would take 45 minutes. This level of honesty was appreciated; it also meant that we could easily manage a starter and not run the risk of over indulgence or both courses arriving simultaneously. Dr Stan ordered the Seekh Kebab, Marg and Hector decided to share a Chicken Tikka. These arrived within ten minutes, the latter was excellent.




Goshat Karahi

Exactly 45 minutes after our arrival the main courses arrived.
Clearly the meals had been prepared to order, this was no ‘chicken-ding’ establishment.
Dr Stan and Marg had asked for theirs off-the-bone and medium. Hector had ordered his on-the-bone and hot!
One instinctively can tell when something special has been presented. The on-the-bone version was distinctly oilier than the counterpart. The sauce was thick; the taste we collectively agreed was ‘rich’. This was a new taste experience. We tried to identify what, if anything, dominated the masala. In the end we just ate in silence appreciating that this indeed would be a new addition to our Curry Heute circuit.
Hector was able to taste Marg’s leftovers. The Lamb was in much smaller pieces, not quite as small as a Bradford Curry would be presented. The taste was there but not as emphatic as the hotter version just completed.


A modest Fried Rice and a very large Alloo Paratha were the accompaniments. The Paratha was presented still too hot to touch, perfect.

I'm a great big happy old Hector


The experience is more than enough to go straight on to the Recommended List. Of course on the next visit the same meal will have to be ordered just to prove the consistency. Then there is the problem of tearing oneself away to sample other dishes on offer.
Howard is tempting Hector out for a Village Curry on Monday lunchtime, we shall see.

A Virgin Visitor at The Village

Ian has been back from Malta for some time now, but Hector has been out of the country recently. It was Ian who suggested a lunchtime Curry Heute, and he let Hector choose the venue.
As Ian had never been to The Village (129 Nelson St, Glasgow, G5 8DX) this was the obvious place to go for the finest Curry in Glasgow. It also means we can continue with the game of spotting the Curry variants served up in this establishment.



Once again there were no Specials on The Board. The main menu was the glanced at: Ian took the advice and had The Village Lamb Desi Korma, Hector opted for the Lamb Laal Lahori. Hassan and Maggie were on duty to serve us. Maggie confirmed that you do get more Lamb if you order it off-the-bone. However, the Aloo Gosht on-the-bone, when available must be ordered.

The Laal Lahori
This superb dish is tomato based with garlic, ginger and chillies. The tomato was certainly to the fore. The meat as ever was cut with a fork quality and melt in the mouth.



Today the Chef is Thomas : The Village Lamb Desi Korma is Yellow



The summer vacation is nearly over. Back to the grind and fewer mid-week Curries.

The Village : Yvonne's Treat

The three Tuesdays Hector has been in Glasgow this summer vacation the Village (Nelson St, Glasgow) has been the venue of choice.Yvonne wished to celebrate the last day of her holiday. She and Craig (absent) also wished to treat Hector for the fine work he did organising the recent vacation: "Hector's Hilpoltstein Happenstance".

Howard came along wearing his green suit.


Maggie, the lunchtime waitress was there to greet us at the Village . She assured us that Faruk, the good Chef, was on today and that the Village Lamb Desi Korma would be its usual self. It was.



For the first couple of mouth fulls, yesterday's Mother India's Cafe experience was still to the fore in the memory of the taste buds. Then wonder of The Village kicked in. The Citrus taste lingered for hours.



Howard chose the Lamb Laal Lahori, always a good alternative. This was again reported to be in fine form.


Howard at work

It is not a Saturday but in holiday mode we retired to the Allison Arms, we have not had German Bier for two days after all.



A Celebrity at The Bon Accord
Who is that with Hector?

Topsy Turvy was the main attraction at The Bon Accord until a TV celebrity walked in to enjoy the ales.