By Amy Glasgow @theglasgowdiet
There’s no denying that us Glaswegians love a curry, but we do have a tendency to stick with what we know. So, in an effort to challenge my curry patterns, I decided to visit Raunak Raseeli on Clarendon Street just off Maryhill Road.
Why is this curry house any different to the others? Well, first of all, while it offers all the ‘Glasgow favourites’, it also offers some unique and more authentic Indian cuisine, including some Indo-Nepalese specialities. The menu is also designed to be enjoyed tapas-style, so you can sample a range of different dishes rather than simply ordering a tikka masala and some haggis pakora and being done with it.
Determined to try something new and different, we kicked the meal off with the Nepalese Momos, a chicken-stuffed dumpling served in a house chilli sauce. They looked very similar to your classic Chinese dumplings, but the filling had clear Indian-inspired flavours and the chilli sauce they were served in packed a real punch of heat – it’s not for the faint-hearted! They were absolutely delicious and a dish I would highly recommend you order if you visit Raunak Raseeli. There is a vegetarian filling option too if you don’t eat meat.
To accompany the Momos, we decided to order the Garlic Mushroom Poori. A light, fluffy fried Indian bread filled with a garlicky, lightly spiced mushroom filling. This was so flavourful I wish we had ordered more. The bread was light and soft, the filling had the perfect balance of garlic, creamy yoghurt, mushrooms and a hint of spice. If mushrooms aren’t your thing though, there are prawn or chicken pooris available too.
The curries were just as flavourful as the starters. Rather than going for curries we recognised, we went for the House Special Kukkad Raseeli, a mild but flavourful desi style curry with chicken cooked on the bone, and the Laal Maas; tender lamb cooked in a variety of masalas with red chilli and yoghurt.
Both curries were delicious, with perfectly cooked meat and rich, flavourful sauces – perfect for dipping their garlic naan into! It was nice to choose a curry that we knew less about and that, based on the description from the owner Rohit, are a more authentic taste of true Indian cuisine.
Oh, and one last thing. The dish that really surprised and impressed us was the humble coconut rice. Not only was the rice perfectly cooked, the flavours and textures in the rice alone were astonishing. You know they’ve got it right when even a bowl of rice (something I usually ignore) is just as tasty as the main event.
This hidden gem of a restaurant gave us an authentic, delicious and unique meal in the west end of Glasgow. What’s more, the prices are incredibly reasonable for the quality of the food. You could go for a quick curry and rice for lunch for just £10! If you love Indian food, Raunak Raseeli needs to be added to your to-do list. And if you do go, take a risk and order something new – you won’t regret it.
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