Chilli Shaak
Forget the take-away, some are okay of course, but not many can deliver food in prime condition. On the whole it never arrives hot, is often messy, and face the fact that it is no longer a cheap option. Okay yes, it might cost less than dining in a restaurant but it doesn’t come served at the table and it does require washing up!
Chilli Shaak is a different concept that has been developed by the family behind it from a more conventional format into something that I found far more satisfying. Chilli Shaak operates for two days a week, offers to dinner menus to choose from and arrives as a complete meal in a stacked tiffin ready to heat at home.
You book your space, numbers are remarkably limited, online and choose from either a vegetarian menu or a meat menu. At the appointed time your tiffins are delivered to your home and you are ready to go.
I chose to try the meal on a Friday and arrived home to find my meal left in my safe place. The option on that day was a vegetable based menu or a dish with eggs. Now, I am a great fan of an Indian egg dish, from the rather crudely constructed egg curry served in the canteen of my hall of residence back in 1974, to much finer dishes eaten in better restaurants here and in Goa.
Masala egg Shaak certainly fuelled that love, it was so satisfying and in every sense, deliciously light too. Jeera rice was free flowing and did not suffer in reheating which I found rather remarkable, reheating instructions are sent by Whatsapp and are easy to follow by the way.
The butter chapati was good too and I cheekily added a little more butter meted across it and the kachumber salad added a vibrant sharpness on the side.
I dined well and was so replete that I left it a few hours before indulging in the sweet delights of gulab jamun, a sticky dessert that again reminded me of my student days living in South London.
The next day Jai returned to collect the tiffins, which of course I had washed, and we enjoyed a lovely chat about Indian dishes that I really wish appeared on more menus.
This is not restaurant food but far more the kind of food that I have been served in the homes of my Indian friends, and that is praise indeed.
The meal I enjoyed cost £15 with £3 delivery and collection of the empty stainless steel containers up to 5 miles and £6 from 5 to 6 miles.
To find out more, look them up on Facebook or call 07516 459985. Or you can connect with Whatsapp to find out the forthcoming dates and menus.
One word of warning to all, stacked tiffins are a delight but do open carefully to avoid any spillage, the retaining device is simple enough but the stacks can wobble once released.
