Popadom Indian Restaurant Westcliff Review

June 22, 2016 by Rich - Foodie Reviewer

Popadom Indian Restaurant Westcliff

The other week I received a text from a good friend. It read 'you’ve gotta get your ass round to that new curry house on Hamlet Court road, it's the most authentic food I've eaten outside Delhi'. This got my attention, only because, this particular friend has been to Delhi. Not as a tourist, he's actually worked there. Hanging out with the locals, and eating where the locals eat. So I figured, he’s pretty well qualified to make such a confident statement.

I love a good curry as much as the next man, but I do sometimes find the menus a little ‘samey’. Onion bahji’s to start, or how about chicken tikka? For mains why not try a Madras, Vindaloo, Jalfrezi or a Bhuna; you get the picture. I wouldn’t mind betting 95% of all our local curry houses feature every one of those typical dishes on their menu. This is by no means a rant, there’s nothing wrong with a good chicken tikka jalfrezi, but its nice to give something different a go from time to time. I’ve travelled to India a few times; from Mumbai to Kerala, the food is bloody awesome. Its completely different to the westernised cuisine we have over here. I would almost say, us Brits have created a whole new cuisine to suit our tastes. Think of it as a British curry, inspired by ‘days of the Raj’.

Take Chicken Tikka Masala for example. This dish doesn’t even exist in India. Apparently, its origins lie in Glasgow! So this is truly a British curry, and has been declared one Britain’s national dishes! So, yeah, I really believe the curries you’ll find up and down the UK we can call our own, with an Indian influence. Just one other point, next time you’re sitting down enjoying a lamb bhuna in your favourite curry house, I would almost guarantee the chef is from Bangladesh, not from India at all! Trust me; ask one of the waiters I bet I’m right. But as I said, none of this is negative, far from it. Yes, there are some bad curry houses out there, but also some absolutely brilliant ones, knocking up some damn tasty curries. I’m sure most of you reading this have your trusted ‘go to’ curry house? The one where you’re on first name terms with the waiters, and they always throw in a complimentary liqueur to finish the meal! I’ve got my favourite!! The waiters at this particular establishment have even offered me bed and board if I ever find myself in Bangladesh! I love it; long live the true British curry house!

But back to the matter in hand, my alternative curry experience last Friday. On Hamlet Court Road in Westcliff a new restaurant opened its doors a couple of months ago. Some of you may remember the Masala Hut? I pretty standard curry joint, which closed a couple of years ago. In its place, after a refurb, another curry house opened, but shut its doors not long after. Well, in the same location ‘Popadom’ took up residence creating quite a unique Indian dining experience. Based on my friends’ recommendation I needed to get down there, so last Friday we did.

After a very warm welcome at the door by incredibly friendly waiting staff, Lou and I sat down to take a look at this quite unique menu. A great selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian starters and main courses. Indian vegetarian cuisine is probably some of the best in the world. As I’m sure you all know by now, I am a full on carnivore. You just can’t beat a rare steak, slow cooked shoulder of lamb, or pulled pork. I could never give that up. However, reading this menu, I would be quite happy ordering a totally veggie starter and main. What’s more interesting, are the unusual dishes on the menu. Anyone for Ajwani Paneer Tikka? Described as, paneer, bell pepper and shallots marinated in ginger, garlic, toasted ajwani and black salt, cooked in the tandoor and served with green chutney. How unusual does that sound? For non-vegetarians, clove smoked lamb chops sounded rather interesting. Not to mention wonderful fish dishes, and sharing platters! Yep this menu was certainly a little different to any other curry house I’ve seen locally.

So, to start I went veggie! Yep, I ordered the Poppadum Special Tikki. I was presented with four generous sized potato patties. These patties where a mixture of spinach, paneer and of course potato. Absolutely delicious when dipped in the accompanying tamarind chutney. A few friends had joined Lou and I for dinner. Lou decided to share with one of our companions, Popadom’s non-veggie starter sampler. This consisted of Malai & tandoori chicken tikka, seekh kebab, fish amritsari and meat samosas. You could argue this is more of a typical English curry house dish, and I guess it was. But, with the addition of an interesting fish element, it made it just that little bit different. Looking around the table, everyone seemed to enjoy their food. I even managed to pinch a clove smoked lamb chop, and as I suspected it was good eating!

Well, so far so good! On to the mains. I could’ve quite easily continued on the veggie theme, but I was in the mood for something meaty! The Lamb Kadai sounded good to me! A Kadai is the pot traditionally used when cooking this dish. Lou played it safe with a Lamb Rogan Josh! Yeah, I know, the whole point of this trip out was to get involved with lesser-known dishes. We could’ve chose Malai Kofta; a vegetable dumpling cooked in a creamy onion and tomato gravy. Or Methi Mutter Makai Malai! Peas and corn toasted with fresh fenugreek in a spinach gravy. All sounded interesting to say the least, but Lou wanted the good old classic Rogan Josh! The food arrived at the table in beautiful copper pots, it looked great. We also ordered some roti bread on the side, with rice and Dal Makhani. This is black lentils slow cooked overnight with butter and cream! Trust me, this looked and tasted as rich as it sounds! Bloody delicious though with a slice of Roti. The curries were some of the best I’ve tasted in a long time. Tender lamb, in thick aromatic gravy, with just enough spice; Popadom had nailed it. Every dish was great, all the way down to the rice; fluffy long grains of delicious fragrant rice, simple, but all too often cooked badly. Honestly guys, I’m struggling here to find fault with anything on the table. Whilst surveying the now packed out restaurant, everybody was clearly enjoying the food, service and ambiance.

Pudding? I think we all know what a curry house pudding normally consists of? Hollowed out lemons stuffed with rock hard un-interesting ice cream, which has normally sat in the deepfreeze for months. Trying to eat this with a spoon is just impossible, a hammer and chisel would be more appropriate. Not a Popadom though! These guys serve up proper Indian puddings. I was tempted on the Gajar Ka Halwa, which is a homemade carrot pudding with ice-cream. But, I just couldn’t fit any more in! After some of the best Indian food I’ve eaten in a long time, a few beers, and some great natter with friends it was time for the bill. £30 each with a tip, spot on I thought.

I loved Popadom. It’s just so different to any other local Indian restaurant. I’m pretty damn certain these guys are serving up Indian dishes you’d be hard pushed to find anywhere else. Any restaurant, Indian or otherwise, which can offer something quite different will be a success. That’s exactly what they’ve done here. Yet another new restaurant to hit the Hamlet Court road area, and another cracker! Incidentally, Popadom is right next door to Barru; a bar and restaurant I reviewed a few months ago. So why not after your wonderful curry, nip next door for a few cocktails to round off the evening? That’s precisely what we did!!