Upper Chorlton Rd.
March 2011
'The works' please. This involved a mixed grill, chicken karahi, bhajis, prawn korma, chana and spinach, rice, naan & chapatti. Think that was it. The grills we were already convinced about from the previous visit, the main purpose today was to taste the curries. They did not disappoint. The chicken karahi was the star of the show - tasting of both chicken and karahi. OK, stupid joke but it did have a subtle and decidedly savoury flavour that doesn't just come from banging out dish after dish. Care had been taken. Same went for the chickpea and spinach dish. A bit of a treat. Prawn Korma is not a choice we'd ever personally make on 'Flavours' - firstly because it's normally always creamy, sweet and ridiculous and secondly because we eat so much curry that eating unhealthy ones regularly will definitely kill us. However it was nice to try for a change. As usual very low prawn count, but the sauce was very tasty, not too sweet or rich, seemingly flavoured with almonds and not too much cream. Very Enjoyable to have a dip into occasionally to freshen the palate and before digging back into the more intense stuff. A good call and a feast for about £26.
Jan 2011
Ashiana has been around for ages - since 1984 in fact. it's a bit of a Whalley Range/Chorlton institution - for various reasons. Not least because they do Asian Meals on Wheels and give tips to charity. All good stuff. The fella in charge was very helpful and interesting - keen to talk about varieties of food and his personal preferences. He said a lot of his business was dedicated to making individual dishes to customers' specifications - but preferred himself the meals on wheels food as it's more 'get what you're given' authentic Asian - that's what we like too! Shame we can't get it!
The curry menu is extensive and interesting (ever heard of Shearty or Ziaka?) - this isn't always a good thing, but that will have to wait. Today was a kebab day - a fine selection of meat was under the cool counter -it's rare and encouraging to see raw chicken on the bone ready to go in the tandoor. A selection of chicken and lamb tikka and a large seekh kebab were ordered with one naan and one chapatti - basically to try as much as possible. The meat was all well cooked, the tandoor is slightly diferent to the grill - the meat comes out a bit less charred and a bit more fragrant. The bread was pretty good but there's just not that much to say about it - they weren't of the 2 feet long Persian variety, but nor were they bad - just good Pakistani/Indian type. Salad and sauces were fresh and there were a few additional homemade accompaniments which showed that this place takes a bit more care.
It was a good experience and I'll return. My last curry here was a few years ago and in all honesty pretty generic - perhaps its time to give it another go, although with the benefit of a convesation rather than phoning up for a Madras. They're definitely trying to please the customers at Ashiana - unfortuantely sometimes that means making assumptions we want bland or anglicised food. This was probably more appropriate in 1984 when they opened, but we've moved on a bit - trust us! Also - those eligible for Meals on Wheels - what are you waiting for???
'The works' please. This involved a mixed grill, chicken karahi, bhajis, prawn korma, chana and spinach, rice, naan & chapatti. Think that was it. The grills we were already convinced about from the previous visit, the main purpose today was to taste the curries. They did not disappoint. The chicken karahi was the star of the show - tasting of both chicken and karahi. OK, stupid joke but it did have a subtle and decidedly savoury flavour that doesn't just come from banging out dish after dish. Care had been taken. Same went for the chickpea and spinach dish. A bit of a treat. Prawn Korma is not a choice we'd ever personally make on 'Flavours' - firstly because it's normally always creamy, sweet and ridiculous and secondly because we eat so much curry that eating unhealthy ones regularly will definitely kill us. However it was nice to try for a change. As usual very low prawn count, but the sauce was very tasty, not too sweet or rich, seemingly flavoured with almonds and not too much cream. Very Enjoyable to have a dip into occasionally to freshen the palate and before digging back into the more intense stuff. A good call and a feast for about £26.
Jan 2011
Ashiana has been around for ages - since 1984 in fact. it's a bit of a Whalley Range/Chorlton institution - for various reasons. Not least because they do Asian Meals on Wheels and give tips to charity. All good stuff. The fella in charge was very helpful and interesting - keen to talk about varieties of food and his personal preferences. He said a lot of his business was dedicated to making individual dishes to customers' specifications - but preferred himself the meals on wheels food as it's more 'get what you're given' authentic Asian - that's what we like too! Shame we can't get it!
The curry menu is extensive and interesting (ever heard of Shearty or Ziaka?) - this isn't always a good thing, but that will have to wait. Today was a kebab day - a fine selection of meat was under the cool counter -it's rare and encouraging to see raw chicken on the bone ready to go in the tandoor. A selection of chicken and lamb tikka and a large seekh kebab were ordered with one naan and one chapatti - basically to try as much as possible. The meat was all well cooked, the tandoor is slightly diferent to the grill - the meat comes out a bit less charred and a bit more fragrant. The bread was pretty good but there's just not that much to say about it - they weren't of the 2 feet long Persian variety, but nor were they bad - just good Pakistani/Indian type. Salad and sauces were fresh and there were a few additional homemade accompaniments which showed that this place takes a bit more care.
It was a good experience and I'll return. My last curry here was a few years ago and in all honesty pretty generic - perhaps its time to give it another go, although with the benefit of a convesation rather than phoning up for a Madras. They're definitely trying to please the customers at Ashiana - unfortuantely sometimes that means making assumptions we want bland or anglicised food. This was probably more appropriate in 1984 when they opened, but we've moved on a bit - trust us! Also - those eligible for Meals on Wheels - what are you waiting for???
