Curry in Brum

"For the curry!" was the official line we had when people asked why we made a quick stopover in Birmingham before we headed back home after spending a week in London. While it's not entirely accurate, but we did want to check out the Indian restaurant scene while we were there, given the reputation of the town being the "Curry Capital of UK".

With us coming to town on a Monday when many fine-dining restaurants closed on that night, that limited our choices somewhat. Nonetheless we came across Lasan from a random Google search and made ourselves a last minute dinner booking (just when we were on the train to Birmingham) It only took us a mere 10 minute on Uber to get us to the restaurant on the other side of the city center known as the Jewellery Quarter.

When we talk about Indian food we often relate that to something casual and more down-to-earth, but just by looking at the smart décor at Lasan you know it’s a little bit more than that here. Still very much casual with the light-colored theme with a bar right at the entrance and the spacious dining room up a few steps on the other side completed with wooden chairs and tables, and tanned leather couches. Somewhere perfectly appropriate for a date or a fine night out.

We started with a couple snacks served as amuse bouche – the pani-puri was filled with chickpeas and tamarind sauce and paradom with yoghurt sauce and chutney. Both were delightful, and I particularly enjoyed the chutney with a slight spicy kick.

The menu – with dishes filled one large piece of paper on one side – featured a variety of traditional dishes from across India, and some contemporary one adjusted with local ingredients and taste. We picked a couple of starter courses to share. Not sure if they really do soft-shell crab in India, but the Konkan Soft Shell Crab we ordered was delicious, with the piece of crab dipped in the batter infused with Indian spices (ajwain and Kashmiri chilli as described in the menu) and deep-fried, and on the side there’s mini pieces of Devonshire crabcake – done with an even crispier batter), green tomato and sour mango chutneys and garnished with watercress. The crab is served like a tempura with a twist, and I love the dipping sauce with balanced spicy, sour and sweet flavors.

The second appetizer was paneer, cooked in the tandoor oven and served with red pepper chutney and garlic pickle on the side – soft creamy texture with a strong saffron flavor which also gave the dish a nice yellow color.

All the choices for mains were so appealing which gave us quite a dilemma, even after we skipped a few goat, lamb and mutton dishes (not a fan of those personally). At the end we settled for the guinea fowl korma and seafood biryani, and both were enjoyable and not spicy at all. The seafood biryani was just what we expected, with the aromatic long grain rice mixed with scores of seafood including prawns, mussels and deep-fried oysters. Curry leaves, tamarind and many other spices were added in for the complex flavor. The korma was served with half a guinea fowl cooked in the tandoori oven, and the sauce was said to be done in Northern Indian style, with the yoghurt-based curry mixed with deep-fried shallots and sautéed spinach. The bird was a bit dry I reckon and I could live with a strong marinate, but overall it’s tasty with the creamy sauce spiced with cardamom. The two side dishes we ordered – the traditional dahl and Roomali Roti – were also great, delivered straight to us from the kitchen. The roti was warm and fluffy and the dhal worked well as the dipping sauce with roasted moong and masoor lentils cooked and blended to a smooth texture.

The dessert options of Bombay Mess (a twist to Eton Mess) or Sticky Date Pudding probably sound best, but knowing there’s absolutely no chance we can finish even one of them, we went for the icecream, which was of pistachio flavor. And the easy-going bottle of Chenin Blanc from Western Cape worked just fine with the exotic spices in each of the dish. We are happy for this random find in a new city that we visit this time with many pleasant surprises.

(So that concluded our Winter UK Trip story! Thanks for reading. Want a recap? Please click here!)

When? December 2 2019
Where? Lasan, 3-4 Dakota Buildings, James Street, St Paul's Square, Birmingham, B3 1SD, UK
Menu Highlights? Konkan Soft Shell Crab
Drinks? 2018 Willie Mostert "The Wine-farer" Chenin Blanc, Western Cape, South Africa
Web: lasan.co.uk