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Curry Night + Valentines Day = Romantic Night for the Life of Shayan Team. Invited to Pure Indian Cooking, which made it extra special, Laura and I met at Putney Bridge Station to visit this Fulham High Street restaurant.
Pure Indian Cooking is a restaurant by husband and wife team of Faheem Vanoo and Shilpa Dandekar. Inspired by real Indian food and their lovely memories this restaurant nestled on Fulham high street just across the bridge from bustling Putney town has been around for a few years. This romantic evening, was also an evening for Fulham FC playing, so a few away fans and regular match goers were there prior to kick off. Laura and I nestled in and were ready for our experience. 
Mixed platter for Starters
 Sheekh kebab ZOOM
Shilpa heads the team of chefs at PURE indian cooking. What was evident from the off, was the freshness of the produce.
The aim of the chef and team is to present an whole array of Indian spices, textures and aromas while retaining its originality and simplicity. This meant that the food was/or at least seemed like it was made to order. “Love of Indian Food with finesse and Quality” is the motto for Chef Shilpa and this is evident from the food. Her experience with Michelin starred Chefs like Sriram Aylur & Raymond Blanc, are on display and Chef Shilpa strongly believes that it is "a dream to start a small restaurant." 
Main course At Pure Cooking London
So from the pictures, you can see what we have eaten, descriptions of all and more are here:
Between courses we had time to digest and wait. The food did take a while to come out, but I strongly believe this was due to it being freshly made. 
Spicy Lamb
One word I would use to describe Pure and their food is: AROMATIC.
The smell of the spices, such as cloves, cardamons and cumins were strong in the air and on my pallate. From the kebabs to the crumble, the food was well presented and at the end of it, very filling. The sharing platter to start was a good way to experience a bit of everything. The seekh kebabs were very refined and next time I would make myself a little roll with naan and chutney. I always like to try lamb chops at any curry house, but missed out this time. I feel this helps give me a good gage of the quality of a restaurant. The seekh kebab and squid were the main stars on the platter. The chicken was very moist and a good generous size. I felt like the paneer was the only thing that let us down. I hope chef Shilpa takes my words as constructive criticism. Maybe ditch the pepper and a bit more char. 
Apricot Halwa Crumble
Shipla and Faheem, good work and well done with a great restaurant.
The name of the restaurant definitely fits the experience and what you are getting. Pure Indian Cooking, does exactly what it says and gives you what you need. Be it before a football match or on a romantic Valentines evening. I have to say, Shipla and Faheem are quite inspiring as a husband and wife duo. I am not sure however, if I could do the same with my wife. I will leave the restaurant business to the professionals, especially when I can then sit and eat their food instead. Thank you Kapil and Lisa for an amazing wedding present. This was a Cactus TV experience. The company that produces Saturday Kitchen provides an experience for food and drink lovers to enjoy. In their Clapham location, Laura and I ventured down south on an early Saturday afternoon (after the live show of course). We got there on time and went straight to it. Chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE was hosting this edition and was ready to cook us all Fish Cakes with a lovely tomato sauce. Sounds good.  Chef @ Work Chef Cyrus and his fishcakes were amazing, we all had one, there was eight of us in the group and then we went about attempting the Omelette challenge. When you watch it on TV it seems difficult enough. Well guess what, in real life it is even more difficult. How good is your eye sight? If you look below, you can see my attempt looks like scrambled egg, whilst Laura's looks like an omelette. HOWEVER, mine was well cooked and quicker, so I declare myself the winner.  Omelette or Scrambled Egg challenge  Life of Shayan on Set After the foodie fun, we went down to the Studio and had a look around the set and behind the scenes too. This was fun and good to see. To be honest,the real fun was before and after this part.
After this little tour of the set, we went about trying wine and sampling food with the wines. Different whites and red were paired with meats and more and this was the time we got to fill our bellies with food. An overall good experience, and once again, we are very grateful to Kapil and Lisa for this amazing wedding present. Do go, it is a bit pricey so maybe get it as a gift. Great chefs, great food and a nice tour. DO IT. Check out the Vlog sensation below: Life of Shayan And Below is the finished product. I used this recipe from Martin Morales, a recipe featured on the Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/feb/20/martin-morales-aji-de-gallina-peruvian-recipe-chicken Check it out!  My version of Aji de Gallina
"Pachamama is a Peruvian-inspired bar & restaurant in Marylebone that is dedicated to making the most of the extraordinary ingredients available in the UK. The cocktail menu is Pisco-focused and our cupboards are stocked with Mezcal. Open for weekday lunch, weekend brunch and dinner and drinks 7 days a week."
That is a complete copy and paste job right there. They explain who and what they are so well. Marylebone does have some hidden gems and you can quite easily walk past Pachamama on Thayer Street. However, Google Maps and a keen eye, helped us find this Peruvian restaurant & bar. Walk down the stairs and you are greeted by the team and a nice cosy restaurant. Dimly lit, inviting and yet, with a bit of mystery about it too. Pachamama has been having rave reviews from a few blogger and foodie peeps, so when thinking of options after some late night shopping, I decided to visit this restaurant; confident that it will be good. 
Best way to enjoy any Peruvian meal- with a Pisco Sour
Peruvian food is so good. London is now actually getting spoilt with the number of good options, such as Lima, Ceviche, Andina and a few others too. Pachamama, continues the good vides from South America with its sharing plates and lovely Pisco Sours.
Unfortunately, one of the main dishes of Peru, Ceviche was something we could not go for. With Laura being pregnant, we had to skip this. We were not too hungry, so ordered a few dishes to share. These were:
It doesn't seem like a lot, but we were stuffed by the end of it. Filling dishes. A quick overview of the food, all dishes were great, the 'Duck on Rice' not that great. the croqueates were a portion of three balls, an intriguing number with one each and then one to fight for. A nice crunch and a very creamy filling. The shortrib added good depth to the balls which were inhaled and devoured with great speed. 
Octopus
Peru and its food, always gives me fond memories. I want to go back to Pachamama to try their ceviche as this is the number one dish. I feel like I need to try this to give a better review of the restaurant. The Pisco Sour, another delicacy in Peru was really good here. The egg white foam was airy and the punch of Pisco was subtle; more like a jab.
The Aubergine was a surprise dish and it made me very happy too. Aubergine on the whole is just an awesome veg. The smoked yoghurt with the aubergine made it very delicious and each bite, delicately eaten was a special moment. Aubergine, I salute you. 
Balls- Croquettes
The few dishes we had, had Laura and I very stuffed. Each was packed full of goodness, carbs, protein and more fun (fat I guess too). The Octopus dish was tasty, a nice char on it and very meaty. I would definitely order this again.
The 'Duck on Rice' was a strange one and not something I have seen before on a Peruvian menu. It didn't really work for me, as a dish it wasn't sure if the rice was standing out or the duck. The rice needed more seasoning and the duck was a bit bland too. Ceviche next time please. Pachamama, I will see you again as I need to give you more time and attention. Thanks for the Pisco, Aubergine and Octopus and next time I will say hi to your Ceviche. We are truly blessed to have such great variety of cuisines in London and each restaurant is driving the standard higher and higher. Long may in continue. |
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