Curries Rule

Shilpa came out of the celebrity big brother house on Sunday night and pretty much summed up culinary life in two words, 'curries rule'. She has such wisdom. Having just finished my first takeaway curry from Vojan - the curry house near Angel that I was so happy to find a few weeks ago (see www.vojan.net) - I couldn't help but agree with her - curries rule.

There's something for everybody - mild, spicy, creamy, dry, veggie. I had a streaming cold at the weekend and fancied something to unblock my sinuses and, more importantly, something I could taste. We ordered a Shatkara Gosht (lamb cooked in calamansi juice [wild lemon], lemon leaf and naga chilli - a superb dish with lots of flavour, medium hot - £5.95), a chicken tikka massala, mainly to try the 'exotic sauce' and beacuse my other half wanted a creamy curry (dried chicken barbecued, tossed in butter with cultured yoghurt, fresh cream and served with exotic sauce - £5.95), bhindi bhaji (okra cooked in karala style - £2.45) and pilau rice (basmati rice aromatically flavoured with saffron - £2.00). I liked the menu, and the way dishes are described on it and it seems great value for round here.

And it was - even the cartons seemed flashy. We had high expectations for this curry and we weren't disappointed. It took 45 minutes to arrive - always a good sign as it indicates it might be be freshly made to order. The meat was of good quality and the portions were reasonable. I was glad we'd ordered the okra as there wasn't a lot of veg in the dishes to go round. I just wished I had enough space in me to finish off the sauces as they were goooooood and we had a vibrant variety of flavours. All in all, I'd highly recommend Vojan - easily the best takeaway curry I've had in London. Vojan - you rule.