AJ's Indian Restaurant

The enthusiastic welcome from the owner is a prelude to the pleasure of a meal that rings some clever changes on everyday Indian. Paneer mirch masala is a complexly flavoured mix of Indian cottage cheese, chillies and semi-crushed black pepper, clove and cinnamon. A musky perfume rises from pista murgh, where plump cubes of chicken bathe in a lurid green creamy sauce of pistachio meal, roasted spices and coconut milk. Unctuous mushy strips of eggplant combine with acid-sharp tomatoes in baingan tamatar. Almond and fig kulfi (Indian ice-cream) is a welcome palate cleanser. The explanation for the playing cards stuck to the ceiling caps the evening off - so ask.