Gujarati Rasoi – review

Traditional Indian food at Gujarati Rasoi

Most of us would probably think twice about going into business with our mother, but to owner Urvesh Parvais, Gujarati Rasoi is more than just a restaurant, and Lalita herself is no ordinary woman.

Curious to see if his mother’s cooking was as good as he thought it was, Parvais opened a stall with her on Broadway Market selling authentic Gujarati food made using recipes handed down through their family for generations.

Its popularity mushroomed, and they went on to open two more in Exmouth and Borough Markets. A restaurant seemed like the next logical step and Gujarati Rasoi is now carving out a niche for itself in London’s crowded dining scene, tucked behind popular night haunts the Vortex and Dalston Jazz Bar.

We started with a plate of Papri Chaat, a gorgeous pile of traditional street food with coriander, yoghurt, onions, bright bursts of juicy pomegranate seeds and spicy black chickpeas mixed with a tangy date and tamarind sauce on crisp chora fali. It is impossible to eat daintily, but it tastes fantastic, full of fresh flavours and bright colours that are particularly welcome on a bleak winter evening.

Next up, a portion of Patra. Heart-shaped taro leaves are rolled up with gramflour paste and steamed – then sliced into snail-shaped rolls and fried with onions and sesame seeds. The result is a delicious, moist, velvet-like texture, unpacking dense, dark flavours with each fresh bite.

The restaurant prides itself on serving the same meals that have been served for generations, but they’ve made some slight tweaks, and that includes going easy on oil and fat and light on the sugar.

Mains are generous but not overwhelming and both dishes were excellent. First, a big plate of richly flavoured aubergine, cooked with sweet potato and peanuts on a stack of rice. It is served with khaddi, a warm yoghurty soup gently flavoured with ginger and curry leaves that offsets the spices of the vegetables.

Palak, chunna dhal ne bhat was like sunshine on a plate. Salty strips of paneer were gently fried with cumin in a warmly spiced chickpea dhal, flavoured with garlic, jaggery and tomato and served with fleshy emerald green spinach leaves.

Gujarati Rasoi also does great desserts, even for people who claim they don’t like puddings. The menu changes every week, but they are currently putting on some great kulfi – a frozen dessert made of reduced milk, infused with ground cardamon. Rich, creamy and delicate after the spices of the mains, it is sweet without being cloying.

They also serve tiny portions of coconut kulfi with small chewy balls of til ladoo, which are made of jaggery and sesame seeds packed together with sugar cane syrup. The sweets are traditionally made for Makar Sankranti celebrations, when the city is full of people flying brightly coloured paper kites from the streets and rooftops.

Overall, this is an excellent new restaurant with a friendly atmosphere where you can try some authentic Gujarati food for a very reasonable price.

Gujarati Rasoi
10c Bradbury Street
Dalston
N16 8JN
020 8616 7914

Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday

Twitter: @GujaratiRasoi