Oh how I have missed dining out! But FINALLY there is light at the end of the tunnel and a new kind of normal is in sight. Yes, we’re all going to go back out eating in restaurants again and sipping on cocktails in bars, but I think the biggest change to stay – will be our food deliveries. Previously the only food I had delivered to my home was a simple take-away, but after being locked down for so long, the idea of now staying in on a Sunday night and ordering from my favourite local restaurant actually sounds appealing. Not to mention supporting my local delis, grocers and butchers. Something I didn’t really seem to do previously.
Cinema’s were already on the decline and so paired with a new movie release straight to the TV and restaurant quality food delivered to my door – I’m embracing this new way of dining at least one day a week going forward and I’m really excited about it. Even more so after I recently received a delivery from Flora Indica on Old Brompton Road in Earls court. A fine dining Indian restaurant, serving up familiar classics – but all given a thoroughly modern twist.
I’m sure we all have a favourite Indian dish, I have many – but one I always order if on the menu is papdi chaat. It’s light, refreshing – but immensely satisfying. Here at Flora Indica they’ve used a slightly unusual ingredient, Jerusalem artichoke and guess what – it works! In fact it works so well, I really wouldn’t mind if this was how I’d always have to eat this dish from now on. Paired with tamarind, yoghurt, coriander chutney and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds – this is one dish that should accompany every Indian restaurant delivery.
Another thing you’ll certainly going to need from any Flora Indica delivery is one of their incredible naan breads. I actually think this was one of the best I’ve had in years and it was cooked so perfectly. Crispy, blackened pockets of crunchy goodness, lots of roasted garlic, even more slices of chopped green chilli and equal parts of pure joy. Dip this into any of their curries and you’ll wish you ordered two. I know we wished we did.
Thinking back about this corn-fed bergamot lemon chicken tikka from last week really gets me excited. The sauce was a rich and glossy makhani and my gosh it was good. A perfect blend of spices, the sauce had a delicious smokey streak running through it and the chicken was so succulent and juicy. I love chicken tikka like the rest of the UK, but this was taken to a new level of refinement which meant every mouthful was such a joy to eat yet again.
Another dish I loved (in fact we loved everything) was this paneer kofta with Jerusalem artichoke & baby spinach. The sauce was again rich, had a mouth-watering depth of flavour and I loved the modern interpretation of taking the paneer and wrapping it in a golden crumb to create a kind of kofta. My only recommendation to the restaurant here would be that if perhaps the kofta could come in a separate small bowl for assembling at home. If for any reason your driver gets lost, that golden crumb could end up being a little soggier than you may want. Otherwise, it was utter heaven.
As well as that naan, make sure you order a side of the spiced creamed spinach cooked with dill & cherry tomato. One of my favourite ever Indian dishes is lasooni palak and Flora’s take on it by adding dill I thought was a fantastic idea. Turning an authentic Indian dish into something slightly more modern and that dill gave it a really refreshing zing.
The best thing about home deliveries? There’s no stumbling home after that bottle of wine (and few too many cocktails to start), no ironing that shirt that’s been at the bottom of the dry cleaning pile for weeks – plus you get to eat all of this deliciousness from the comfort of your sofa. The only negative? It’s realising you didn’t order that second naan and the dreaded washing up. Would we order from Flora Indica again? Absolutely!
This sounds delicious! We have been loving the meal at home kits, the closest we can get to going to a restaurant!