Curry with mustard in... who knew?!



Ajwani salmon



I WAS lucky enough to do a food review for work at The Coriander in Bourne End. It is part of a chain of five restaurants and I heard really good things about the one in Amersham. I used to be a huge Chinese food fan, but I have grown to love Indian food as if it is done well it tastes a lot fresher and less greasy.

And it is done well at this Indian restaurant as each year bosses meet, review and create new dishes.

The menu is extensive and easy to navigate and everything seems reasonably priced.

For starters we had a coriander platter (£5.95) which is a selection of chicken tikka, lamb chop, seekh kebab and salmon tikka and ajwani salmon (£4.95) - fresh scottish salmon chargrilled in the tandoor with lemon juice, ginger and carom seeds.

Both were delicious. The salmon is cooked to perfection and falls apart as you cut it. The lemon and ginger flavours really shine through for a delicate taste.

The lamb chop was juicy and tender and the seasoning was delicious, as with the chicken tikka.

For the main courses we were given a selection of dishes, which were smaller than the normal portions thank goodness!

The main event

We were encouraged to try the different dishes which the restaurant has to offer. They create their own spices leading to what you would not usually see on an Indian restaurant menu.

The Bengal Fish (£8.95) made me feel as if I was eating abroad. The freshwater fish is served in fillets and is shallow fried with onions, capsicum and coriander and cooked in a tomato sauce.

The fish was not too strong but very flavoursome and was probably my favourite dish.

The chicken Adha Diya (£8.50) is cooked with lots of ginger, garlic, coconut and cream and is satisfyingly rich but not too much so.

My boyfriend , Tom, loved the Mahi Masala (£9.50) which is salmon cooked with onion, tomato, green chillies and grain mustard.

You could really taste the mustard which lead to a very tangy sauce.

The Gurkha Jingha (£11.95) comprised of large prawns marinated in whole grain mustard, lemon juice and ground spices and cooked in a medium sauce. Again you could really taste the mustard. The prawns were large and juicy and cooked perfectly.

There was wonderful heat in the lamb Hariali Jingha (£11.95) which was cooked with spinach, yoghurt, garlic, fresh coriander, green chillis and whole grain mustard with a touch of olive oil. It was the perfect heat for me as it allowed the subtle flavours to come through.

The sweet pumpkin which was served alongside was delicious.

This was all served with special rice and Coriander naan and also Coriander special naan (£2.50) which was with cheese and green chillies- this was quite hot! Almost like eating hot cheese.

What I really liked about this restaurant is the unique dishes and the different flavours (who knew you could have mustard in a curry!)

They were all individual and the meat was juicy, tender and tasty.

I could not fault the service and the obvious passion of the staff for the food they were serving. This restaurant is a must for Indian food lovers.