Allowing that you have to leave Russia for a visa-run now and then, Brit expats will tend to head to the UK anyhow. They may say it’s to see their old mum, or buy some marmite… but the true joy of any trip to Britain is to have a real curry. Not a half-hearted effort served-up for three times the proper price in Moscow, but a real curry. For some that means a tandoori… for others a Balti… or a vegetarian thali… but yes, a real curry. This is going to be very bad news for British Airways – but there’s finally a great local Indian in Moscow that serves all your favourite dishes. Run by Indians, cooked by Indian chefs. With fabulous service, curry-house prices, draft beer, and mouth-tingling authentic food. No “glamour”, no belly-dancers, no absurd furniture or deafening music. It’s the real thing, and you don’t need to make any allowances. And you don’t need to fly to Heathrow for it, either. “I didn’t open it to make money – I opened it to serve really great Indian food to people, and make them happy” admits Aroma’s genial owner Dinesh Nair. “In fact I deliberately set the prices so that a student can bring his girlfriend here to try Indian food, and they can have a starter, a dal, main course and bread, and the bill won’t be more than a thousand roubles. And for that they get gourmet-quality food and charming service too.”

Things started well – with a crisp cold beer, a pint of Sibirskaya Korona for just 129 roubles. The social, fun-loving side of Indian cuisine is centred on sharing dishes and trying a little of each – and that’s exactly what we did. Most of the classic starters come in at 225 roubles per generous sharing-sized portion, and we chose vegetable somosas, chilli pakoda, and paneer mint pakoda. Chris fell in love instantly with the samosas – “they’re perfect!” he munched. “Packed full of filling, with a nice crisp case”. The paneer pakodas were tender with a delicate sophistication to their flavours. The chilli is not, ehem, sophisticated, but it “hits the spot” with pinpoint accuracy. Luckily there was some chilled salty lassi drink to quench the flames – but we were fired-up and ready for more now! Of course, it’s hard to resist the temptation to order “all your favourites!” when you find them in the menu, but Dinesh persuaded us to try something unusual – aloo bhunda (195 RUR), a crisp-coated pureed potato dish served as elegant little croquettes of exceptional yumminess.

But how could we refuse a Butter Nan? Especially for just 75 roubles – and the veggie main courses are outstanding value at 225-250 roubles each, for huge portions to share. Palak Paneer (250 RUR) came gorgeously swathed in a rich green spinach-based sauce, but you might have enjoyed any of a whole range of veggie dishes just as much. Despite the huge choice for vegetarians though, there are six (!) chefs working down in the kitchens on tempting tandoori dishes like Lamb Sikh Kebab (350RUR) or Tandoori Tiger Prawns (790 RUR). The attention to detail is astounding, and each of these regional Indian dishes is prepared by an expert in that region’s cooking. It’s the simple things that are the sign of a restaurant that really cares about food, and the Lemon Rice (195 roubles) was a gourmet creation in its own right.

We took a pause in the refreshing calm of the air-conditioned dining-room… but the offer of home-made authentic Indian desserts was a temptation too far, and we succumbed to authentically sticky gulabjamun for 175 roubles – served with a generous scoop of ice cream.

The service is discreet, attentive and charming, and the staff speaks English. They have menus in English too, and the whole experience can easily hypnotise you into believing that you slipped through a timehole into Bradford or Southall High Street. They even publish the recipes in the menu! Aroma has finally hit the successful formula for serving perfect Indian food perfectly - this is going to be a huge hit with the expat community in Moscow.

10.08.10