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| The stunning new food hall layout of the Taj Tandoori |
It was great to be back at the Taj Tandoori! It felt like coming home after a long time at war.
The Taj Tandoori is home to one of my favourite dishes – The Bengal Tiger. Slow-cooked mutton in a naga sauce. Since this is the only place which serves it in Cambridge, I always have it every time I visit. I always want to explore the menu further as they have a superb selection of exciting and experimental dishes but the pull of the iconic dish was always too much for me and I end up having the same thing.
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| The Bengal Tiger in all its glory! |
After I watched my mum experience their new shamee burger the other week, I decided to give that a go instead. I knew it would take all my strength to resist the Bengal Tiger once I arrived but it looked absolutely incredible that day and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. If there was a time to try it, it was now.
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The Shamee Burger is spiced minced lamb in a burger bun with paneer and onion bhajis.
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The service here is always top-notch and Amin always knows exactly what I like. So he made mine with naga chilies to give it a real kick. If you are interested in trying the burger but are worried you won’t get that spicy hit then keep this in mind, as the team at the Taj are always happy to cater.
My sister had the chicken biryani, which was received really well. Everyone else had the Shamee burger but when you see the thing in person it’s hard to resist. A table of people eating burgers is something unheard of in an Indian and Bangladeshi restaurant but is also a testament to the quality of these burgers.
The burger itself was out of this world. I didn’t think a humble burger could fill me up enough to be truly satisfied but it was so big that I couldn’t even finish the chips.
I just can’t recommend it enough!
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| Popcorn Dall |
We were treated to a few starters on the menu while waiting for the burgers. The Popcorn Daal was a fantastic, fun, and a very light snack to share before the main course.
The Kale Chaat was superb too. I usually turn my nose up at kale no matter how hard I try to like it for health reasons. The flavour was delicious but what won me over was the texture.
Over the past year or so through lockdown, every papadum we’ve ordered from a takeaway has been pretty much a flat and uninspiring experience, with most of them turning up soggy, so we were itching to get back into a proper restaurant and have them the way God intended.
Boy, I missed it!
One thing I noticed was that the Taj has started to serve proper home-cooked papadums. They are slightly smaller than the usual ones we are used to and they are a little more flakey than before but there was a depth of flavour which you don’t get with the standard papadums.
The lime pickle at the Taj is perfect. It’s got a real kick to it, the texture was perfect and the portions were terrific. The same could be said for the onion salad too. We enjoyed the yogurt, though was a little thin.
As usual, everyone left feeling full and satisfied without a single complaint.
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| As I said, Amin always takes good care of you! |
It was John’s birthday that day, so Amin brought him a birthday surprise. I am not sure whether it was a gift for him or for us watching as John was quite embarrassed but it was an excellent example of the customer service you get at The Taj.
I never get tired of coming to The Taj Tandoori and I always highly recommend it to anyone who loves Indian food. However, not only would I recommend it for Indian food lovers but also people who feel like they may be in a bit of a food rut and fancy some exciting fusion food.
With burgers being incredibly hot in the foodie scene at the moment, I would make sure you check them out as in my humble opinion, these are the best in town!
Phone: (01223) 248063
Address: 64-66 Cherry Hinton Road Cambridge , CB1 7AA.
