Ely is already blessed with three excellent Bangladeshi restaurants but what do you do when you want authentic Punjabi style Indian home-cooking? Historically, you would need to go to Cambridge but yesterday a small cafe opened on Market Street selling exactly that.

Run by a lovely lady called Harjinder Kaur, who is originally from the Punjabi area of India. She offers a lifetime of cooking experience with the aim of quick and comforting dishes on the go.

At the time of visiting it was only their second day open, so the interior decorating was a little bare. Either way, it had a lovely big window letting in lots of light with a couple of tables. With great food, what else do you need?

The Taste Of Punjab doesn’t just sell Indian food but offers a mix of British classics too. The counter was full of cakes, scones, samosas, bhajis, and curries, with bacon rolls available to order.

There was a diverse and versatile mix of dishes available that should be enough to please anyone looking for a quick breakfast or lunch. Speaking with Harjinder, she mentioned that there are more options to come in the future. Currently they are in the beta testing stage, so choices were a little slim.

Watch this space!

Out of the Indian options there were vegetable and lamb samosas, papri and samosa chaat, spring rolls and onion bhajis. I asked for a bit of everything to get an idea of the quality across the menu.

The samosa’s are packed generously with the lamb samosa being particularly meaty with a generous portion of peas in the middle. The skin was thick and crispy, making it a good value for £2.20.

The chicken tikka masala was delicious. It was incredibly rich but not as creamy as some may be used too, giving it that more authentic feel. It had a spicier flavour without being hot. You could tell it was home cooking because it felt so warm and comforting.

I found the onion bhajis a little dry but I put this down to visiting at the very end of the day.

There was a wide selection of cakes available, including one of my favourites – the red velvet cake.

I was quite partial to their gulab jamun (pictured above). These are confectionery dessert balls covered in syrup after being deep fried. It came with a Jalebi, a pretzel-like syrup covered dessert. Both of these were incredibly moorish and easy to eat on the go without making too much of a mess.

Conclusion

Ely gets another jewel in its foodie crown. Just when you think it has nothing else to offer, something new and exciting takes you by surprise.

The Taste Of Punjab offers many of the Indian classics that newbies to Indian cooking and experienced veterans will appreciate alike. This is home-cooking made by someone with a lifetime of experience with love, care and the passion to share. You will be in good hands here and I cannot wait to hear what everyone on the Cambridge Foodies has to say about their visit.

I look forward to popping in here again and seeing what else they have to offer in the future. Watch out for a desi breakfast and thali menu coming soon.

Thanks for reading!