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It was only back in November when I first visited Indian Palace in Cherry Hinton. I was immediately struck by the sheer quality of their authentic north & south Indian cuisine. Ever since, I have looked back fondly at my experience longing to return.

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Fast forward to September and they have now opened a second venue in the town of Huntingdon. I was keen to visit and I haven’t visited Huntingdon in a while, so I made an extra special effort to come see them.

Fun fact: The team at Indian Palace also owns the Indian supermarket in Cherry Hinton.

The restaurant is fresh and new, with a minimalist design of black and white. There are numerous decorations tastefully dotted around the restaurant, proudly celebrating their Indian heritage (while also adding some much needed colour). There is a stairs in the middle of the restaurant that is currently closed but is due to open soon for upstairs seating. This should provide enough seating for any number of people in the future.

I squealed in enjoyment at the sight of both Cobra beer and Kingfisher, both on draft. A fine start indeed!

Both my guest and I were pleasantly surprised at how competitively priced it was on the menu, with a classic chicken curry (korma, madras, etc) going for a mere £8.99 😱

My initial thought was that perhaps they have had to scrimp on the ingredient quality to make these savings but after speaking to the owner myself, he explained that he goes to London twice a week especially just to get meat fresh and then butcher it from the bone on site. Many other ingredients are sourced locally within the Cambridgeshire area, so these competitive prices are likely due to the significantly cheaper overheads in Huntingdon. I’m starting to understand why some businesses are moving out of Cambridge, as it really makes a noticeable difference.

Starters

Papadums and pickles

We started with a few Papadums and a mixed pickle tray. This is often one of the dullest parts of the review, as it is a hard dish to write about but I was actually surprised at how interesting these were. The mango chutney had a thicker and smoother texture, with a more earthy flavour and a subtle hint of spice than your average mango chutney. The chutney was incredibly fresh and felt like it was made in anticipation for our visit (we’ve all had those mango chutneys that taste like they’ve been sat there for several days 😂 – but not here).

The lime pickle was so original, unlike anything I have tasted before. It was served in large chunks that made it extra juicy (though hard to spread 😂) with a potent sour taste that sent my taste buds wild. It had an attractive deep orange colour that really made the tray look exciting with vibrant colour. The yoghurt added more of the same, with a bright creamy yellow that came with a thick texture and zesty flavour. Everything was superb, with my only concern being that portions may have been too small if we had ordered more than two papadums. For us, however, I was just right.

Kerala Beef Fry

We were presented with a Kerala Beef Fry and Chilli Chicken for our starters.

The Kerala Beef Fry is a popular South Indian dish made from boneless beef, which is then mixed with Kerala spices, coconut, and curry leaves. Both my guest and I were simply blown away by this dish. The beef had a complex but incredibly satisfying texture of tenderness, yet still managed to give off a slight crispiness. The spices gave it a rich flavour with a mild spicy warmth that was invigorated by the sweetness of the coconut.

This is an absolute must for anyone thinking of visiting the Indian Palace. We just couldn’t stop picking at it 😍

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Chilli Chicken

The chilli chicken was the dish I was least excited about (as I am not a huge fan of Indo-Chinese food) but this was the best example I have ever had. The impossibly soft chicken is served in large chunks in a sticky and tangy sauce, with peppers and spring onion that add a satisfying crunch. It was medium spiced, giving a warm glow that slowly builds as you eat through the dish but this shouldn’t be enough to scare off people looking to step up spicy food. I really appreciated that it was not overly sweet, like other examples I have had in the past.

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Both my guest and I couldn’t make up our mind about which one of the two was our favourite, with both of us repeatedly changing our minds after each sample.

The Chilli Chicken is another must!

Main course

Kadai Chicken

We started with a North Indian dish called Kadai Chicken. This dish came with large chicken chunks served in a smokey sauce. The chicken was incredible and we got tremendous satisfaction from sinking our teeth into it. It was less saucy than the other two up-and-coming dishes but this allowed the chicken to stand out and take centre stage while still having enough sauce to banish any dryness.

Paratha

We were given some paratha; a flakey layered bread dish popular in India. I have had paratha many times in the past and have always preferred it to naan, mostly due to it being less bloating. It can be a little messy but it is much easier to wrap up the delicious chunks of tender lamb into a sandwich and indulge.

Lamb Methi Masala

Methi is another North Indian dish that came with a rich creamy sauce. Made with fenugreek, it had an ever so slightly bitter taste, with some of the most tender lamb of the evening. It had an absolutely incredible depth of flavour and perfectly complimented the crispy paratha bread to mop up the sauce but the dish was also a good fit for rice.

Naadan Lamb Curry

We ended our meal with a Kerala dish from South Indian called Naadan. By eye, the Naadan lamb curry looked very similar to the methi curry but that is where the similarities end. This stunning dish is made with coconut, giving it a sweeter and less savoury flavour. My initial thought while reading about it on the menu was that it was going to be similar to a Thai curry but thanks to the aromatic spices, it still felt like an Indian curry. It had a smooth texture and a bold flavour that was the perfect choice for a centre piece main course.

We were offered a dessert menu but we were both too stuffed to entertain the idea…though a few minutes later it found its way into my hands anyway. The dessert menu was quite generic, with nothing that overly excited us, other than some kulfi (Indian ice cream), so we decided to wave the white flag and call it a day 🏳️

Conclusion

Just in case you hadn’t already guessed, Indian Palace blew us both away tonight…Exactly as it did during our visit to their Cherry Hinton restaurant, last year. There is clearly a consistency of quality from the team, indicating that they know exactly what they are doing. All the meat was of the highest quality, unsurprising considering the lengths they go to source their meat (and the fact they run an Indian supermarket bodes well too). Both my guest and I couldn’t make up our mind on which dish was our favourite, changing our mind each time we tried the next one. In the end we had to surrender to the idea of having a favourite, as we loved it all!