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Pipasha celebrated its 25th anniversary with a bang this week, by inviting a select few to join them for an evening of culinary delights.

And what a 25 years it has been, with recognition from the BCA, ARTA, Nations Curry Awards and the English Curry Awards. Few restaurants can boast such a wide selection of award and even fewer can boast a quarter of a century’s legacy.

The people’s restaurant

It hasn’t just won approval from industry institutions either. I once called Pipasha the most popular Indian restaurant in Cambridge due to its cult-like following from locals and members of The Cambridge Curry Community – and it is easy to see why. Pipasha has always been one of the crowning jewels of the Bangladeshi restaurant scene. The food is excellent but most importantly, consistent, with a friendly service to boot. I have been visiting for years and take my family frequently.

Charity in the community

Abdul and Modu have always been at the forefront of supporting their community. I have lost count at the number of local charities and food banks they have supported over the years with their AH Foundation. I will never forget during the lockdown, seeing numerous social media posts of the AH Foundation donating meals to front line workers. Cambridge would literally be poorer without them.

The Pipasha experience

We started off with a beer. There isn’t any beer on draft at Pipasha but there were choices of both Kingfisher and Cobra in bottle form.

The first dish was a mixed kebab. This is always a great way for a restaurant to showcase their meat quality and Pipasha didn’t disappoint. It came with chicken tikka, lamb chop & sheek kebab, all garnished with herbs and a side salad. The chicken tikka was absolutely out of this world, with a soft and tender texture and a lovely red colouring from the tikka process.

The centre piece

We were given a selection of different dishes for our mains, the Lamb Rogan, Chicken Tikka Makhani and a Shabji side.

Sometimes you can just tell by looking at a dish that it is going to be excellent and this was one of these times. The Lamb Rogan had a lovely colour with a mild spicy warmth that slowly built up over the meal – perfect for the middle of a gloomy January. The lamb was oh-so-juicy and tender with a spicy gravy sauce that brought the entire thing together.

The Makhani is a dish I am seeing all over the place at the moment and it is quickly becoming one of my favourites. Pipasha have decided to knock it up a notch by offering a Chicken Tikka Makhani, giving the dish an extra dimension of flavour and a beautiful red colouring on the chicken. The Makhani is a very creamy dish with a bold velvety flavour, making it as accessible as it is delicious. I cannot recommend this one enough!

We were treated to a basket of freshly made garlic naan. I could tell it was fresh as the bread was still warm and so soft. These were one of the best examples of the naan I have had in quite a while and was an ideal solution for the remaining sauce in the bowls.

Dessert

We ended the evening with some Kheer & Gulab Jamun, a sort of rice pudding dessert with a spongy (and very sweet) ball of caramel(?) in the middle. This was another great dish for those cold winter months due to its warmth comforting texture, which also made it far too easy to go down 🤣

Conclusion

Another night at Pipasha is another night leaving full and satisfied. It has been a highly successful quarter of a century for Abdul and Modu and I look forward to visiting for their 50 year celebration to see what else they have achieved in that time. I can only wonder how many awards they will have by then but I have a feeling they’ll need an extra shelf or two!

Pipasha is not only an institution in our fair city but the beating heart of it.

Thanks for reading!