Last Updated on January 18, 2022
Atul Kochhar’s latest restaurant delivers to your door.
Mathura at Home is a new delivery service from Mathura, a restaurant by Atul Kochhar whose fine dining Indian cuisine is well known to Londoners. Mathura draws from a region that ranges from Iran to Myanmar through China, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Kochhar introduces a range of dishes from these countries and blends them with the spices and heritage of India. This results in a variety of dishes that display diverse flavours and ingredients.
Mathura at Home is a very convenient way of eating out, or rather eating in, both for those not yet ready to sit indoors at a restaurant as well as those who do not care to venture out of the warm house on a January night when the temperature is below freezing. Mathura at Home will warm you from head to toe with its aromatic spicing and wide range of regional cuisine. With Michelin starred chef, Atul Kochhar, at the helm, Mathura at Home is one to put on your list. Diners can either order one of Atul Kochhar’s Bundles – a set menu – or choose from a wide range of à la carte options. I opted for the latter and ended up with a wonderfully varied set of dishes.
From a list of starters, I tried Atul’s Murgh Tikka Pie – a tandoor-smoked chicken tikka masala pie with a cranberry and raw mango chutney. This small pie was encased in a delicate pastry strewn with nigella and cumin seeds. It looked very pretty with its pastry dome. Inside was a filling of tender chicken which had an intriguing flavour, I have never tried a smoked chicken tikka masala. The accompanying chutney looked at first like tomato ketchup but what a surprisingly sweet and tangy relish it turned out to be. I liked the seasonal nature of the cranberry which brings a touch of tart to the table. This is one of those chutneys one hopes will be bottled.
The second starter was the intriguingly named Hindukush Nadru Tikki. A Tikki is like a small, deep-fried fritter and this one had an excellent crunchy exterior, all the more impressive as it had endured a car journey from the restaurant to my house. Inside was a mildly spiced mixture of lotus stem and walnut. It was served with another excellent relish, this one made from tamarind.
The main course dish of Prawn Malai was simply fabulous. To my taste, the best way to eat prawns is in a delicately spiced, creamy sauce which is what prawn malai is. Malai is an ingredient similar to cream and this rich sauce contained six plump, sweet and juicy king prawns nestled within. From the mustard colour to the fresh curry leaves, I loved this dish and used a roti to mop up every drop. I would happily eat a bowl of the sauce as a soup, it’s that good.
Kumror Chokka is a vegan option described as Bengali pumpkin and black gram. This was the first time I had eaten this rust coloured dish. It had a good textural feel with the sweet soft pumpkin providing a bed for the firm yet yielding gram. Black gram is a black lentil with a strong earthy flavour and works very well with the sweet pumpkin.
Another dish for vegetarians is the outstanding Mathura signature dal Bukhara. When Fiona reviewed this dish at Mathura she commented on how she could have eaten this dish on its own. I concur. It is one of the best lentil dishes I have ever eaten. It is a slow-cooked Afghani dish, cooked for 36 hours and contains black lentils and kidney beans. I discovered that it contains quite a bit of butter and cream. I guess that explains why it is quite so fabulous. Intent on replicating it, I downloaded some recipes for it and you can do so too, but to be honest, I suggest ordering yourself some from Mathura. I challenge anyone to improve upon this version.
For dessert, there was Gulab Jamun – two sweet milk dumplings in sugar syrup. This traditional Indian dessert resembles tiny doughnuts soaked in syrup and slivered nuts. It goes very well with a pot of chai.
Mathura at Home is a great success. The food is elegantly packaged, encased in Tupperware and brown paper bags sporting stickers with beautiful artwork that I expect must be repeated in the restaurant itself. The food arrived in very good condition and even though I warmed everything through – taking photographs tends to leave the food getting cold – it was all very fresh and tender. There is a wide variety of food and wines to choose from. Meat eaters will be happy with dishes such as tandoori lamb chops or saffron and yoghurt marinated chicken kebabs as starters or lamb bhuna or Kufte Rize (Persian beef dumpling with kidney beans) as main courses. There are plenty of dishes to delight vegetarians and vegans. If you simply cannot make up your mind, order a Bundle (there are two options at £80 or £110 for two) and you will be treated to a veritable feast.
Mathura at Home
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