"Maharashtrian chef-owner Manoj Vasaikar’s smart, white table-clothed, extraordinarily popular two-room venue in Hammersmith isn’t Maharashtrian as such — but there are a few classics with contemporary touches to be found here. Vegetable bhanola — steamed, griddled chickpea flour ‘cake’ with cabbage and onions — is presented on banana leaves; and prawn lonche with aubergines packs a punch with pickling spices. Chicken hirva masala from the Malvani community of the Konkan region is dressed in a fragrant green gravy of fresh coriander, coconut, and green chillies; and prawn lonvas is a rare dish from Mumbai’s lesser-known East Indian community flavoured with the famed ‘bottle masala’ — not easily found in India, let alone London. Light, aromatic biryani is made in the style of travellers’ fare on an express highway — different from the way it’s cooked in wealthy suburban households, but just as good." - Sejal Sukhadwala
