Kashmir Indian Restaurant , London

"Chef Razdan and his wife Shweta run this smart, cosy, welcoming restaurant in Putney — the only one in London entirely dedicated to showcasing the refined cuisine of the Kashmir Valley, a region surrounded by the Pir Panjal and Himalayan mountain ranges in North India. After ceremoniously washing hands with a decorative vessel called tashtri, tuck into crisp, black cumin-studded lotus root kababs, aubergines tangy with tamarind, and dum aloo cooked the traditional way — in a spiced yoghurt gravy, not Punjabi-style tomato-onion that’s found everywhere else. Lamb arrives in several guises — on the bone in rogan josh, cooked in milk and deep-fried, and as two types of festive koftas in mellow yoghurt and bright-red chilli gravies. Kashmiri pulao is not the generic horror containing tinned pineapple and glace cherries like at some avoidable venues: here it’s the real thing, bursting with paneer cubes, almond slivers, and pandan flower water." - Sejal Sukhadwala