Punjab Balti, Ranelagh, Dublin 6.

The Punjab Balti in Ranelagh have been served fine Indian food for almost fifteen years now, and a consistent team in the kitchen and a value for money ethos that never lost it’s way have served them in good stead – it’s as good now as it ever was.

I ate here recently on a Friday evening with my daughter Abigail, who has been studying hard for her exams and was in need of diversion and relaxation, as well as some good food. The Punjab Balti is somewhere I haven’t been in a while, but it used to be a favourite. The welcome is as friendly as ever and we were soon sitting with Cokes and menus, and a bowl of poppadoms. Abi is a bit of a poppadom fiend and is picky to boot, but these were good and the three homemade dips were excellent. The menu is long and lists about fifteen starters and too many main course options to mention– all the favourites are here, with of course and emphasis on dishes from the Punjab. As we had arrived before 7.30 we could avail of their early evening special, so we were getting a starter and main course, with a glass of wine for €14.95.

The starters had a few dishes I wasn’t familiar with and we chose one of these, seafood taka tak and an old reliable, the chicken tikka. The main courses set us a dilemma, Abi wanted the lamb Karahi, and I couldn’t decide on a chicken dish, but our waiter suggested a dish from Nepal, chicken Gorkhali. He explained one of the chefs is from there, and this is a family recipe, so although I haven’t come across it before, that was recommendation enough. A saag aloo completed the order. I was driving, so I had to forego the glass of wine, but Abi ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, while I ordered a bottle of sparkling water.

We chatted about Abi’s exam and her impending three month holiday while we waited, and the restaurant was filling up with families and groups. I noticed some people bringing their own beer and the waiter confirmed that you can indeed bring your own beer and wine for a small corkage charge.

Our starters arrived quickly and Abigail’s chicken tikka was juicy and spicy, while the seafood taka tak was minced fish pan-fried with spices and prawns and served inside stuffed tomatoes. We each ate half of each and swapped over, and both dishes were really very good. The main courses continued to please, the lamb Karahi was tender meat and strong flavours and the saag aloo was much better that most, with fried onions and ginger mixed through. The chicken Gorkhali was a great surprise, nice chunks of chicken served in a mint, coriander and liquidised grren pepper sauce. At first I thought it was very mild, but it has a satisfying kick. Our main course came with Palau rice and coriander and garlic naan bread, which is included in the price and the naan was particularly good. We finished the meal with two coffees and settled a bill for less than €35 Euro, which has to be the best value meal I have had in a long time.

Later that evening, I remembered that Paolo had reviewed this restaurant years back, in 1998 to be exact. Reading his review in the archives it seems not much has changed, except I think it cost me less! Here is a quote from then.

We walked contentedly back to the car re-living the parts of the meal that had made an impression. I asked Dillie to sum up the meal as succinctly as she could. Her verdict? 'The best Indian food I've eaten in Ireland.'

It seems some things don’t change very much and in the case of the Punjab Balti, that’s a good thing.