4 June, 2014
From Wales to Delhiwala Southall
I’ll be honest. After a fabulous foodie holiday in Wales, there is nothing I wanted more than some tasty, vegetarian Indian food. Spice was what we were all after and Southall was on our way home.
Southall is located a couple of miles from Heathrow Airport and is home to the largest Asian community in London. The neighbourhood is predominantly Sikh and the streets are full of gurdwaras, temples, shops, and amazing food. For me, a trip to Southall always includes a visit to the Gurdwara on Havelock Road and a delicious meal at Delhiwala. This is a family tradition that is going strong for many years now.
Havelock Road Gurdwara
Delhiwala is a pure vegetarian restaurant on King Street (the ‘other side of Southall’), away from the madness of Southall Broadway. Delicious, home-style Punjabi food is their specialty but they also have South Indian and Indian-Chinese dishes on the menu. Don’t expect much ambience or decor. It’s all about the food here and aside from two television screens blasting the latest Bollywood hits, there really is no ambience.
Have a look at the menu here: http://www.zomato.com/london/delhi-wala-southall/menu
First up for us was Papri Chaat which was wonderfully crisp, creamy, spicy, tangy and everything else, all at once. Brilliant and satisfying, as always.
Chana Bhatura screams Punjabi comfort and is a staple Delhiwala order. They do a great job with the tasty chickpea curry which tastes fabulous scooped up with the softest, fried bhaturas and a smear of pickle. Yum.
It didn’t end there. Rajma was up next – a delicious kidney bean curry that is a favourite in any Punjabi home.
It was the first time we ordered this dish here and it was wiped clean with some tandoori roti and an order of paneer (cottage cheese) parantha for the little one.
Given that Delhiwala also offer a large variety of Indian mithai (sweets), the dessert was disappointing. The gajar ka halwa (carrot pudding) was overheated, almost burnt, and the kulfi (Indian ice cream) wasn’t worth the calories. Disappointing but I can live with it as the rest of our food was delicious.
Delhiwala is my favourite place in Southall for authentic, home-style Punjabi food. Highly recommend a detour to Delhiwala Southall the next time you are driving past Heathrow with a serious Indian spice craving.
P.S. We picked up a greedy takeaway for dinner too! 🙂
Delhiwala Southall
11 King St, Southall, Greater London UB2 4DG