The drawback for ?Stan! with the Hilton Hotel weekend rate is that Breakfast is not included. This suits me perfectly, why eat anything other than Curry when one is in Bradford? It did not take much persuasion for ?Stan! to join me at the Kashmir (27 Morley St, Bradford, BD7 1AG). We crossed the recently opened Millennium Square, fountains et al and of course found the venue open. The Kashmir is always open, so if we were to get our planned Bier Tour under-way, an early Curry was mandatory. At 11.30 we entered the downstairs Cafe, we were not the first customers.
My normal fare here is the driest, Herbiest Curry I can find on the menu. The Kashmir has set the standard of what I call a Dry Bradford Curry. I have never reached the end of the menu before, or if I had, the final entry meant nothing. Today was different. I do know a lot about Curry and I know what I like. The very last item was Lamb Karela.
The staff can be a bit reticent, the ice has to be broken. Yet judging by the singing from the kitchen, there are Happy Chaps working here. The waiter had to check in his own language that Karela was available, we were given the go ahead. ?Stan! ordered the same, unsure that he had ever had Karela before. When Ricky was last up in Glasgow we had it at the New Karahi Palace.
?Stan! nibbled on the Complementary Salad and Dips, this was his first visit downstairs. I know the food comes in no time at all. Somehow we were served before the couple who been there before us. They had ordered Rice, maybe that is why their food was served after ours.
The accompanying and inclusive Chapattis were piled six high. Time for the first Dip. There was no big hit from the Lamb itself, I had not ordered my usual Herbs dish, but wait…. the Karela was to the fore. Just how dry and bitter can work this well is no mystery’ cf Bier-Traveller.com for a description of my favourite Biers. This was very good indeed, with Methi it would have been perfection. I need to try harder to communicate with the staff here. They do not recognise me as the Kashmir is usually third in my Bradford pecking order.
The disadvantage of having no Rice is that one gets full very quickly eating Chapattis with a Curry. One is then left eating the Curry in its raw form if one is to finish the meal, however, finish it we did.
The Bill
£14.20. With two soft drinks too. One can pay more for a single Curry in other premises.
The Aftermath