Berlin – Madni – Halal Indisches und Pakistanisches Restaurant – When and where will my next Euro-Curry be?

At 08.00 this morning the last of the open German borders were reportedly closed. Thankfully, international flights continue taking off from Tegel Flughafen, and the fallback of trains to Brussel for the Eurostar maintains, albeit at a price which reflects demand/supply/profiteering. With the feeling of dread lifted, it was time to go out for food. For how long will the Germans be permitted to do this? I can see the UK trying to close all pubs and restaurants soon, expect the riots.

I have become aware of even more Pakistani outlets for Curry in Berlin, after the comfort of Swera yesterday, it was time to go exploring. Madni – Halal Indisches und Pakistanisches Restaurant (Prinzenallee 27, 13359 Berlin Deutschland) has a resounding name. The U8 from Alexanderplatz took me to U-Bhf Pankstrasse, from there it was a few minutes walk to Madni.

Madni is a decidedly small Curry Cafe with six tables arranged in pairs. Maybe twelve people could be accommodated. Clearly, Takeaway is a major part of their business. Arriving just before 13.30, I squeezed myself into the furthest table, the Menu was already in situ.

I was pleased to see a – Fisch – section, time for a change from Lamb. Fisch Sabzi (€9.90) could satisfy my desire to include – Interesting Vegetables. The young chap serving came to take my Order. He confirmed that Rice was included making the Curry even better value, and accepted my request for – Scharf und ohne Paprika. I also added – Desi, Apna – just in case it made a difference. A chilled litre bottle of Sparkling Water (€3.00) was provided, just the job. It was 16ºC outside, there is a sign that winter may be over.

A Poppadom and three Dips were presented. A somewhat watery Chilli Sauce and Raita were poured over the Poppadom. Bring on the blast of Cumin Seeds! I shall miss these, but then I have to get back to Blighty to be able to miss them.

The place was a hive of activity, a chap sat at the window tables filling the small containers to be used for Takeaway Dips. Surfaces were being wiped, table tops, kitchen apparatus, everything. This was good to see given the present hiatus.

The Rice and Curry were accompanied by a Modest Salad. This I declined, Paprika and Rocket, why waste food? The Rice was a classic Euro-portion, about double what I could eat, this would be wasted.

Fisch Sabzi

Swera set the standard yesterday. In terms of appearance today’s Sabzi matched it. The Curry was topped with Ginger Strips and a sprinkling of Coriander leaves. As I decanted the contents of the pot, so I noted the Vegetables: Green Beans, Peas, Cauliflower, Courgette and Carrots. There were plenty of pieces of Fish in there also, Rotbarschfillet which translates as Redfish. Now we know, I trust a Fish expert will remind me what this actually was. The Masala, once revealed, looked on the thin side, the quantity was such this Dish was thankfully far from – Soup.

The Spice was noticeable without being demanding. The underlying Flavour was typical of what one receives in Mainland Europe. One wonders what combinations of Spices they use, or more importantly, what they don’t use.

A chap dressed quite differently from everyone else came in and acknowledged my presence as I ate. I deduced this was Mein Host. As a lone diner, this made my day, such courtesy, a welcome to a face he had never seen before. Another chap, who appeared from the back kitchen (?) every so often, looked remarkably familiar. Perhaps he has a twin working in the UK?

As I ate on so I became more attuned to what I was eating. The Masala had no great depth of Flavour on its own. Some of the thicker parts of the Masala had shrouded the Fish, eating these was perhaps the best moments of the meal. The Vegetables that needed to be firm were so, those which should be soft, were. The Vegetables added a diversity of Textures but little in the way of Flavour. I have had some great Aloo Gobi moments in recent times, today the Vegetables were little more than ballast. The Flavour mostly came from the Fish, and any sense of Seasoning also. Some of the Fish required a bit of chewing, fortunately, the Texture was far from rubber. This Fish was actually very well done in terms of presentation and Flavour. Pleasant, enjoyable, and better than the alternative that is Deutsche Fayre, the mind wandered a bit. Imagine a Chef from Glasgow or Bradford opening up a – Desi Curry House – in Berlin and exposing the population to Punjabi Fayre. Maybe somebody has, and Hector hasn’t found it yet?

Today there was no – Wow! The search for this in Berlin continues, or it will when travel becomes less stressful.

The Bill

€12.90 (£11.73) A decent feed for a modest price.

The Aftermath

The Calling Card was accepted gracefully, Mein Host was pleased that I had enjoyed my meal.

On the return journey I stopped off at Mauerpark to remind myself of the time when many more people were trapped on the wrong side of a national boundary.

As I write this, I note that all unnecessary travel to the EU is to be stopped for thirty days. Ah, Brexit, how clever that was. In a couple of weeks, Curry-Heute will be ten years old. The plan was to commemorate the day at Indian Mango (München) where the best Fisch Curry ever experienced, a Chettinad, is served. Of course, if I cannot get out of Deutschland, I may make it after-all.

Menu extracts