The chaps who run Bräugier Brew Pub are well aware of the Curry-Heute blog in addition to Bier-Traveller.com. Apparently, their customers reckon that Bahadur (Sigmaringer Str. 36, 10713 Berlin Deutschland) is the best place in Berlin for Curry. Hector is always happy to explore recommendations. Bahadur has the advantage of being closer to the city centre than Badshah visited yesterday, that was quite a trek.
Open from noon, Bahadur was potentially an ideal place to start the day. Once again Clive would accompany Hector on the U Bahn to Blissestraße, from where it was a short walk.
Arriving at 12.45 the tables outside were occupied, the windows had been fully opened, it took a moment to spot the door. This was the busiest Curry Haus visited this week, good omens.
Two menus were brought the Mittagstisch and the a la carte. Clive was happy to have the Gosht Shimla (€8.50), it would bring back memories of his visit to – Shimla – in the foothills of the Himalayas. I was determined to find out what the real Dishes might offer. At the doorway, I had spotted a fine looking brown Bhuna-style Masala. Having read beyond the Chicken and Cheese Dishes, the Hari Mirch ka Gosht (€14.90) was a possibility. The – sauce – was described as being cooked in Green Chillies, Coriander and Peppers. Green Chilli Mutton – is how this Curry translates into English, the dark, rich Masala as seen at the doorway was hoped for. I established that pieces of – Paprika – would not actually be visible in the Curry, blended in, I can cope with.
For drinks, 0.4l glasses of Fanta and Sprite were ordered. €4.40 for soft drinks, outrageous. Seconds before the drinks arrived, two small karahi were brought to the table, how could our Curry be served this quickly? It turned out to be complimentary Shorva, a nice touch. The Tomato Soup was thankfully – hot – and was well Seasoned, there was no Spice of note. Still, it woke up the taste-buds.
The Rice portion was as served yesterday at Badshah. Too often in Deutschland I have been served this quantity when dining alone.
Gosht Shimla
Was I glad I had not ordered this? Both Red and Green Capsicum protruded from the thin, creamy Masala. This was as Soupy a Curry as one might encounter. OK, it was the Lunch Menu, one takes what one gets, this was evidently poor.
Tender meat, not much flavour – reported Clive. At the end of his meal Clive concluded:
I would not use the word – Curry – to describe it.
Hari Mirch ka Gosht
… or was it?
Topped with Ginger Strips and a sprinkling of Coriander, the whole Green Chilli stood out. I set about decanting the contents of the platter. This was nothing like what was hoped for. Again the Masala was – Shorva, how did it differ from the Gosht Shimla? In what way had this Curry been cooked in Chillies, Coriander and Paprika? The Shorva had slices of Onion cooked in, a pity they had not been cooked down to create – Echtes Masala. The Meat count was into double figures. A solitary Black Cardamom was the only ingredient which looked the part.
This – Curry – lacked everything, the Flavour was minimal, it was no surprise to find the Seasoning lacking also. There was no sense of Spice at the beginning, this did grow marginally as I ate on, however, the Spice Level remained absurdly – low. This Curry would have challenged no-one. Scharf? – aye right!
The waiter came over to ask the customary question:
Everything is OK?
The response had to be brutal:
If you think this is Curry, well…
To make matters worse, the smokers at the outside tables were further spoiling Hector’s meal.
At the end of the meal, we were asked once again:
Everything alright?
If you think that’s Indian food then you haven’t been to India.
(or the UK for that matter)
For the record, both Hector and Clive have been to India.
In what way was this a Hari Mirch ka Gosht?
The Bill
€32.20 (£29.27) No apology, no attempt to offer something better.
The Aftermath
The Calling Card was handed to the waiter, the Curry-Heute website shown. He was keen to see the other Berlin Curry Houses I had visited. The list is becoming quite comprehensive, only Swera and Sadhu presently impress. The waiter asked about Chelany, he was keen to know if I thought it was it better than Bahadur. Perhaps he had worked there previously, whatever, Hector does not recommend Chelany either.
Today’s – Curry Experience – was the classic – Euro-Curry, shockingly poor, or was it a case of us both ordering – the blandest thing on the menu?
Menu extracts
Later, I reported back to the chaps at Bräugier Brew Pub – forget Bahadur.