Small prices, big value

Plashet Grove is just around the corner from Green Street - home to such legendary cheap eateries as Mobeen - so Lazzat Karahi, a relative newcomer, will have had its work cut out from the start.

There's nothing like competition to perk up service and drive down prices, and at Lazzat Karahi it seems to have worked a treat. This place is modern, spotlessly clean, straightforward and exceedingly good value. It serves only halal food - alcohol is not permitted on the premises - and some planning is called for as you can only pay by cash. However, on the plus side you will not need a large sum.

Punjabi food has a reputation for being pretty spicy but at the Lazzat Karahi the dishes that are chilli hot also have an admirable depth of flavour. The starters are mainly kebabs and snacks: three kinds of samosas (two for £1), onion bhajis, plus meat and potato cutlets.

These are very good, about the size and shape of a slightly flattened cricket ball, the centre is savoury mince while the outside is rather good mashed potato. You get two in a portion for £2 and they are substantial enough to put a dent in the most ambitious appetite.

The other opening moves are the kebabs (sheek, shammi, chicken tikka), portions are huge, a whole tandoori chicken costs £3. One of the moodier choices is the sliced kebabwhich is a large disc of spicy mince rich with fennel seeds, and a little bit larger than the largest hamburger you have ever seen.

Choose to share a few starters and accompany them with some bread. The plain naans are freshly cooked and large (60p). It's worth paying 90p to try a rogani naan which is thicker at the edges - for all the world like a rolled crust pizza - and with a thick layer of sesame seeds that give it a nutty crunch.

The main courses are laid out in trays in the cold cabinet and then warmed through in a karahi - or in this case a deep frying pan - before coming to table. Although this kind of treatment, and the huge microwave that is centre stage, would be out of place in a posh French restaurant, a robust curry can benefit from being slow cooked then left for the flavours to meld before being re-heated as required.

The baby lamb karahi with bone is rich and almost gooey, the flavours blending together with just a sprinkle of coriander and some chopped ginger adding a fresh note. This is a dish that shows how important it is for slow-cooked curries to be 'with bone', it does wonders for the gravy. The chicken jeera continues the theme - chicken on the bone, rich and thick gravy.

The special biryanis look very good and there are also 'trad' dishes on the board such as nihari, paya and haleem for anyone homesick for Pakistan. The rice is excellent, long needle-grained Basmati, every grain separate and with that elusive - almost smoky - flavour.

Lazzat Karahi is the sort of takeaway we could all do with at the end of the street, with service that is both friendly and crisp. It offers simple cooking and low prices. Even when pining for a beer with your dinner and forced to opt for Pepsi, you would have to be seriously picky to grizzle about somewhere where you can have a main course for £3, and where none of the mains tops £5.

Lazzat Karahi
Plashet Grove, London, E6 1AE