WHEN it comes to really spicy food I am what is technically known as “a big girl’s blouse”.
Strange then, you might think, that I opted to treat my wife to a meal at an Indian restaurant.
But the aptly named Jewel In The Crown on Aberdeen’s Crown Street offers the type of varied fare to suit all palates.
Boasting an authentic ambience, immaculate spread and the most conscientious staff in the North-east, the Jewel is a real find.
The restaurant manages to strike the right balance between providing intimacy for a quiet dinner, while still able to cater for larger groups on a night out.
Settling down for dinner – with audible but unobtrusive Indian pop music in the background – we made our selections.
The menu provides a clear and very varied array of dishes to suit all tastes, with handy indications of the strength of each dish: one star for mild, two for medium and three for blow-your-head-off.
The sheer number of options is impressive.
I started with chicken pakoras (£5.25) while my vegetarian co-diner picked aloo tikki (£5.25).
The pakoras were perfect – gently fried with just the right balance of flavour.
Karen enjoyed her dish too – potato and herb cakes in bread crumb along with an above-average salad garnish.
For the main course it had to be the murg – chicken korma for me (£9.85) with lemon pilau rice (£4.50) while Karen selected her usual vegetable biryani (£10.75) which also comes with pilau.
For me the sauce was excellent, rich and creamy, with good-sized chunks of chicken.
The rice too was worthy of note, mixed with herbs and spices it complemented the main dish well.
Karen found her biryani a tad too hot although it was clearly marked with two stars in the menu.
The dish was a mix of vegetables and spices, with a fine thick herb sauce through the rice. She enjoyed it immensely.
A piping-hot plain naan bread went with the meal nicely.
With a couple of drinks the bill came to £45.60 – and you’ll pay a lot more for a lot less in Aberdeen.
Highly recommended!