There is a new tang to the tomato dip and it has made a tidy pairing with our poppadoms which have been broken and devoured in all too quick succession.
Stony Stratford's award-winning dining emporium Calcutta Brasserie is offering patrons to celebrate Diwali with a four-course meal this Thursday (Nov 12).
All in for £21.95, your foodie feast will be accompanied by live Indian music.
Total MK is dining a week early, sampling an all-vegetarian alternative for the meat-free folks among us, and we're in safe hands; the majority of chefs who create the plated pizzazz are themselves vegetarian.
No need to suffer a second best delivery at the Brasserie, then.
Poppadoms demolished, we are presented with a generous platter to share – the Indian cheese, paneer tikka, and old friend in filo, the vegetable samosa prove that opposites can attract, while the wise addition of potato cakes and perfectly plump spinach bhaji's are mouth-wateringly moreish – cooked just so, and soft to the meeting.
Plates cleared and taste-buds duly tickled, there isn't long to wait for our main spicy selection, a vegetarian thali.
For those who want to taste a variety of dishes in one sitting, this is the way to go, and wow, what a way to go.
We are each given a variety of hot and cold temptations; paneer makhni, tarka daal, subz ki miloni, pulao rice, raitha, salad and pickle, and to wipe it all clean, a nice naan.
We do like a good tarka daal, but all too often they fail to meet expectations.
Not so at Calcutta, which has the consistency perfectly sown up.
The subz ki miloni is a chunky treat, a vegetable feast with plenty of taste excitement, and the paneer cubes sit in a generous gravy, with a rich base, which delivers an unannounced little kick. Cheeky!
The generous portions mean there is more than enough here to sate the appetite of Total MK's Indian-food loving duo. But after such a full fill of typically excellent fare, we still have to tackle the desert menu. This could prove one step too far...
From a selection also boasting crème brule and vanilla panna cotta, one portion of mango flavoured kulfi and one raspberry cheesecake slice are ordered, delivered and devoured, quick smart.
Well, as youngsters, you are told to clean your plate before you leave the table, right?
Diwali is the Hindi festival of light, and fittingly, this Calcutta Brasserie menu is spectacularly bright.
Indulge your senses as you celebrate the festival.
Book online at www.calcuttabrasserie.co.uk or call 01908 566577.
