THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
THE TRANSATLANTIC MAGAZINE
20 Greek Street, London W1D 4DU
Happy Ganesh Chaturthi! In case you're not in the loop, that's a festival honoring the birthday of the Hindu deity Lord Ganesh. If you're still in a muddle, he's the one with the elephant head. He's also the God of wisdom and prosperity and the remover of obstacles. It must be true as I made my way to Gunpowder unhindered, where I sampled their celebratory 7 course menu for £29. This easily garners the award for best value for money, 2025!
Patron Chef Nirmal Save is the innovator behind what is now 3 shops in London and 1 in Lisbon. On the last Sunday of every month, Chef Save creates a special menu in celebration of one of the many festivals of India. He mixes street food with classic Indian in a contemporary style all his own. The bistro, with dark wood, banquettes and a splendid collection of photographs, is comfortable and alluring. Service too is friendly and efficient, adding to the neighborhood feel.
7 courses is a lot of food, but the portions are well-judged and though I was filled to the brim, I wasn't stuffed. A cheese chilli Masala bun was Save's take on cheese vada pav, Mumbai's potato burger. Here the spiced potato is stuffed inside a brioche bun, topped with garlic chutney crumble and served with a kick-ass chilli ketchup. The heat was right on the edge of just right and we put out the fire with a ginger and cucumber spritz (£9). Perfect!
Crispy potato patties with white peas, masala, red onion, tamarind, mint chutney and fenugreek papadi crisp was as complex as it sounds. The potatoes weren't crispy but the myriad of flavors all worked brilliantly together, with pomegranate seeds offering the final pop of a culinary exclamation point.
A skewer of grilled, corn-fed chicken breast had a great char. Marinated with garlic, coriander and ginger, it was salty and full of flavor. Candied carrot pickle tempered the dish with a touch of sweetness.
Welsh lamb osso buco was pick of the litter. Slow cooked in caramelized onion, apricots and garam masala, the meat was fork tender and the sauce a beautiful mix of sweet, savory and spice. Shoestring potatoes added a bit of crunch and basmati rice with herbs, spices and Maharashtrian style masala vegetables (similar to pulao only better) was a lovely excuse to gorge on more sauce!
Roasted semolina, rice and wild mushroom bread, steamed and grilled in banana leaf sounded enticing but the consistency was wet and pasty. Enoki mushrooms didn't pack the needed punch to stand up to the complex sauce of the lamb.
A steamed rice dumpling was stodgy but the filling was a delicious blend of coconut and jaggery, the caramel-like cane sugar. Served with a delicate saffron malai, India's answer to custard, it was a very pretty end to the meal.
Lord Ganesh is also celebrated as the God of new beginnings. I'll drink to that!
