INTRODUCING THE FINE DINING THALI-LU

Yes, you’re not imagining things, I’m back at that Indian Fine Dining place in LE1, but this time I’ve been invited to sample their ThaLi-Lu. Following on from the success of my first visit (you can read all about it at Lilu: Passionate about Indian Fine Dining), I was very excited to be trying their version of the Indian classic Thali.

THE THALI

A Thali refers to an Indian steel/metal plate and is popular in a number of regions of Indian including, the Gujarat, Punjab and Kerala. The Thali concept aims to provide six differing flavours; sweet, bitter, sour, spicy, salt, and astringent on a single plate. Indian customs denote that a proper meal should be a balance of all of these flavours.

The dishes, which are served in a Thali can vary from region to region but are usually served in small bowls and are placed inside a round steel tray.

Typical dishes include daal, vegetables, roti or another kind of bread option, papad, yoghurt, rice, chutneys, pickles , a drink of lassi and a sweet. Thali can be vegetarian and non-vegetarian.

THE THALI-LU

Ever heard of a fine dining Thali? No, well you’re about to! Lilu is very much an Indian fine dining restaurant. It uses the freshest of ingredients, quality produce and combines it with the expertise of a knock-out chef (more about this a little later) and obviously a big helping of TLC in the form of fine tuning every detail from Pratik Master, the head honcho behind Lilus.

The ThaLi-Lu, by the way genius play on words (apparently it came to Pratik one day when he awoke in the middle of the night-clearly the guy eats sleeps and thinks Lilu) is literally the original tasting menu. Pratik describes the fine dining ThaLi-Lu as the quintessential Thali.

The ThaLi-Lu is just, as a lot of the food is at Lilu, inspired by Pratik’s late mother. In fact the cabbage Kachumber, and the roasted poppadom are both just as his Mum made.

The ThaLi-Lu is an extension to Lilu’s #NotJustaCurry philosophy. It incorporates a selection of Pratik’s family’s favourite dishes in a lavish  platter, which offers the five different flavours I described previously, whilst still drawing upon the family memories of Pratik’s late mother’s cooking.

To bring you a balanced opinion, I sampled the Vegetarian ThaLi-Lu whereas Dr C had the Non-Veg option.

The Vegetarian ThaLi-Lu

This comprises of small bowls of an authentic tandoor made mini Biryani, Paneer stuffed baby pepper makhani sauce curry, Aloo Bhindi curry, A black daal makhani curry, a Laccha Paratha, a savoury of the day (we had a deep fried spice coated paneer wedge), a roasted poppadom, mixed pickle ketchup, raita,  a sweet of the day (minced mango, blended with pulp on a sweet biscuit base) and a drink of salted lassi with cumin and coriander.

The Non-Vegetarian ThaLi-Lu

This has all the same ingredients as it’s Vegetarian counter-part but the curries are swapped for non-vegetarian options, namely the Lamb Cutlet and Rogan Josh curries. Additionally the Biryani is made with lamb.

THE CHEF

I think it’s only fair to talk a little about the man who creates all these rich magnificent flavours for our devouring. I must raise a glass of lassi to the very talented Chef JP. Originally from India, he trained at The Imperial Delhi and worked formally at the prestigious Grand Hyatt. Pratik tells me he is a shy fellow but l will rave on his behalf of his skill for his craft and that you can taste every bit of the 30 years of experience he has in this industry in every morsel of food I have eaten at Lilu. Pratik said to me that Chef JP allows the kitchen to fully flourish and is a key part of the success of Lilu. They and I are truly appreciative that Chef JP has brought all of his professional experience to the kitchen of LiLu.

THALI-LU IMPRESSIONS

The ThaLi-Lu is absolutely mouth-wateringly delectable. The moment it is brought out, you will actually be lost for adjectives to describe both its entrance and presence. It has been executed to completely fit in with the fine dining theme to provide an air of luxury and regal opulence. It still doesn’t detract away from the original Thali’s humble beginnings, yet simultaneously evokes the feelings of eating traditional home cooked Indian food. You are still served, Poppadoms with the Lilu chutneys, an amuse bouche and a palette cleanser to a prequel to the main event.  The presentation of the ThaLi-Lu, marries the richness of the flavours and the freshness of the quality ingredients really setting this take on a traditional Thali apart from the crowd. It most definitely is a contender in its own league. This is a Thali you will remember in the future and set that bar for when you next want a fancy night out but still want traditional and humble Indian fair. If I had to classify the ThaLi-Lu from its counter parts, I would say it’s the the Moghal Emporor of Thalis, I’m talking a  Thali fit for a king.

You have got to be emotionally void to not

like the ThaLi-Lu

Pratik Master

The ThaLi-Lu is available Tuesday-Thursday and is priced at £25 per person. An absolute bargain price for the reasons I’ve explained above.

Disclaimer: My Thali-Lu was complementary however all views, opinions and photography are my own and therefore remain a copyright of be-lavie.

Lilu Fine Dining

74 Highcross Street

Leicester

LE1 4NN

Tel. 0116 2623119

Booking can also be made via the Lilu’s website

À Bientôt…

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