Chook Chook Indian Railway Kitchen. A Delicious Taste Of India’s Golden Age Of Railways.

Andy Mossack reviews Chook Chook Indian Railway Kitchen and finds glorious Indian fare in Putney.

Putney’s well-heeled residents know a thing or two about the finer things in life, so when you find an Indian restaurant brimming with locals, and an army of delivery bikers waiting outside you know you’re onto something special.

Tucked away on Lower Richmond Road, almost within spitting distance of the Thames pathway, Chook Chook Indian Railway Kitchen at first glance looks like a modest neighbourhood curry diner. But walk in and you’ll discover something quite different.

It’s not that spacious, but let’s face it, railway carriages don’t tend to be. But that’s just what Chook Chook represents, a celebration of India’s golden age of rail travel. The whole place is stylishly decked out as a luxury Indian railway carriage complete with banquette seats and turn of the century décor.

This is no simple nod to a theme, it’s an all-out devotion to the Indian railway network, courtesy of owner Sahil’s attention to authentic detail. “We designed everything ourselves. No architects.” Everything, from replica station clocks and vintage table lamps, to the elegant copper tableware tells me this is a heart-felt passion project.

But as this is a restaurant, the food has to more than justify the fabulous interior, and thankfully, in this case Chook Chook delivers the goods (no pun intended). I mean, who has ever had a chocolate samosa before, or for that matter a beetroot puri? Some excellent non-standard Indian dishes which are a very welcome surprise. That said, for those of you not that keen on straying from traditional fare, the menu has more than enough familiar dishes to keep even the most stringent curry house diner satisfied.

The menu is perhaps a cheesy take on the rail theme divided into simple sections such as a departure board indicating the various food sections and a welcome aboard page. But the sections do keep things simple, and there’s a hefty number of starters to get the juices flowing. I’m pretty keen on focussing on starters anyway as you can snack a variety of flavours and nibbles without getting too full.

The Chaat Junction section has quite an array of those tasty traditional street food snacks, including examples such as the aforementioned beetroot dahi puri (£8) or a mango chana chaat (£7.50) or even an amritsari tikki chole (£8) a Punjabi potato cutlet dish normally eaten at Indian festival celebrations.

But instead, I do a bit of a dive into the vegetarian and non-vegetarian starter section and they all sound very enticing. The chilli paneer (£10.50) is made up of four delightfully light tikka paneers topped with a slice of green pepper and onion and offering up a spicy late kick.

Then, curry leaf wings (£12), chicken wings tossed in fragrant curry leaves and flavoured with South Indian spices was a real hit. A pair of succulent Awadhi lamb chops doused with a wedge of fresh lime (£15) from northwest India were an absolute treat: marinated in ginger, garlic, yoghurt, green chilies and coriander and baked in the tandoor. Last but definitely not least is a chilli chicken dry (£11) a sweet, sour and spicy crispy chicken with bell peppers and chilli sauce.

Not only were these dishes beautifully cooked, they came hot and freshly prepared straight from the kitchen, served in striking copper dishes, accompanied by some crispy assorted poppadum cradled in a bamboo basket. Also a shout out here for the mint sauce, the taste of which will be forever in my memory.

Some main dishes now, and another paneer dish but very different from our starter. This paneer butter masala (£11) is seeped in a rich butter and tomato sauce that screams ‘eat me.’ Intensely moreish.

As is the Karahi chicken (£13) tender pieces with green pepper and onions in an intense ginger and coriander sauce. Finally, a steaming pot of home-style traditional creamy house black daal (£10) sitting in what seems to be a ceremonial copper jug, together with another extraordinary pot of fragrant pilau rice (£4.50).

A royal feast fit for a maharaja without a doubt.

But another surprise materialises. Remember that chocolate samosa? I have to confess Sahil, clearly seeing my bafflement at such a dish, delivers a small taster. Yes, it is a regular samosa, but it’s filled with dark melted chocolate with a dollop of bourbon vanilla ice cream on the side. It works like a dream.

This has been an epic culinary tour around India’s provinces. Fantastic fare set within a glorious tribute to India’s historic railway network. Putney’s discerning cognoscenti must be so chuff chuff they have Chook Chook Indian Railway Kitchen on their doorstep. Highly recommended.

All food images (C) Andy Mossack.