A Return Visit To Praan Indian Restaurant In Belper
Published On Monday 12 Sep 2022 by Sticky Beak
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There comes a point where you struggle to buy birthday presents for someone, doesn’t there? Mummy Bird is pretty much sorted for stuff she needs/wants day-to-day so, to be honest, I was bloody stumped as to what to get her for her special day. Luckily Mummy likes eating out as much as we do so, after putting our heads together, The Man and I came up with two options: Sunday lunch the day after her birthday, or dinner on her actual birthday. I remembered how wonderful my own birthday meal had been at Praan Indian restaurant in Belper (and the fact that Mummy had said she’d like to go there one day) so thought that that would be a great place for us all to gather, especially since Fledge was coming with us.
Praan doesn’t have its own parking but we grabbed a spot in the nearby Co-Op car park and walked over; it’s only a couple of minutes away and it was a pleasant evening, temperature-wise. The one thing to point out is the fact that you need to go down a set of stairs to access Praan, so if you have mobility issues it might not be the best place for you.
We were greeted warmly and taken over to our table; a nice touch was the gentleman moving the table out a bit so that Mummy and I could easily be seated on the back banquette, then placing it back at a comfortable distance when we were sat. Fledge sat on the other side of the table with her Daddy Bird and we got drinks (Lemonade, Kingfisher lager, and a bottle of Pinot)and Poppadoms and Pickles ordered sharpish, settling in for what we hoped was going to be a fab evening.
There was a lively buzz in the restaurant; clearly we weren’t the only ones in the mood for a ‘Ruby’! It was lovely to see families dining too, especially those with younger children – one thing I’ve noticed over the years doing the blog is that there’s a definite upward trend in bringing children out to eat, which is as it should be, in my opinion. Brits have always been a bit stuffy in comparison to their Mediterranean counterparts when it’s come to the issue of bringing kids out for dinner, but how else are young ones meant to learn restaurant etiquette and experience different cuisines unless they’re exposed to them?
The menu at Praan is extensive and offers a wide selection of fish and seafood dishes in addition to its specialties and classics, so it took us a while to decide what we fancied. I chose the Stuffed Pepper (filled with Paneer, though there are other options) as I’d enjoyed it so much on my birthday and The Man went for his favourite, Lime and Chilli Scallops. Mummy Bird ordered Chicken Shashlik as she knows she likes that and was told that it wasn’t overly spicy here, whilst Fledge had her beloved King Prawn Puree.
I had been sorely tempted by the Scallops too, but had got my eye on the Scallops Hyderabadi for my main and didn’t want the same thing for both courses, unlike Chickadee who also had (Tandoori) King Prawns for her main. The more seafood in a single sitting, the better, as far as she’s concerned! Mummy Bird had Lime and Ginger Seabass for her main and His Nibs plumped for White Jalfrezi Lamb. To go with our curries we shared portions of Vegetable Pilau Rice, Lime and Mustard Fried Rice, Peshwari Naan and Garlic and Coriander Naan.
We weren’t chewing our knuckles in hunger for long and, once the obligatory photos had been taken, we all tucked in, a hush descending over our table as we did so. His Nibs’ Scallops were beautifully soft and fragrant, contrasting against the tart citrus tones and the heat of chilli that washed over his taste buds. Mummy’s chicken pieces were generous in size (she ended up passing a couple of bits to The Man) and moist in the mouth, their charred hint partnering the Tomato, Pepper and Shallot chunks really nicely.
My Tandoor-baked Pepper was comfortingly sweet and soft to the bite with charred bits of flesh adding another layer to the flavour party and it was stuffed with lots of rice, vegetables and pieces of creamy, mild Paneer - I quickly remembered why I loved this so much! Chickadee had soon gobbled her King Prawn Puree, so clearly this was super-tasty as well. There were also a couple of bowls of side salad for us to share and they were beautifully cool and crisp, with a nice balance of vegetables in.
As one of the Praan team came to clear away our starter plates he noticed the birthday badge Mummy was wearing and took the time to convey his best wishes. That was it then; the flood gates opened and just about all the staff came over at various intervals to wish the birthday girl ‘Happy Birthday’! Our glasses were refreshed with wine from the portable cooler at the side of our table – we literally didn’t have to lift a finger for the rest of the evening. His Nibs ordered another pint of Kingfisher lager; he loves it when it’s on draught, as it is here at Praan.
I swear we could smell our main courses before we saw them arriving on the trolley! Our nostrils were twitching in anticipation and then, bam!, the lovely man appeared with his colleague, working smoothly to place freshly warmed plates, bowls of scrummy curries, pots of rice and Naan breads before us in next-to-no-time.
Mummy Bird was very happy with her fillet of Sea Bass; it was lovely and moist, still lightly firm in texture and nestled on a bed of wilted Spinach and Potato. The Lime and Ginger sauce was delightfully fragrant but not so robust as to overwhelm the fish, and everything worked together in harmony in the mouth. Regular readers of the blog will know that Fledge is a creature of few words, so when she declared that her Tandoori King Prawns were perhaps the nicest Indian meal she’d ever had you could’ve knocked us all over with a feather! Praise indeed for Chef at Praan. To be fair, the Prawns were very large and their flesh was succulent and nicely meaty to the bite – plus there were plenty of them, so Fledge’s ardent appetite was soon satiated.
His Nibs had gone for a White Jalfrezi and to be honest it didn’t look an awful lot different to a ‘normal’ Jalfrezi, but it was definitely different on the palate. The spice level and flavour was still there (so fans of Jalfrezi can relax), but there was an extra dimension of creaminess in there that lingered superbly in the mouth and the onion and peppers ensured that there was plenty of substance to the curry to really appease any hunger pangs. My choice of Scallops Hyderabadi was certainly hitting the bulls’ eye for me; it had everything I could have wished for: seafood a-plenty, a brilliantly pungent spiciness whose lightly tart character seemed to enhance the sweetness of the Scallops, and a selection of vegetables for colour and texture.
The Lime and Mustard Fried Rice wasn’t at all oily, just full of taste; the Mustard seeds add a hint of crunch when you bite into them and their flavour is actually gentler than you would perhaps imagine. Even Mummy tried a bit and liked it so much that she had some more later in her meal; we’d ordered the Vegetable Pilau mainly for her, although Fledge helped her out with it (you’re all heart kidda, all heart!).
I am a sucker for Garlic and Coriander (my favourite herb) and the combination of them and the pillowy soft bread had my taste buds swooning with joy, and I loved the fact that Chef scores the breads’ surface so that it’s easier to share. Praan definitely have all the little touches off-pat. Sometimes Peshwari Naans can be too stuffed with shredded Coconut (which then spills out everywhere, making a right mess) but, there was enough Coconut here to be clearly discernible on the palate without piles being spilled on the cloth. The Naan wasn’t cloyingly sweet, which meant that a flourish of Honey to decorate the surface wasn’t an unwelcome addition; instead, it had us all happily licking our fingers to get it all in our tummies! At this point our lovely server came over with those great lemony towels, tearing the packets open for us and offering them to us one by one – told you the service was fab, didn’t I?
We weren’t going to have dessert, agreeing to round things off with black coffees, but then The Man Bird spied his old pal ‘Tarta Fantastica’ and just couldn’t resist its charm. I couldn’t let him eat alone, so I found myself having the Lime and Mango Sorbet combo to keep him company and end my meal - I’m a good wife aren’t I ?!. A nice medium-roast coffee provided the perfect final flourish for us all and we all smiled happily as we bade farewell to Abdul and his wonderful team then walked out into the summer evening.
Throughout our meal check-backs were done and every effort made to ensure we have a wonderful celebration meal; Mummy said she’d felt like royalty, so huge thank-yous to the whole team are in order. Hot Wings happily awarded again to this fantastic Belper Indian restaurant.
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