The Panahar

According to one regular, co-owner Jalal and his friendly, helpful staff have put Panahar “high above the rest in Croydon” – a view shared by other readers who also rate this no-nonsense neighbourhood curry house. It certainly ticks all the requisite boxes when it comes to properly executed, accurately spiced food at creditable out-of-town prices. The long menu summons up all the usual suspects from baltis, kormas, jalfrezis and biryanis every which way to less-familiar specialities with odd names: ‘chotpoti’ is a dish of chickpeas and potatoes simmered in a special sauce; chicken lallia is laced with bird’s eye chillis; roop chanda is golden-brown whole fish cooked under a slow heat with onions, coriander and touch of garlic. There are tikkas and tandooris for the meat eaters, while veggies have plenty of flesh-free curries plus the usual sides (Bombay aloo, sag dhal, etc). On Sundays, the highlight is an ‘all-you-can-eat’ buffet running until 5pm.