St George’s Day

English drinks and Indian street snacks

Much to our shame, we’ve realised we have no English-produced drinks on our menu and St George’s Day seemed the time to put this to rights.

We’ve matched English beer, wine and a potato vodka cocktail to some of our favourite Indian street snacks with some surprising results.

Following each snack item (two would make a normal starter portion) we’ve included our tasting panel’s conclusions on how the matches work, expressed in Robert Parker-style percentages.

But don’t just take our word for it, try for yourself.

Drinks

 

Worthington White Shield bottle conditioned India Pale Ale 4 .25 (500ml)

Aromatic hops, toasted cereal notes and hints of smoke and spice, enhanced by fragrant fruity characters, the faintest whiff of exotic cheese and paprika

 

Surry Gold, Denbies 3.25 (125ml)

Müller Thurgau Bacchus Ortega Reichensteiner Fragrant medium white wine, rich in fruit and floral aromas with subtle hints of spice

 

Dhaniyatini 5.75

Made with Chase English Potato Vodka from Herefordshire, roasted coriander seeds, muddled with apple and a drop of Amaretto

 

Street Snacks

These classic Indian street snacks go surprisingly well with our chosen English drinks and are served in half-sized starter portions so that you can try more than one.

Choose your drink from above list

Aloo moti tiki with mint yoghurt salsa 2.95

Cocktail rosti coated in puffed sago with a chilli bite

Surrey Gold – 75%, Dhaniyatini – 73%

Tandoori black tiger prawns 4.50

Sea sweet, juicy and burnished in the tandoor

Dhaniyatini – 84%, Surrey Gold – 75%

Crispy whitebait with tempered yoghurt and tamarind sauces 3.25

Crunchy little slivers, poised to dive into sauce

Dhaniyatini – 85%, Worthington White Shield – 80%, Surrey Gold – 77%

England’s favourite chicken wrap, cucumber salad 3.50

Chicken tikka in a well-bhunaed masala sauce in chapatti

Dhaniyatini – 87%, Worthington White Shield – 75%

Indian style chicken satay, papaya and peanut chutney 3.50

Lively spicing, and good contrast with chutney

Surrey Gold – 82%, Dhaniyatini – 77%, Worthington White Shield – 71%

Lamb and green pea samosas, mint and tamarind sauces 3.75

Cumin and ajwain studded shortcrust pastry wrapped around well-tempered spicy filling

 

Worthington White Shield – 77%, Dhaniyatini – 75%

Tasting plates

Tasting plates include two street snacks that we feel go well with our chosen English drinks.

Worthington White Shield plate 6.50

Lamb and green pea samosas, Crispy whitebait with tempered yoghurt and tamarind sauces

Surrey Gold plate 5.95

Aloo moti tikki, Indian style chicken satay

Dhaniyatini plate 7.50

Tandoori black tiger prawns, England’s favourite chicken wrap