Starters are where an Indian meal begins to show its personality, and our new menu has more of them than ever. Alongside favourites such as Onion Bhajee, Seekh Kebab and Chicken Chaat, there are several new small plates now being served at our West End restaurants in Charing Cross and Soho.
Here is a closer look at each new starter, what to expect, and how to order a few for the table.
Chicken 65 / Paneer 65
Crispy chicken or paneer with curry leaves, chilli, ginger and garlic. Chicken 65 is usually traced to Chennai in South India, and there are plenty of competing stories about where the name comes from, none of them settled. What everyone agrees on is the result: crisp outside, juicy inside, and fragrant with curry leaves.
The paneer version gives vegetarians the same experience. Both have a bit of heat, so if you prefer mild food, try one piece before claiming the plate.
Hara Bhara Kebab
Crispy spinach, pea and potato patties with delicate Indian spices. "Hara bhara" is often translated as something like "lush and green", which describes these well. They are bright green inside, soft in the middle, and gentle in spice.
This is the starter we would point a vegetarian guest towards first, and it is a good counterweight to anything grilled from the tandoor.
Vegetable Samosa Chaat
Samosas, chickpeas, yoghurt, chutneys and fresh garnish. Chaat is a family of North Indian street snacks built on contrast: crunchy and soft, cool and spicy, sweet and sour, all in one mouthful. Here the samosa is broken up and dressed rather than served whole, so every forkful gets a bit of everything.
It is a lively way to start, and it shares well between two or three people.
Panjabi Singara
Deep-fried pastry filled with a savoury spiced mixture. The singara is a close cousin of the samosa, and in some parts of India the two names are used for very similar snacks. Ours is crisp, golden and made for picking up with your fingers.
Salmon Tikka
Salmon marinated with fenugreek, yoghurt and spices, then chargrilled. Salmon takes to a tikka marinade very well. The yoghurt keeps the fish moist, the fenugreek adds a slightly savoury, almost maple-like note, and the heat of the grill gives it a lightly charred edge. If you usually order chicken tikka, this is a good place to try something different. Read more about what makes grilled dishes so good in our piece on the tandoor clay oven.
King Prawn Puri
King prawns in a lightly spiced tangy masala, served on crisp puri. This one is a long-standing favourite rather than a newcomer, but it fits so naturally beside the new small plates that it deserves a mention. Puri is a thin, deep-fried bread that puffs up in the oil, and it makes the perfect base for a saucy prawn topping. Eat it quickly, while the puri is still crisp.
Maharaja Signature Mix Platter
Samosa, onion bhaji, chicken tikka, seekh kebab and paneer tikka, with salad and chutneys. If the table cannot agree, this is the answer. It gives everyone a taste of the fried, the grilled and the vegetarian in one go, and it is a good way to work out which starter you will order on your next visit.
How to order starters for the table
A simple approach that works well:
- For two: one fried starter and one grilled starter, for example Chicken 65 and Salmon Tikka.
- For four: the Maharaja Signature Mix Platter plus one or two new dishes such as Hara Bhara Kebab or Vegetable Samosa Chaat.
- For a vegetarian table: Paneer 65, Hara Bhara Kebab and Vegetable Samosa Chaat, with chutneys.
Starters arrive together and are meant to be passed around, so do not worry about matching one dish to one person. Order a little more variety than you think you need, and share. Keep the starters light if you are planning a full meal afterwards. Our guide to Indian starters and snacks and our article on the best dishes for sharing have more ideas for pacing the meal.
Please tell us about allergies when you book. Our kitchen handles nuts, dairy, eggs, gluten, fish, shellfish, soya and sesame.
Book a table
All of the new starters are on our menu now. Coming with a group? Our group set menu makes ordering for a big table simple. Book a table and start with something new.
