REVIEW: Mama Masala

A couple of weeks back my wife and i called into an Indian restaurant in Glengormley. Mama Masala have a restaurant on the Antrim Road and we had heard it was worth the detour.

Mama Masala is easily accessible with onsite car parking. The décor is as extravagant as you would hope for with a clean atmosphere. We were set to our tables and asked for a drinks order. I was very impressed with the setup.

It was roomy and full of interesting artistic features including a water curtain which helped keep a fresh feeling.
Onion bhajis may seem like a cliché to start with but we love these and we were not disappointed. They were stuffed with plenty of sweet onions and crammed pack full of garlic and ginger. What I especially liked about these was the balance of the gram flour used. Only too often bhajis can be lumpy and floury, but these snapped and were excellent. We offset these with Tandoori King Prawns.

I was testing things a bit here, because a Tandoori oven is so intensely hot and prawns take seconds to cook, I wondered if the chef would be up for this. Only too easy could the prawns be over done and come to the table like bullets, but the chef produced them beautifully.

The seafood was delicate and still held the flavour of the prawn under the wonderful spicing.
Adventurous as ever my wife went for the Chicken Madras but on asking our host for the evening what I should go for, I tried a Lamb Rara Ghosht.

The Madras was a blend of exotic spicing; cardamom, cloves, turmeric, cinnamon and cumin. Mama Masala know spicing, it was wonderful, I truly mean that. So distinctive yet so unique to Mama Masala. It was warm, lemony, rich and packed a hit that kept you coming back for more.

The chicken in the curried gravy was cooked well, moist but not wet and had taken the spicing well. I was told off twice for eating from her plate, but hey I need to know right.
I have taught my children from an early age to taste all food and always try something new.

Yes, it mightn’t end up being to your taste but you could also stumble across your most favourite meal ever. For me lamb Rara Ghosht is my new favourite Indian dish and all thanks goes to Mama Masala and their recommendation.

The lamb was sweet, succulent and falling apart. The Rara Ghosht was hard at first to place. An aromatic array of Indian spices, sweetened with cashew nuts and laced with pockets of lamb mince which was a great texture contrast to the Lamb pieces.

It was warm and seductively compelling, completely overwhelming my palate. I have since found out it is a slow cooked recipe common in India and Persia. But here’s the thing. I ordered it again from another well-known and award-winning Belfast Indian restaurant and although it was the same style and ingredients it wasn’t as good as Mama Masala. Which means I now have an excuse to travel out to Glengormley.
Mama Masala is well worth the detour but it’s also worthy of being the destination for your next meal out. I highly recommend the visit and please try the Lamb Rara Ghosht, because nowhere else does it like Mama Masala.

Paul McMath

Mama Masala can be found in Newtownabbey and L’Derry. Also find them online at mamamasala.co.uk.