Punjabi Rasoi

Sometimes you have to search a little further beyond Birmingham’s Balti Triangle to find a truly superlative Indian restaurant. Punjabi Rasoi is one such gem, down Warwick Road in Acocks Green, that has the kind of singular focus that translates to supreme regional Indian dishes. That focus, as the name suggests, is Punjabi cuisine, dishes from the northern region of India. With five-star chefs artfully balancing Indian spice masala and classical culinary technique, plus the freshest of locally-sourced ingredients, Punjabi Rasoi should be on any curry connoisseur’s bucket list.

Diners come to Acocks Green from central Birmingham and as far afield as Solihull and Coventry to dine North Indian-style at Punjabi Rasoi. Here, executive chef Shekhar Raturi (whose cheffed for dignitaries, the Horseshoe Restaurant, and Marco Pierre White) commands a team of Indian chefs that all have a background in five-star hospitality – which means proper classic training in the Indian school of cookery, impeccable presentation and attention to the standard of the ingredients, and a crucial awareness of how spices blend and complement the ingredients in each and every dish. While the food here is authentically Punjabi, this Indian kitchen down Warwick Road is unafraid to add a contemporary, or even personal, twist to its creations.

Settled in with Punjabi Rasoi’s excellently curated wine list and menu, you can’t go wrong with the traditional Punjabi street snack of gol guppa, mini puff pastries with a chickpea and potato filling plus a dish of masala water for dipping. If you are, as you should be, in good company, why not share a Rasoi platter, a selection of popular Indian appetisers: murgh tikka, Punjabi champey, sheekh kebab, Punjabi jingha, salmon ka tikka. Turning to the mains, it’s true that it’s not all north Indian at this upscale Acocks Green restaurant. There’s a Goan-style salmon dish and the fusion-style murgh keema, with chicken tikka and minced lamb brought together in a medium-hot herby, spicy sauce. But in general, the vegetarian and non-vegetarian mains, sides, rice and biryani here bring the culinary language of the Punjab to Birmingham’s Warwick Road in peerless fashion.