Compact menu is big on flavours

IT’S been great to see the renaissance of Cardiff Market over the last few years with exciting new food and drink businesses taking their place alongside more traditional traders.

The latest arrival is Tukka Tuk, an Indian street food joint, which opened just a few days ago and is owned by chef Anand George and entrepreneur Rupali Wagh.

Anand is best known for his Canton restaurant Purple Poppadom which serves high-end Indian cooking that has been praised by the Michelin Guide for its “classic combinations [which] are cooked in a refined modern style”.

Located on the balcony of the market, almost adjacent to Ffwrnes, Tukka Tuk’s compact menu features their signature Kerala fried chicken with Bombay fries (£10), a couple of small plates (£4 – £5.50) and a selection of build your own curry bowls (£6.50 – £9) where you can choose a carbohydrate, curry and a side.

Having placed our order at the counter and found a seat, there was only a brief wait until our number was called and our meal was ready.

My chilli-wuss of a colleague asked for the mildest items on the menu (£7) and while they were light on fiery heat they were big on flavour.

A big portion of silky coconut daal, fragrant with mustard seeds and curry leaf, was sat on a mound of fluffy pilau rice.

The side of Kerala fried chicken showed why it’s a bestseller; juicy pieces of meat were coated in a super-crisp and light batter fragranced with a bevy of spices. A scattering of crunchy coconut, ginger, and curry leaf added both flavour and texture.

I ordered the beef short rib curry, chilli prawns and Keralan wholegrain rice (£9) and it was absolutely delicious. Thick meaty gravy was heady with curry leaf and littered with dinky pieces of yielding slow-cooked beef. Plump king prawns were surrounded by thin and well-spiced batter whilst the wholegrain rice had a nice earthiness.

A small plate of mutton rolls (£5.50) were absolutely crammed with meat. The crisp-crumbed pastry rolls combined really well with a tangy garlic and chilli ketchup and a lightly pickled cabbage salad twanged with ginger.

We had an excellent lunch from Tukka Tuk and it’s great to be able to get Anand George’s flavourpacked Indian food in Cardiff city centre.

Tukka Tuk has raised the bar again for Cardiff Market’s food stalls and I’ll be back for a treat lunch again very soon.