Food from Every Stall on Norwich Market – Week 4 and A Taste of Punjab

This is the fourth week of our plan to eat at every food stall at Norwich market this year.

WEEK 4 : A Taste of Punjab

This is the menu for today’s dining at Norwich market, a range of meat and vegan dishes all clearly displayed and priced. This is one of those stalls where it’s easy to see what they’ve got available, which is much appreciated for me when I’m working out what to have. I did think that it was quite a wide selection given the small size of the unit that they have to work with.

There was only a brief wait for service at the counter and the server was polite and helpful. When I asked she mentioned that they did accept card payments, but they preferred cash so given that I decided to use my emergency cash supply if that’s what they preferred. At least there was a choice, although I must admit that I prefer to pay by card.

I went for the tarka dall which the menu stated came with a choice of rice or chapati, although I wasn’t offered that choice and was automatically given rice. This is much thinner than I’ve ever had tarka dall before and for my personal taste I think it needed some texture to it rather than being mostly liquid. I was offered coriander and chillies, both of which I accepted and the latter added some slight texture and spice to the whole arrangement. There probably could have been a greater depth of flavour as well and although I’m sure it was freshly made it didn’t have the richness of spice I would have ideally liked. The rice was cooked well, so that didn’t disappoint, with the portion size of the meal being reasonable and everything was at the appropriate hot temperature. I did consider adding on a chicken samosa, but they seem to only sell them in threes and I didn’t want that many.

And there’s Nathan’s vegetable biryani, which looked agreeable to me and he mentioned that it tasted very acceptable. The food was served promptly, near enough immediately for mine and Nathan’s was ready within around ninety seconds. There’s also a handy ledge, which was clean, to stand and eat at if required which proved useful for me to get started.

My food cost £6 which wasn’t unreasonable for a hot lunchtime snack, but I would have ideally liked something with more texture and a deeper level of flavours. I did like the taste of the meal and it was filling, so that’s all to the good. I wouldn’t be averse to visiting again though, perhaps next time going for the chicken biryani.