This post is from the perspective of my wife. She grew up in a town with very few Muslims, no mosque, no halal butchers and no halal restaurant (excluding the 2 Indian restaurants). This is quite the contrast to life in certain parts of the UK then and definitely now.
For those who are not aware, the Curry Mile in Manchester is a stretch of predominantly halal Indian, Pakistani, Middle Eastern and Turkish restaurants. A must visit if you are a fan of any of those cuisines or just a fan of food really. Some really awesome options there.
Not everyone has or had the luxury of growing up with easy access to halal food. Living in a town where halal meat wasn’t available, we would have to go to Manchester for our halal meat and other shopping needs. We would visit every couple of months. Our parents started the tradition and it still exists today. Whether it is a family outing or a single shopping trip but bring food back home kind of trip. This post will include three classics that we inherited from our elders and one that I discovered myself that had to make this list.
Saajan
This was the spot dad would always pick for curries and even after trying a few others this was always the go to. The others just didn’t hit the spot like this one did.
- What we get: lamb karahi, chicken daal, with their normal roti and shami kebab. Their lamb doner is also nice.
Sanam
Their curries were decent too, but it was pricier and wasn’t as nice as Saajan. So, we’d pick up Asian street food snacks from here to take home. These were to die for! We’d take back samosas for special occasions and invitations.
- What we get: mitai, samosa, chicken patties (family favourite). Dips are a must with the samosas.
Delhi
After having or picking up the main meal, for sweets/desserts Delhi was our stop. One of our cousins was always a big fan of this place and kept going on about it. Coincidentally we started seeing it in iftaar meals (Ramadan) too. Then we tried it and haven’t looked back since. The best jalebi in England! Fresh jalebi made to order always and there’s a unique taste you get unlike any other place. All our lives we’ve seen a man at the jalebi counter taking orders and making fresh jalebi. He may be expressionless, but the jalebis lack no expressions or flavours whatsoever! We’d also take back jalebi for special occasions and invitations. Coincidentally, this is also where the husband got jalebis for the family on the wedding day without knowing this was our spot. Husband: hands down this is the best jalebi I have had! Usually, jalebi becomes sickening and I can’t have too much of it, but with these, I couldn’t put them down!
- What we get: fat jalebi (need to tell the man otherwise he won’t do it fat)
Koobideh Place
The above three were OG places passed down from the previous generation’s taste and experiences. This one is my own discovery as I ventured out and wanted to try something else. I liked that the koobideh itself didn’t have an overpowering meaty taste. It had an amazing smokey taste. Even the rice was nice on its own!
- What we get: koobideh with rice. And don’t forget to ask for the red and white sauces.
