Well this has to be the best curry café I’ve yet found in Edinburgh /Scotland. As with all such establishments, the décor is functional — you come here for the authenticity of the food. It’s always a good sign when a curry café has Nihari on the menu, as not everywhere offers this slow cooked dish. I try to be a traditionalist wherever possible though so, having arrived late afternoon, I wasn’t going to have what is considered to be a Breakfast /Morning curry. I’ll head over next time for the 11:30 opening to try the Nihari — gives me another excuse :-) Today I went for a dish that has become a staple in Pakistani food culture, Haleem. Adapted hundreds of years ago from the original Harisah recipes which were first documented in the Middle East sometime between the year 900 and 1000, Haleem is now prepared and enjoyed in Pakistani family homes and restaurants all over the world. At just a fiver(currently) for Haleem and a hot, buttered Naan, this medium spiced dish is not only very tasty, but is also superb value. Today I had Beef Haleem. It was delicious. The dish is prepared with Beef, Wheat, Barley and Lentils(plus spices) and it is slow cooked to such an extent that the beef completely blends into the other ingredients so the dish becomes a thick sauce«curry». Tearing off a corner of Naan and dipping it in, it tasted fantastic. The Marhaba Kitchen is a proper curry café and the owner /chef could not have made me any more welcome. Next visit — Nihari time! :-)
