The polls have closed and the votes have been counted and we are pleased to announce the winner of the 2013 Wandsworth Curry Awards is Ma Goa.

Celebrating its 20th anniversary the family run restaurant in the heart of Putney distinguishes itself with a specialist select menu based around the recipes of 72-year-old grandmother Sushma Kapoor.

Wandsworth Guardian assistant editor Nick Hitchens was at the curry house last week to present the award to Mrs Kapoor, her son and managing director, Deepak Kapoor, and the rest of the dedicated staff.

Deepak, who alongside his mother and late father Raji, set up the restaurant in 1993 explained what set his establishment apart from some top competition across the borough.

He said: "It is all about my mother’s recipes, she is from Goa, hence the name of the restaurant. Now she has taken more of a back seat role but she still comes into the kitchen a few times a week to help grind and mix the spices and oversee things.

"The biggest difference I think is that she is not a trained chef, so the food is truly home cooked - nothing comes from a stockpot, which is what you would find in the majority of other Indian restaurants."

Mrs Kapoor’s expertise are complemented by influences from Raji, originally from Bombay, as well as a few other region specialities to create a very unique looking menu.

This award is just the latest coup for the Kapoor family.

Ma Goa has been awarded a certificate of excellence from website Tripadvisor, which lists it as one of the top 100 restaurants in the capital - standing out from competition of more than 11,000 rivals.

Mr Kapoor said: "It is huge for us, when you think of how many great restaurants there are in London. Winning this award just adds to that. We know just how competitive it is out there so it really means a lot to be recognised by the public."

Goa was originally occupied by the Portuguese, whose legacy is seen both in the regions main religion, Roman Catholic and the food.

This translates into an intriguing menu.

Mr Kapoor recommends the pork vindaloo (£9.75), a dish which while still hot, he stresses should not be mistaken for the reputation of vindaloos as being solely based around extreme spice.

He said: "Vindaloo originates in Goa but when it came to England it began to be used simply as a term to indicate spiciness and a lot of the subtlety has been lost."

He also recommends the Fish Caldin, swordfish in a coconut sauce £11.75 and chicken xhacutti £8.95

Ma Goa, 242-244 Upper Richmond Road, Putney, SW15 6TG 0208 780 1767.

 

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