Indigo: a Rich Mix of Indian pickings

By contributor Rachel Dring.

Indigo is a modern Indian diner based in Shoreditch, in the basement of the Rich Mix arts complex. Enter through a big sliding glass door past a lit-up picture house sign, into a sleek interior with shiny black veneer tables and chairs and ultramarine patterned wallpaper.

This already feels refreshing – not the chintzy traditional Indian interior I expect from the typical Indian restaurant. Indigo combines modern, simple, clean lines with a splash of vibrant colour.

I visited Indigo on a warm summer’s evening. I started with a Swizzle Mango – a cooling mango smoothie with mint, lemon and ginger ale, which I sipped while staring through the floor-to-ceiling windows watching the Hoxton hubbub.

I dined with a friend and we shared all our dishes, starting with Papdi Chaat, a popular street food dish. Papdi Chaat is all about the layering of different flavours and textures. At the base is a layer of papdis (deep fried savoury biscuit discs), topped with spiced chickpeas, crushed lentils & potatoes, diced red onions, sprinkles of sev and jinni sev, smothered in yoghurt and spicy tamarind sauce. This made a crunchy, sweet and sour snack that’s like a party in your mouth. The spicy tamarind sauce had a good kick to it – they’re not holding back too much on the chilli here, which I appreciate because I like it hot.

Pav Baaji 

We also ordered the Pav Baaji which is another street food favourite – my Gujarati friend raves about this dish so I thought I should give it a try. It combines mashed potatoes, carrots and peas in a tomato gravy spiced with pav bhaji masalas. It comes with a toasted bun on the side. The result is homely comfort food with a great flavour of warming spices and soft mashed veggies. In hindsight, not the best dish for a hot summer day as it’s quite heavy, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Paneer Shashlik

For the main we shared Paneer Shashlik from the tandoor – thick triangles of well- marinated paneer cheese cooked with peppers and onions. The paneer had a lovely smoky taste and a good firm consistency. Coupled with the fiery chilli sauce and cooling raita, this made a great summer dish. The only thing I would have liked more of was the peppers and onions. Amongst the five big pieces of cheese I only had two pieces of pepper. That’s quite a lot of cheese to get through on your own, so I’d recommend this dish to share. More veg would have helped to balance the dish.

Aubergine Bharta

We also had the Aubergine Bharta – smoked aubergines in a rich, moderately spiced gravy. This was very tasty. We had it with saffron pilau – gorgeous saffron infused rice with crispy fried onions and cumin seeds. Very flavoursome and more-ish – I couldn’t stop eating it, even though I was already quite full! To finish we had a pot of chai tea each. This was good authentic homebrewed chai that I could tell had been simmering in a pan rather than made from a packet.

By the end if the meal we were both completely stuffed – the street food dishes are more of a small meal than a starter, so clearly, we over did it. But I love trying a bit of everything when I have Indian food. A better way of getting a bit of everything is the bento box. This is one of their most popular dishes, I was informed at the end of my meal.I was intrigued because I’ve only ever seen bento boxes at Japanese eateries but Indigo offers the Indian Bento. This is similar to a thali but presented in a Japanese style box, and combines a starter, main course and accompanying bread and rice in more manageable portions.On the menu it says this is only available from 12-5pm but as it’s been so popular they’ve extended this to the evening menu as well. If I’d known that at the start I would have ordered the Indian Bento! But all the more reason to come back.

Missed opportunities aside, it was nice to see a modern Indian eatery that’s doing things a little differently, offering a more authentic range of dishes like dosas and chaats, instead of the usual Anglicised balti’s and tikka masalas. I was pleased to see some new dishes here that I hadn’t come across before.

Indigo

To sum up the experience, the food was good and the atmosphere was really pleasant. Indigo offers restaurant-quality food in a relaxed diner setting. I’d recommend it as a good spot for breakfast, lunch or a quick bite before catching a show at Rich Mix or a night out in Shoreditch.

Food I Fancy dined as a guest.

INDIGO
Rich Mix
35-47 Bethnal Green Road
London, E1 6LA.
Tel: 020 7012 1287
www.indigostreetfood.com