>When did you open?
We opened the shop on the 4th April 2005. We started out in Elephant and Castle Market on St Patricks day, 17th March 1998 in a small trailer, moved to Whitecross Street Market EC1 very quickly. Continued there and found Lower Marsh Street market. Divided our time between the two. Settled in Lower Marsh and finally found the shop in Lower Marsh. Throughout the years we have attended other markets and provided outside and private catering too.

>Do you use curry powder?
No.  We grind our own whole spices. The combination is a trade secret.  Occasionally you will find a surprise peppercorn, cinnamon bark, coriander seed.  We don’t even use chilli powder. Chillies are always fresh, birdseye mainly.

>What kind of Chicken Curry is it?
Normal. Our curry can’t be pinpointed to any type as it has its own uniqueness. For a start it’s cooked in extra virgin olive oil.   But North Indian is probably the closest style of cooking.

>Are there nuts in any of the curries?
It is always best to ask.  But generally, only the Korma has ground almonds in it. The organic brown rice may also contain traces of nuts and so may the lentils and beans.

>Where do you buy your meat from?
We introduced fresh free range chicken oyster thighs in 2003 and in 2005 switched to free range chicken breast fillet owing to supply problems of oyster thigh. Fresh lamb for diced as well as mince the leg ourselves for the keem. Both chicken and lamb come from Smithfield Central Markets in London, where we can be assured that the meat is of the highest standard and thoroughly inspected.

>Why do you use free-range chicken and what is so different about it?
We care about what we eat therefore we care about what we offer you. Free range chicken is grown in specially designed houses which provide enough space to allow a maximum of 13 birds to each square metre. The doorways must equal the length of the longer side of the house to encourage the chickens to roam as they wish in the open air for at least half of their lifetime. The area directly outside must be covered predominantly by vegetation and offer at least one square metre per chicken. The feed must contain at leat 70% cereals and the birds be grown to a minimum of 56 days. In turn there is a subtly different texture and different taste of chicken grown with access to the outside as well as a far better quality of life for the birds. They are naturally reared with no hormones injected into the chickens. For further information on why we use free-range chicken visit www.politics.co.uk. For details on our suppliers, feel free to visit their website www.freemansofnewent.co.uk

>Who's the chef?
We both are.

>What rice do you use and how do you cook it?
Guru White basmati rice.  It has a fantastic quality grain and can take many mistakes eg. adding  too much water, too little, windy extraction system, hob too slow etc.  For two people, take a teacup of rice add a drop of extra virgin olive oil in a pan over a stove.  Add two teacups of cold water and boil with a lid on.  As soon as water is boiling level with the rice turn the hob down very low.  Keep checking the rice hasn’t stuck to the bottom by sticking a fork to the bottom of the pan to see if all the water has evaporated.  Because we are so used to making rice its hard to give you timings but around 20-22 minutes is all the time the whole process should take.  You’ll get used to the times through experience of cooking rice.  For large quantities the 1cup:2cup rule doesn’t work though!  Although one of our customers told us about the finger rule where the distance between the rice and top of the water should be up to the height of the middle knuckle in the middle finger but we have never tried this.

We now also use Infinity's fair trade Organic Brown Basmati Rice which is a lot trickier to cook. General rule is 1 cup:1 and nine tenths if the rice is grown in Pakistan. A little bit more water if the rice is grown in India. The reason for this,it rains more in Northern India..I think.

>Are they the same curries every day?
We rotate our curries and change the menu with the vegetarian selection tending to be seasonal.

>Why do you have such a small menu?
We like to make each dish special.  So we only concentrate on a few.  We offer the chicken curry and a speciality chicken such as Coconut chicken, A vegetarian option and the forth dish being a Keema Minced Lamb, or a diced Lamb and/or a prawn curry or mixed seafood.

>Why does it tend to get very busy and the queues long?
We have a high demand for our product and cook in small batches to maintain quality. Thus we have to continually keep cooking to demand. The sheer volume of customers can cause queues. This is not such a regular occurance so just hang in there and we will get to you.  Alternatively, you can always call the shop for takeaway on 020 7620 0593 to reserve a curry.  We know how precious your lunchtime breaks are, so we are working hard to meet your demands.

>Will you open in the evening?
Eventually, yes. It is inevitable. Keep watching this website.

>Why do you cook with extra virgin olive oil?
Because it is light and far healthier.The mono-unsaturated fatty acids traditionally reduce the level of bad cholestrol preventing heart disease and resist cancer causing agents.

>How do you keep your prices reasonable, especially when you use free-range chicken, organic pulses, organic tomatoes, sea salt and extra virgin olive oil etc?
In order to make our food available fast and maintain total freshness we rely on lots of customers. In order to attract you we keep the prices affordable.
We do not have waitress service, so this allows us to pass on savings on staff to you. Additionally we do not charge extra to eat-in or add on service charges as do all other quality establishments. This in turn encourages you to buy from us. There is generally no need for tipping if you eat in. However should you wish to leave a little something it all goes to our table clearers and washer uppers who do a fantastic job when the pressure is on during busy periods.

We originally started this business because we thought that good healthy food was far too overpriced so we have kept prices to what we would like to pay when we eat out. Thus trailer to shop we will stick with our aims and objectives.

We also saved set up costs by undertaking alot of the work of opening up the shop ourselves. From designing to managing the shop. This in turn allows us to pass on the savings to you. So you are not paying for setup costs in your meals.

>Do you take on any outside catering?
Yes.

>Are you taking any party bookings?
Yes we are. Our alcohol licence is on its way . Once this is complete, you can hire us out in the evening for your parties. More details coming on this very soon so watch this space.