Michelle Tompkins enjoys the fresh flavours created in a true Indian restaurant

Rangoli restaurant

Unit 3 Empire House,

Groundwell Road,

Swindon SN1 2LT

Telephone: 0742 4754880.

10% off all takeaway orders

I PROBABLY shouldn’t tell you too much about Rangoli restaurant, because if I do you might actually want to go there.

And if you want to go there, you might tell your friends and then the secret will be out.

Because while it might not be in the most obvious of places – sitting a little off the beaten track at the end of Groundwell Road – Rangoli is well worth seeking out.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say it’s one of the best Indian restaurants in Swindon, with a fresher, more contemporary feel that some of its rivals.

Note I say ‘Indian’ restaurant. I am reliably informed that Rangoli is one of very few authentic Indian restaurants in the town, the others actually serving Bangladeshi food.

Maybe that’s why the dishes seem to taste a little different – lighter somehow? It’s a change I find really refreshing, with fewer heavy sauces and more of the vibrant vegetable flavours.

We fancied a Friday night beer while we waited for our food, so we ordered in the restaurant and then sat in the bar. The place was bustling at 8pm, with everyone from families with young children to bigger groups adding to the atmosphere. Our food arrived 15 minutes later and we set off for home with the smells wafting up out of the bag.

Predictably, we’d gone for poppadoms to start (£1.10 each), if only for the amazing dips I remember at Rangoli. A pot of vivid green mint dip and another of tamarind chutney were a tangy way to get the tastebuds warmed up for the main event, and a much more palatable alternative to the usual lime pickle.

My partner had chosen the chicken tikka masala (£8.10) for his main course, which was less orange than the sort you might be imagining and came with a swirl of yogurt on the top. He devoured it like a man with a couple of beers inside him, pausing only to comment on the fresh flavour.

My main dish was the lamb rogan josh (£8.99). I don’t normally order lamb in an Indian – sorry, Bangladeshi – restaurant because of the risk of fatty bits, but I remembered from my previous visits that fat and gristle aren’t anything to worry about here. This wonderful curry is made with large, meaty pieces of slow-braised lamb leg, cooked with whole spices, onion, tomato, and it tastes sublime. I can also recommend the Railway Lamb Curry (£8.50), a slightly spicier classic dish from the Southern Indian Railway canteen.

We added one baked rice (£3.75) and one Jeera (pilau) rice (£3.50), plus an onion bhaji (£2.75) to our order, which all hit the spot. But star of the sides was the keema kulcha (£2.99), an Indian bread not dissimilar to naan, which was stuffed with spiced lamb and almost a meal in itself.

With 10 per cent off for takeway, our bill (minus the beers) came in at just over £28.

But, shhhhh... don’t tell everyone.