The Naz, Monton Rd, Salford

I had previously slated Salford for its paltry contribution on the culinary map, but things seem to be gradually looking up. The coffee on Monton Rd's cafes is becoming increasingly potent, the takeaways are upping their game as the recession bites, and the only eyesore on the horizon is the newly opened Harvester at Salford Quays, presumably laid on for the BBC peeps who have recently migrated. I decided to revisit The Naz, a contemporary Indian on Monton Rd which is an all you can eat buffet on the top floor and a takeaway at street level.

The Naz provides coffee while waiting for your grub and you can watch the chefs prepare your creation while you wait, your tastebuds salivating as wafts of spices fill the room. The Carnivore and I ordered what is increasingly becoming our staple diet, popadoms with the trimmings, peshwari naan, 2 pilau rice, a Vegetable Madras and a Chicken Dhansak, this coming to approx £15. What I love about the Indian takeaways in Salford is that rice is always included in the price- a rarity in today's greedy society.

The popadoms were wonderfully crisp and stayed fresh all the way home and were served with the full complement of dips- tomato and onion, lime pickle, yogurt and mango chutney, giving me that proper curry house experience in my kitchen. I had to stop myself filling up on them otherwise I'd be too full for the main event, bit difficult though as the pops were a delicious meal in themselves!

Using a tomato base, the madras was a refreshing alternative to other curry houses. As you can see on the pic, the sauce was red as opposed to brown, but it still had the same level of piquancy that the Madras connoisseur appreciates. Fresh veg was used, including chunky potatoes which for me, is make or break for a decent vegetarian curry. Thankfully, not a tinned vegetable was in sight in this perfect curry. The pilau rice was of the coloured variety which won bonus points from me, and the peshwari naan was beefy and bouncy, perfect for shovelling up copious amounts of dhansak and madras. The Chicken Dhansak appeared to get thumbs up from The Carnivore too, as the whole lot was demolished, definitely a winner.