THEY MAY be a lot of things and, you may say, not all of them good... but our MPs aren’t completely daft.

Organising a national curry competition for the nation’s finest Indian chefs at your workplace is, however you look at it, not a bad plan.

After all, that lovingly prepared food made by people who have spent a lifetime learning their trade has to be eaten by somebody.

This year, executive chef at the Raj Bari, Salim Siddique, came third in the MPs’ Tiffin Cup held in the Palace of Westminster and word came back to the D&S offices that our man Salim, the only North-East finalist, “wuz robbed” of the big prize.

The chef went on to fly the flag for British curry in Kolkata, formerly Calcutta, to take back “home” the food that has been changed so much in Britain, the home of the balti and chicken tikka masala. Mr Siddique was chosen as one of six master chefs in the whole country for the honour of selling curry to the Indians themselves. No small achievement.

With a chef like that in the kitchen, we were expecting a big, fancy plush restaurant and big, fancy prices to go with it. Money was judiciously transferred from savings for the occasion and we got a little bit dressed up.

Our first surprise came when we excitedly walked through the doors of the restaurant in Yarm High Street to find what looked like a decidedly everyday curry house. Only refurbished in 2009, it has a more functional feel than we imagined – all bright lights and functional, branded paper tablecloths.

Slightly disappointed, our spirits rose when we saw the prices. The average price for a curry was about the £8 or £9 mark. The bank wasn’t going to be broken after all.

Drinks on table, chatting away, we forgot to actually choose a meal. The waiter shared a laugh with us, told us to feel free to find him, but he’d be back. In the end, I asked for his recommendation and he had no hesitation pointing to the lamb ghar ka bhuna gosht, a strongly spiced dish costing just £7.95. I understood that a waiter might want to push a dish his restaurant is struggling to shift, but he was so genuinely enthusiastic about it, I went with his suggestion.

For starters, I had an onion bhaji, £2.95, which is, in truth, what I always have. It was everything I hoped for, but nothing extraordinary.

Simone, on the other hand, went for the chef’s special, a tandoori king prawn meal, with a mildly spicy sauce, served on a bed of onions.

The prawns, lovingly prepared, were packed with subtle flavours. Allowed some of Simone’s dish, I still cast envious glances over the dining table.

One can tell a superior Indian restaurant, I would contend, from the nan bread and the rice. Our pilau, £1.85, wasn’t that mass of stodgy, slightly overcooked yellow dyed business, traditional for the Saturday night post-drink brigade. Instead it was aromatic, perfectly flavoured. Our keema nan, £1.95, was freshly cooked, light and piping hot. I, entirely honestly, would have enjoyed just eating the side orders.

But the main business of the evening, the actual curries, did not disappoint. My bhuna gosht was full of delicious, spicy flavours, medium hot, the meat was tender.

The waiter shot up even further in my estimation.

Simone had chosen a much sweeter, milder, prawn Malayan, £7.95. We shared the meals, as seemed expected, our plates left for us to fill. The sweeter Malayan perfect after the hotter bhuna gosht.

During the meal, and, in my case, after two pints of lager, which cost not much more than £5 for both, we got talking to another member of staff, a young Indian woman. Smiley and courteous, she told us Raj Bari was “a lovely place to work”

and the staff were friendly throughout, although we were left alone when we wanted. We noticed the “being left alone” bit because the week before we’d been asked no fewer than four times if we wanted a second drink at an Italian chain restaurant. This was much more natural.

Be in no doubt – this was very clearly superior Indian food, but at a very reasonable price: £36.95 for starters, main meals, a glass of wine and two pints of beer. Our only criticism is that the actual ambience could be warmer, the restaurant more transporting.

But this Indian, which claims to have been the first balti house in the Tees Valley, is firmly recommended.

High Street, Yarm, TS15 9BH
Telephone: (01642) 888004
Website: www.rajbarirestaurant.co.uk
Open: Lunchtimes, 12pm to 2pm every day except Fridays.
Evenings 5pm to 11pm.
Disabled access. Vegetarian options.