Moonlight Indian Restaurant Corsham – Mixed seafood and lamb shank

This wasn’t out first visit and it won’t be our last. Even though we are based in Bath, we can call Moonlight Indian Restaurant our ‘local’ given the number of times we have been here, more so than our actual local curry house. We intend on doing a series over time, featuring the many delicious dishes we ordered here, starting with this article.

What We Ordered

We started with the usual Poppadoms and Chutney Dips then followed by our mains. For this visit, we ordered the mixed seafood and lamb shank. Seafood and lamb shank are not dishes you would order at an Indian restaurant yet, Moonlight in Corsham did them perfectly.

Starters

We started with poppadoms and chutney set while we wait for our mains as you would at any Indian restaurant. What is missing from the Chutney set is the Lime Pickle (BBC GoodFood). A green, slightly hot dip was used in its place. The other dips in the set are minty green raita, mango chutney and chopped red onion mixed with herbs and cucumber. Apart from the copped red onion, all the dipping sauces are sweat with the mango chutney being the sweetest.

Jal Tarang (mixed seafood)

Now for the main event. Who would have thought that Lobster tail albeit a baby one would make it into an Indian restaurant’s menu. This and other seafoods form part of Jal Tarang. Jal Tarang or mixed seafood is a mix of baby lobster, scallops, sea bass and calamari seared with lemon, garlic and butter then served with coconut milk and curry leaves with a hint of mustard seeds and red chillies.

The curry sauce is sweet which complimented the seafood well. We ordered naan bread and rice so wanted to know if there will be enough sauce in the mix to enjoy it together. The answer, as we found is just the right amount. The seafood is not swimming in sauce, but just the right amount.

Lamb Shank (Curry)

Next, we ordered the lamb shank. Again, it was on the menu as just Lamb Shank so we had to ask if there will be enough curry sauce to go with our sundries. The manager confirmed that there will be and it turned out again to have just the right amount.

The dish used free range New Zealand lamb shank marinated overnight with various spices, cooked very slowly in a ginger sauce with a hint of mint. The curry is not hot, just lightly spiced. Thinking back, we have ordered the Lamb Shank at Moonlight before and had to ask the manage to confirm. We enjoyed it the last time and certainly did again this time.

Baigan Dana

Old habits die hard. This was also the vegetable side we ordered at our previous visit. The Baigan Dana is essentially roasted aubergine, mashed and cooked with green peas, curry leaves and cumin seeds topped with crunchy friend shallots. The vegetable curry is mild and creamy, a perfect accompaniment to our tasty mains.

Eat Like Asians

Between the three of us, we ordered just the two mains and a side above, since we weren’t very hungry. It turned out to be more than enough even without the extra vegetable side dish, the Baigan Dana. While the mixed seafood dish, Jal Tarang looked small, the fish, scallops, calamari and baby lobster together makes for a big dish. We put it down to its presentation that made it looked deceivingly small.

On the other hand, the lamb shank is without a doubt big. After the poppadoms and chutney, the main dishes, vegetable side and sundries (rice and naan breads) are certainly more than enough for three people. And, in case you are wonder, we did share the two main dishes and vegetable sides between us, like Asians do.

With the main dishes laid out in the middle, we take what we one from the dishes. If you are new to the concept, this allows you to enjoy more than just the mains or sides that you ordered. You get a taste of everything.

Sundries

For the sundries, we ordered two breads and one rice. Keema Naan is naan bread stuffed with minced lamb and Peshwari Naan is bread stuffed with coconut, almonds & cream. The former is savoury while the latter is sweet. The Basmati Pilau rice is fluffy and cooked to perfection. It is moderately spiced and the portion is just right for one person. You must be asking, did we share the sundries too? Yes, we did. The rice and bread were split three ways. Although, we couldn’t quite finish all the bread and had to take them home together with some left over Lamb Shank and Baigan Dana. Packed lunch for tomorrow?

Basmati Pilau

Keema Naan

Peshwari Naan

Would we go back again. The short answer is yes. We would go back to try out different dishes and if they are good enough, feature them here so check back soon to learn more.