How much: 2 courses for under £20 and a reasonably priced, if short, drinks list. Some excellent London lagers make an appearance
It's taken me a long time to write this, for very obvious reasons*. Sometimes a positive review of a hidden local gem is a blessing, especially for those that need a kick early days to help them get going, I'm hoping that The Crooked Well keeps up at it's current rate of knots. At other times raves are a pain in the arse, particularly when one of the most popular and authentic South Indian restaurants in South London gets one and is somewhere, despite it being on your doorstep, you already find it difficult to get a table.
Ganapati has an endearing 'make do and mend' style design that runs from the charmingly quirky light fixtures and decoration made from found objects, presumably bought in Kerala on one of the many trips to the region that owner and chef, Clare Fisher, has made. It would be easy to scoff at the homely, homemade and welcoming attitude, it's almost too wholesome at times, like dining in a commune kitchen, but it'd be like kicking a puppy, and a particularly sweet one at that.
The menu is short and regularly changing, there are a few constant staples but go with recommendations from the friendly staff (and often chipped in comments from fellow diners) or one of the Thali platters if you're unsure. The poppadoms are worth getting purely for the tamarind and beetroot chutney, sweetly and divinely astringent.
From the mains, I've recently been weaning myself off the thali platter. Don't get me wrong, there are some good flavours in the tiny metal bowls, the deep and aromatic lamb curry is perfectly flavoured and the mustard cuts through the dry fried potato with a wonderful zing, but I've been there too many times before. With a rolling menu of Keralan delights, that way food envy lies.
On recent visits I've sampled hot Thattu Kada lamb, joyful tingling crunches of green firecracker chilllies poking out of the dish like vibrant fish in the wall of a coral reef. The Pudina chicken is milder, despite a slow heat from the black pepper, and comes on the bone with a fresh mint and coconut masala served with tomato rice. I've even had one of the veggie pieces. Hunks of sweet potato, cauliflower and okra, cooked a dente in a rich fragrant coconut broth, not enough to convert me, but good enough for a second go.
Whatever you have for a main, just make sure that you leave room for one, or more, of their heavenly parathas. Butter drenched whorls of unlevened bread, hot and fresh from the oven, demand attention as they arrive but are best saved to soak up stray sauce.
I've never managed a dessert. Actually, that's a lie, I once managed a mouthful of sticky carrot and sultana halwa, fragrant carrot cake batter with notes of cardamon, but I've never eaten a whole one. The lassi is a good option, and one of the few things I can stomach after a distending session of paratha. They also sell their beetroot chutney, and a delightful box-set of recipe cards from the kitchen. I suggest you pick both up if you are lucky enough to go, you need it for the times when you have a craving for that paratha, but just can't get a table.
* and like a giggling country idiot, I thought I'd already reviewed it on here...
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