The Scottish capital certainly isn't lacking in diversity when it comes to cuisine, but Iman's Restaurant adds a little something extra to the cultural banquet available to Edinburghians. Situated in the Old Town, Iman's offers diners an enticing taste of the Punjab region of Pakistan. The restaurant is very much a family affair; the head chef is the owner's brother and he has a wealth of experience under his belt, having trained chefs at a number of Indian restaurants and takeaways throughout the city. Their mother also gets in on the action, adding her own unique contributions to the menu.
Light and spacious, the restaurant exudes a warmth that has nothing to do with the spices used in the dishes. Pebble-dashed walls and intricate tapestries lend the room a traditional feel, whilst imaginative twists are evident throughout - the menu reflects this amalgamation of the time-honoured and the contemporary. There's a vast range of dishes to be enjoyed, including a number of vegetarian options such as mushroom pakora, channa chat (boiled chickpeas, potatoes and tomatoes, spiced with red chilli powder, cumin and coriander), and classic curries made with mixed vegetables rather than meat. Even if your party includes someone particularly unadventurous, fear not - there are also omelettes, fried chicken, and fish and chips on the menu. And if you still can't find what you're after, The chefs will even prepare something especially to your taste - what more could you ask for?
That said, you'll almost certainly find yourself spoilt for choice by the main menu - my partner and I certainly did. After a lengthy deliberation, we opted to share 'Iman's sizzler' for starters, along with a helping of onion bhajis; as we waited for them to arrive, we tucked into a couple of crispy poppadoms accompanied by spicy onions and mango chutney. The sizzler certainly lived up to its name, arriving on a hot platter with a hiss and a waft of mouth-watering aromas. It was piled high with tender pieces of chicken tikka, chicken chaat, lamb tikka, lamb chops and seekh kebab, blended with onions, tomatoes and peppers; needless to say, it was an irresistible concoction. The deep-fried onion bhajis were not the gluey balls so often served up in Indian restaurants - rather, they were light, fresh and crispy little parcels of goodness, so moreish they dissapeared in minutes. I moved onto a main course of karahi chicken tikka, a dish named after the deep, circular, cast-iron pan it is cooked in. I savoured the authentic, home-cooked taste, imagining the generations of Punjabi children who have eagerly watched their mothers standing over the giant pan, cooking up a storm. My companion looked equally engrossed, delving into a divinesmelling special of lamb in a sumptuous sauce, studded with flecks of jade-green spinach. After insisting on polishing off everything down to the last scrap of naan, we felt very well fed - I couldn't even manage dessert. Having sampled the wonderful flavours of Iman's family recipes, I can honestly say that the chef delivers on his promise: 'arrive hungry, and leave satisfied'.
