Brighton's Curry Leaf Cafe's finish at home kits across Sussex

This is cruel as we are not allowed to eat out right now but indulge me for a moment.

Wouldn’t we all love to finish work and head into town for a couple of drinks?

I’m thinking the Bath Arms in The Lanes for example. After an aperitif or two you start thinking about food and yes, maybe a place most of us adore, Curry Leaf Cafe in Ship Street or in Kemp Town. Into their cosy restaurant for a gorgeous curry and then a bus home.

Curry Leaf’’s Finish at Home kits

Wait, sorry, of course we can’t do that. But we can all dream can’t we?

And surely we will be able to do those things again soon. In the meantime I heard about Curry Leaf’s finish-at-home meals being delivered across most of Sussex and they offered me a chance to try them out.

It would be a taste of what we enjoy.

Will their food be as nice at home, heated up by me?

The finish-at-home meals will transport you to the restaurant – in your dreams

As soon as the delivery arrived last Saturday it looked good. For a start I loved the way there was cardboard used instead of plastic. Don’t you feel bad when you throw piles of plastic takeaway containers away after a meal?

We had three brown paper bags instead. One with a reassuring chink of drinks for that aperitif I was dreaming about.

Their choice of lagers provides a real treat.

I particularly enjoyed Gun Brewery’s Numb Angel and a fruity offering from Lost Pier.

Saying that, they do great bottles of Bohemia gluten free and Bedlam Brewery lager. Top local drinks.

Some great fruity soft drinks too.

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They were so good it meant there was suddenly not such a rush to get the food sorted out.

You get a simple set of instruction, basically explaining that most things can be heated in the microwave. But they can be done on the hob and some must be done in the oven.

I used a mixture of all three so that it could all be ready at once.

We had two tiffin boxes, one with a Keralan chicken mappas and one with a mushroon and pea masala.

We had other dishes too, with the instructions all set out in the right order on the sheets provided.

So as instructed, I whacked the poppadoms in the oven for a minute.

I put the curries on a low heat on the hob.

Pakoras in the oven.

Gobi manchurian cauliflower in the oven, sauce on the hob.

Spicy chicken wings in the oven.

Cumin potatoes would be microwaved, as would the rice.

Naan breads ready to go in the oven.

All quick and easy, with those instructions helping you to easily get your timings right and that’s it. I was soon serving up some fantastic food.

The chicken curry was spot on, as was the vegetable masala. The best I can say is that it tasted like we were eating at the restaurant. Heavenly.

Mixing the crispy cauliflower with its sweet tangy sauce in the saucepan made me feel like a chef and that dish was a highlight to eat for me too. Another level.

Naan breads, often a little tired when you get a takeaway, were spot on here, straight out of the oven.

The same could be said for the pakoras and the potatoes too.

The chicken wings were covered in fiery goodness. All in all it was a feast that we struggled to finish (having it for lunch again the next day cold).

And we were already home afterwards. No nodding off at the back of the bus.

The good news is that the restaurant delivers as far west as the Bognor and Chichester areas, up towards Crawley and east over towards Eastbourne.

Deliveries outside Brighton and Hove are on specific days – see curryleafcafe.com/delivery-schedule for the details and for prices

The website has all the food options and drinks too.

The food stays fresh for three days, can be frozen, funds free meals for the Brighton Food Bank and comes in compostable packaging.

Collection from the Kemptown Kitchen in Upper St James’s Street and The Sussex Produce Company in Steyning High Street is available too.

For all the information on the finish-at-home service visit curryleafcafe.com/athome