Broad Chalke pop up restaurant

Pure Punjabi Learn Cook Eat Meal Box and Cookery School Pop-up Restaurant and Weddings

On the last Saturday of January 2015, the Pure Punjabi pop up restaurant arrived in Broad Chalke. The night was sold out with a waiting list, so we knew the crowd would be fired up and ready to go!

Janet Roe and Rina Musselwhite, two local ladies, had asked us to ‘pop up’ in Broad Chalke as they had been looking to host an event to raise money for the breast cancer campaign, running at Salisbury hospital. The moment they heard about Pure Punjabi pop up restaurants, they said it was just what they had been looking for! £1 from every ticket went to the cause, as well as all bar profits and monies raised through the raffle.

Once we visited the venue and looked at the kitchen, the menu was set…

Starter

Fresh Punjabi onion bhajis

Mouthfuls of onions, potato and spinach in a spiced chickpea batter, fried till golden and crisp. Served with our tangy sweet and sour tamarind chutney

Tandoori chicken
Made with our Great Taste Award winning marinade with fresh spices & chilli

Mains

Vegetarian kofte
Vegetarian ‘meatballs’ cooked made with an assortment of vegetables, served in a light, spicy tomato sauce

Keema
Mince with peas cooked in a delicate blend of ground coriander, cumin and cinnamon with chillis

Aloo gobi
Potato and cauliflower cooked with garlic, ginger, chillis and hand ground spices

Jeera rice
Basmati rice with cumin seeds and a pinch of turmeric

Raita
Refreshing yogurt dip with mint and cucumber

Mouli kachumber
A refreshing Indian winter salad with white radish (mouli), carrots, crunchy red onion and fresh coriander

Dessert

The Trio
A trio of traditional Indian desserts: Gulab Jamun, Barfi & Besan

The evening started at 7p.m. with Pure Punjabi staff ready and waiting to greet them, however, some diners were so eager to get the night started that the first guests arrived at 6.15pm!

 

The diners really got into the spirit of the evening and went to huge efforts with their outfits. Many of the guests said that the evening was an opportunity for them to wear outfits bought on holidays that had never seen the light of day (or glow of fairy lights!).

Meanwhile in the kitchen, the starters were being carefully prepared…

Hot from the grill and fryer, the starters made their way to the tables…

Diners were then treated to their first performance of the night – the classical dance ‘Kathak’. Kathak is one of seven classical dances in India. It comes from the North of India, and has a mixed ‘heritage’. It takes years for Kathak dancers to master the complexities of this stunning art form. With bells tied around their ankles (called gungarus), they stamp their feet on the floor in time with the beat. Complete with intricate hand movements, this dance really is a delight…especially when the dancers’ lenghas (skirts) completely fan out when they spin! Here the girls are, mid-spin.

Back in the kitchen, I was busy preparing the mains, with the help of the lovely and hard-working Richard.

After the mains, the dancers came out for their second performance. This time, Bollywood was on the cards!

Followed by desserts – the trio…

Then came the funny part…the dance workshop! All the guests joined in, learning their Arabic hands, classical hands and picking the apple from the tree.

Broad Chalke were such a great crowd. They embraced the entire ethos behind the pop up – food, fun and laughter. However, there was one person in particular who was absolutely fantastic from day one, and that is Janet Roe. Her big smile and positive approach was delightful and she was such a pleasure to work with. THANK YOU JANET!

For more information about the Breast Cancer Unit campaign at Salisbury Hospital click here. 

For more information about Pure Punjabi pop up restaurants click here.

Photography by On Location Events.


Customer Reviews

Indian Meal kits, Dinner Kits & Gift Boxes

Customer Reviews

Karen Taylor October 2018

We are having such fun cooking from The Spice Pack Collection and all the dishes have come out brilliantly. The smell is divine and Rob, who is very fussy, is particularly impressed. All our visitors are wowed when they smell the box – we’ve been too possessive to share any with others, as yet!

As a natural therapist I particularly appreciate the healthy aspect of each dish, none of which compromise on taste. Good ingredients freshly cooked makes a big difference.

We’re going on holiday with three other couples in a couple of weeks and going to take the pack with us to cook some dishes together.

Maria M / BBQ Meal Kit Box customer

“We had a BBQ for family and friends few weeks ago and we made the Lamb Kebabs & Coconut & Sesame Chutney and Crushed Tikka New Potatoes & Mango Chicken… We received such rave reviews!! All so easy to make with the spices and sauces all provided for us…food was all delicious!”

Chris & Debs - dinner kit with cook-along customer

“That was so fun…

Thank you for the zoom meet up. That was so fun. We will definitely be up for another. Please send another suitable invite and kit. We are predominately veggies so used the butternut squash version. If this continue the local takeaway will suffer for sure. Again thanks”.

Carol R. dinner kit with cook-along customer

“What a wonderful cookalong…

…The Mango Chicken was delicious and my naan bread actually looked amazing – like the real thing. I feel so successful. Thank you. Looking forward to our next cookalong”.

Pam Brown – dinner kit with cook-along customer

“Thank you so much both…

– the class was amazing and we both really enjoyed the food. It makes so much difference knowing exactly how to do things and that we can make such tasty food which is gluten free. Jeera rice has always been my favourite but many restaurants don’t have it on the menu”.

Sylvia M – dinner kit with cook-along customer

“Thank you so much...
... for a great hour of cooking on Saturday evening. I enjoyed it very much as I have never done anything like it before. The Punjabi chicken was delicious and we had enough to freeze for another time”.

Sue W – dinner kit with cook-along customer

“Well that was amazing…
... the best curry I've ever had and Jxx said it was like being in India ( as he’s spent so much time there with work ) loved the class and so did Exxx looking forward to coming to your workshops…
…and will order some more kits from your website”

Roy P…dinner kit with cook-along customer

“Many thanks…
...for the cook–along workshop yesterday. It was very enjoyable and the meal tasted lovely. As someone who is not a confident cook it was ideal to follow your teaching. I have recommended this to a friend of mine who is very interested in joining the next cook–along. I will definitely be doing it again”.

Ellie Pipe

I highly recommend this lovely family run local company…

... We’ve enjoyed 2 of their meal kits now along with an online cook along to show us what to do. Thank you.

Diane McGillivray

I love them all and would highly recommend…

...If I had to choose one it would be the Mango chicken.
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