More classic curry on the Lane

There was a time when many a knowledgeable diner beat a path to Willesden Lane. With the opening of Vijay in 1966, authentic South Indian vegetarian delicacies (including the masala dhosa) were unleashed to puzzled London diners who, at that time, were much more at home with curry and chips.

A few years later, Geeta opened down the road and it, too, offered homestyle South Indian vegetarian dishes. In the Eighties, as curry devotees became better informed and the simple vegetarian dishes were no longer a crowd-pulling novelty, Geeta's responded by installing a tandoor and adding mainstream curry-house dishes to the menu. But the glory years had come and gone.

Nevertheless, Willesden Lane still has a lingering track record with regard to Indian food, which is probably one reason why, at the tail end of 2000, a restaurant called Curry King was taken over, made-over, and relaunched as Kovalam.

It is a brightly lit - if traditionally decorated - restaurant serving what is billed as 'South Indian food'. In practice, the menu is a cheerful compromise: trad dishes such as meat Madras are listed as aaterechi Madras and described as 'diced lamb cooked in hot spices with lemon'. Grand reasoning: people looking for South Indian or Keralan dishes can latch on to the word aaterechi (lamb); less adventurous punters can relate to the familiar title 'Madras'. One man's meat Madras is another's aaterechi Madras.

The best dishes are the specials, so order accordingly. Start with the ghee-roast masala dhosa (£4.95) - large, crisp and buttery, with a suitably chilli-hot potato heart. Ordering the cashew-nut pakoda (£2.95) brings a good big helping of the deep-fried nuts - but they are a little past their best, and this is a dish where freshness is all. The paripu vada (crisp lentil cakes, £1.90), served with coconutty chutney, are very good.

For your main courses, look closely at the vegetable dishes and the specials. Aviyal (£4.25) is good, and creamy with coconut. Then there is kaya thoran (£2.50) - green bananas with grated coconut, shallots and mustard. The koonthal masala (£5.25) is worth trying: squid in a very rich sauce that has been sharpened with tamarind. Maybe it's a bit too creamy and korma-like, but it's still very good indeed.

Also try the aaterechi fry (£4.95), which consists of dry-fried cubes of lamb with onions, curry leaves and black pepper - very tender and very tasty. Or perhaps the kadachachka kootan (£3.90), a dish of curried breadfruit heavy with coconut. The breads and the scented plain rices - lemon, coconut, egg-fried - are all good.

This is a well-meaning restaurant and if you choose from the South Indian dishes and steer clear of the curry-house staples that lie in wait for the 11pm trade from Kilburn High Road, you will eat well. Who knows, perhaps Willesden Lane is about to rescale former gastronomic peaks?

Kovalam
Willesden Lane, London, NW6 7SR