The Lasan Weekend Feast

A visit to Lasan is always a treat for me.  I knew when I had the invitation to a feast there last weekend that it was always going to be a special occasion.  We went along to try out the weekend special feast menu.  The feast is such a sociable way to enjoy a weekend meal.  I’d see it as a great way to get together with friends or family to enjoy sharing a dish together.  Obviously that does depend on everyone been open to eating what is on the set menu, but in some ways it’s nicer to have less choice, so that you just concentrate on the food and the company.  I suppose it’s loosely based around the Sunday lunch idea, but with an Indian flavour and take on the dishes.  The meat is there and the vegetables, but it’s nothing like what you would get at a carvery or round at your mum’s.

The centrepiece of the feast is a oh-so-tender Lamb Raan (slow-roasted shoulder of lamb) flavoured with a fragrant tandoor masala marinade.  The meat literally fell off the bone as you touched it, it really was so tender and beautifully cooked.  The spices were delicate and aromatic, but there was still enough of a kick there to provide the punch you’d expect from Indian cuisine. It makes its entrance served on a generous bed of fluffy Biryani Chawal, made from basmati rice infused with garam masala, ground cardamom, plus fresh mint and coriander.  The feast pictured was to serve four people and we did struggle to get anywhere near finishing it, so go hungry and tuck in.

As you’d expect from a feast, it doesn’t end at the main course and there are plenty of tasty side dishes included, and they all added something to remember to the feast experience.  Particularly popular on our table was the Dum Aloo: roasted potatoes flavoured with chilli, mustard seed and curry leaf.  I really liked this take on the traditional Sunday lunch roasters and they were very moreish.  There were quite a few other side plates too.  A Masala Gobi of whole char-roasted cauliflower in a masala marinade, again carefully and skillfully spiced so as not to overwhelm the flavour of the cauliflower.  Papita Daal made from red split lentils with green papaya, perfect for adding some spicy moisture to the rice and bringing the various dishes together. Some wonderfully aromatic naan breads to tear and share, infused with fenugreek and lightly-brushed with truffle oil, completed the feast.

The feast is priced at £35 per person (minimum of two people).  You can add a dessert, if you have room or fancy something sweet to finish for an extra £6 each. It’s a lovely sociable way to eat at the weekend and would be perfect if you have friends visiting or want to meet up over a good meal.  The cocktails at the bar are inventive and prepared with care, so you can easily and very pleasantly while away the hours together.