Welcome to our supper club: Come dine with us in Dudley

They launched a supper club at their house in Dudley in July last year offering a five-course tasting menu of fine food in an intimate setting.

And while they eat, diners also get the opportunity to watch the couple at work in the kitchen preparing their authentic dishes and making fresh naan bread from scratch.

“We want to offer a fine-dining experience by serving the food that would be cooked in Indian homes but it’s been given a restaurant twist,” says Niraj.

The 38-year-old has been cooking since the age of seven inspired by his strong Indian Gujarati heritage and the influence of his grandmother Savitia Dhokia and his mother Gita Dhokia.

“Growing up, my grandmother was cooking up so much food at home from scratch. I remember being around my grandmother on a Saturday morning getting ready for the day’s cooking.

“She was a talented cook and for an Asian woman was famous for her non-veg food. She was a skilled butcher and would prepared chicken straight from the abattoir without batting an eyelid.

“I loved her chicken and lamb curries as well as her great lentils and veg dishes. Seeing so much cooking from scratch was a solid foundation that I still carry with me today.

“My mother learned a lot from my grandmother and she excelled in her cooking and has worked in catering for 30-plus years. The skills and experience she picked up from her professional life was brought home and she was and still is famous for her hospitality.

“Having these two influential women in my life have been the core pillar to what I have tried to achieve in my cooking and supper club,” explains Niraj.

“I also find television cooking and chef shows great for picking up ideas and techniques.

“Whether it’s Rick Stein’s Far East or Heston Blumenthal – I’m like a magpie picking it all up. When we go out to eat, I like reverse engineering a dish to work out the ingredients and techniques that have gone into it,” he adds.

For Niraj, who has previously had two unsuccessful attempts at applying to be a Masterchef contestant, a supper club was a good way to develop his skills in the kitchen and dip a toe in the waters of the restaurant world.

Before getting it off the ground, Niraj and Leena, who is also a keen cook, visited other clubs to get an idea of what was already available elsewhere in the country.

“Supper clubs have come over from America so there aren’t that many around at the moment but they are becoming more popular.

“People like the fact that it’s not a big restaurant so they are looked after well and that it’s a very social experience, especially when they don’t know any of the other people dining before they arrive,” says Leena.

“A lot of people might think of Come Dine With Me when they hear the word supper club but that’s not a true reflection of it all. It’s more than a dinner party,” adds Niraj.

Before welcoming their first guests the couple registered with the council for running a food business at home and secured a five-star hygiene rating.

“We believe we are the first and only supper club in Dudley because the council is not aware of anyone else doing what we are doing,” explains Niraj.

Their supper club, which can cater for up to eight diners at a time, is called Niraj’s Kitchen and the name and logo comes from a gift Leena gave Niraj a few years earlier.

“I gave Niraj a chopping board with ‘Niraj’s Kitchen live life with a little spice’ engraved on it so we knew what we were going to call ourselves,” explains Leena, 38.

The next step for the couple, who have branded chef uniforms, menus, business cards and even a giant photo frame for people to use to take selfies for Instagram, was to try out their dishes and menu on their friends and family before launching their supper club for bookings on social media.

“The real test was the first time we were cooking for people we didn’t know – we were really nervous. A lot of our bookings have come from word of mouth.

“We let the guests set the timescale for the evening. The food can be served when they are ready for it and they can stay as long as they want to, there is no time limit. If they are happy and relaxed and talking, we sit back and let them enjoy the evening,” Niraj tells us.

When it comes to the highlight of the event – the food – the diners are spoilt for choice with plenty of mouth-watering dishes to sample.

Niraj and Leena’s five-course tasting menu starts with assorted poppadoms served with a trio of homemade dipping sauces.

These are followed by a choice of crispy twice-cooked chicken wings served with a sweet spicy jus garnished with diced ginger, garlic and spring onions or crunchy Manchurian made from shredded cabbage and carrots bound together, deep-fried served on a tangy spiced dressing with ginger, garlic and spring onions.

The main courses offer something to suit all tastes and include karai ghost – tender spring lamb made to a traditional recipe handed down by Savita, Niraj’s grandmother.

There is also murgh makhani – butter chicken ‘but not as you know it’ say Niraj and Leena. The tender chicken mini fillets are cooked in a rich yet light spicy, creamy sauce.

Chana Bhaji, described as North Indian home comfort food and made from chickpeas and baby spinach cooked in a masala is also on the menu along with a Gujarati favourite – ringan no oro, chargrilled aubergine stir-fried with sliced onions, vine tomatoes, garlic, ginger and chillies.

To accompany the main courses are Jeera rice, cucumber riata and a trio of fresh made naan with butter, chilli and garlic.

For dessert, the pair offer chocolate ginger fondant with chantilly cream with a raspberry gel followed by teas and coffee.

The menu has been designed to offer a wide range of dishes and to encourage people to step outside their comfort zone when it comes to Indian food.

“A lot of people go to an Indian restaurant and order the same thing time after time. But we want to offer them the chance to try something new and something they might not find anywhere else,” says Niraj, who along with Leena works at Dudley Council.

The meal is served in the couple’s kitchen diner giving guests a behind the scenes look at how they dishes are prepared and presented.

“People can see how the food is cooked and prepared – you don’t get that in a commercial Indian restaurant. I like it when people ask me how I make things. We don’t want to give all our secrets but we do like that interaction with our guests,” says Niraj.

The couple have many plans for the future which includes introducing a new autumn menu and they hope to change it every three months to encourage repeat customers. Cooking classes are another way they are looking to expand before the long-term ambition of one day opening a restaurant.

“To have a Niraj’s Kitchen restaurant would be the ultimate dream but at the moment we’re happy growing our menu and our supper club. Being in the kitchen is definitely an adrenalin rush – we love it.”

l To view the latest supper club dates and to find out more about Niraj’s Kitchen go to www.facebook.com/NirajsKitchen