You can reach my hometown, Lenzie, via a ten-minute train journey from Glasgow Queen Street. One of the best things about the quaint, tree-lined neighbourhood is its food. Specifically, its Scottish-Indian food.

Rasoi is the local Indian restaurant and takeaway that my family and I would often visit while growing up. We hadn’t been for a while, especially since neither myself nor my parents still live in Lenzie. But my dad and I thought this blog would be an excellent opportunity to return — and hopefully to encourage people living outside the area to give it a try.

I dined at the restaurant on a Friday night in August with my parents and my aunt, who was visiting us from down south at the time. As a server escorted us to a table, I noticed the warmly-lit room was filled with families splitting pakora and couples toasting with wine glasses.

The first thing that stood out to me was the good customer service. Our server — a young woman who was likely no older than 19 — grinned and cracked jokes with my family and I as we ordered our drinks. 

The ability to share banter with (often intoxicated) guests while simultaneously remaining professional is an art many hospitality staff often struggle with. But this lady had it down, making the time to give us suggestions on our orders while laughing at my parents’ (often cringey) jokes. 

When it was time to order starters, we opted for the house pakora sharing platter for two (£12.95), which consisted of vegetable, chicken, and haggis pakora served with mango chutney and pakora sauce.

Although the dish was designed to serve two people, the proportions were more than enough for the four of us since there were at least four pieces of each type of pakora. Excellent value for money.

My dad was a fan of the haggis and chicken pakora, although he pointed out that the vegetable pakora was a tad greasy. I loved all of it, and was particularly fond of the mango dipping chutney.

For the main courses, we opted for a selection of curries, naan-bread, and rice. 

My mum ordered the South Indian garlic chili lamb (£12.95), which was made with garlic, ginger, tomatoes, and a blend of “top secret” spices with green chillies, according to the menu. 

The quality of the meat was excellent. However, it’s worth noting that although the menu describes the dish as “lightly spiced,” we agreed that it tasted much spicier than we had anticipated. 

After my dad mentioned this to our server, she pointed out that the spiciness of the dish will depend on which chef is cooking that night. 

Meanwhile, my dad ordered the tandoori chicken tikka masala (£13.95), served on a steel skewer and accompanied with a house curry sauce, pilau rice, and salad. My dad said the dish was tasty, however he noticed that the chicken was a tad dry. 

My main course was by far the stand-out dish of the evening. I ordered the chicken chasni (£11.50), a sweet and sour curry dish that’s well-known in Scotland. The curry was thought to have been invented in Scotland in the 1980s by the Indian chef Balbir, according to the dish’s description on Rasoi’s menu.

The chasni is my absolute favorite Scottish-Indian dish and Rasoi’s rendition didn’t disappoint. The sauce was creamy, silky smooth and the chicken was tender. The sauce also tasted tangy, a perfect balance between the sweet and sour as described on the menu. 

“Forget Haggis & deep fried Mars Bars – this is Glaswegian through and through!” the menu reads.

Although technically not in the city, I’d argue that Rasoi has the best chasni that Glasgow has to offer. And yes, it’s true that the city has an array of Indian restaurants to choose from — but I’d recommend making the train journey to Lenzie every time.