This week's Review of the Week winner started with a simple desire to avoid Edinburgh's customary wet and blustery weather and, with the help of the hungryhouse reviews system, ended in a flavour-packed and satisfying dining experience – and the best pakoras in the city!

The meal was a smorgasbord of delicately spiced curries, comfortingly creamy sauces, and perfectly crisp popadoms – an experience described with precision and beauty by our winner.

A wet and blustery Edinburgh evening led my partner and I to decide upon takeaway, rather than risk venturing out to forage for dinner at our local Tesco (other supermarket chains are available!).

Having decided upon Indian, we quickly settled on Sitara Spice given the rave reviews on HungryHouse.co.uk and recent recommendation from the normally reliable Edinburgh Evening News. As it turned out, we were not disappointed; the food was excellent!

The vegetable pakora were delicious. Extremely crispy on the outside, the filling was delicately spiced, light, soft and yielding. I think these definitely take the crown of best pakora in Edinburgh, as far as I'm concerned! The poppadums were crispy, not oily at all, and served with a delightfully spiced sauce, which complemented them excellently.

My partner had plumped for a chicken tikka masala (as usual!). The tikka chicken was buttery and full of flavour, and the slightly spicy yet creamy sauce it was served with was far better than the usual, with a slight hint of coconut pairing well with the spices used and the marinade for the chicken.

I tried a new dish: chicken palak. Always apprehensive about trying something new (lest I be disappointed!), I was not let down at all. The medium (but on the mild side I'd say on the palate) sauce (similar in taste to a lovely Bhuna I've had from the same establishment), combined with the buttery and perfectly cooked (still incredibly moist) chicken was delicious. The combination of spinach and tomatoes through the sauce was lovely (always helps with the 5-a-day too!), and the sauce had a nice spicy aftertaste which lingered.

The garlic and coriander naan was packed with flavour, and is not for the faint hearted (which I loved). Decent chunks of garlic and a liberal helping of coriander gave this an incredible taste. The pilau rice was delicately flavoured and extremely well cooked. Enough cardamom, but not too much: delicious.

All in all, I thoroughly recommend Sitara Spice and I will definitely be going there next time. The lottery of choosing a restaurant is over for me! And another bonus is the portion size: big enough for me, which is always good!

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