Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in the 2022 series of BBC TV’s Masterchef competition.

Every Saturday Yemi writes on the Stray Ferret about her love of the area’s food and shares cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

I spent New Year's Day at home welcoming the new year at my own pace and planning for the year ahead, before deciding to go for a short drive in the evening. 

As we drove through the town centre, I decided it was a great opportunity to stop and have dinner at Illam, a restaurant that specialises in South Indian cuisine.

Some friends had visited a couple of times with rave reviews so it had been on my list waiting for the right time. Décor was warm and cosy and we got a window seat which gave us a nice view of the Convention Centre's Christmas lights.

To start

The drinks options for non-alcoholic drinkers was limited so we settled for a mango lassi and ginger ale.

I had heard rave reviews about the Malabar Paratha and couldn’t wait for the flaky and crunchy flat bread which was deliciously light with a hint of sweetness. I found this quite addictive and would happily have had it with curry and leave contented.

We ordered the Karumaru, a seafood selection starter with fish, softshell crab, squid and prawns. The generous portion was enough for two people. The tender squid with a light heat had a crunchy coating. I could do with it being cut into slightly thicker pieces for a better mouth fill.

The soft shell crab sat on a delicious curry sauce which was the most enjoyable out of all of the curries that I tasted. 

The accompanying dipping sauce had a slightly nutty sauce which I suspect is from ground almond. The grilled fish was marinaded in a spiced green yoghurt mixture and was full of flavour, garlicky and smoky whilst remaining soft and juicy.

The prawns had a smoky and charred flavour and turned out just right with the soft shell crab well seasoned, light crunch on the outside and soft and juicy on the inside. 

The small salad garnish was well dressed with a touch of sweetness and acidity which was a delightful surprise as quite often, salad garnishes are an afterthought and just thrown on the plate. This salad was delicious enough to make me wish there was more on the plate.

The main event

I ordered the Thali as it came with many elements making it a great dish for trying as many flavours as possible. It started with a delicious and flavour packed bowl of clear chicken broth with a few shreds of chicken. It was delicious enough that I wouldn’t have missed the chicken if it wasn’t in the broth.

Poached chicken added at the end would make this a more satisfying soup as the chicken would be more tender. The soup had a touch of acidity right at the end which could have been from lemon or tamarind. It was a nice and light start to the meal.

The Thali came with two vegetarian curries – chickpeas and a dhal like curry, chicken and lamb curries and a sambal. The lentil dhal was mild but the spices came through nicely and the chick pea curry was delicious but salt forward. I tasted the salt before the spices and other flavours came through.

The sambal made from carrot and cabbage was mild and slightly sweet making it a good and delicious palate refresher between trying the different curries allowing one to taste and appreciate every element.

The lamb curry had soft melt-in-your mouth meat with a depth of flavour coming from the caramelised onions. The chicken curry was slightly sweeter with low heat. The fried poori usually made from unleavened whole wheat flour was elegantly puffed up and sat majestically taking its place of pride in the Thali.

There was another portion of squid on the Thali which I didn’t really need because of the generous amount of squid in the seafood starter. However, anyone not having the seafood started would appreciate the squid being part of the Thali.

The accompanying rice was unseasoned which was a good thing as it was the perfect base for the sauces and mellowed them down tempering the salt forward curries. Eaten together, it produced a balanced bite.

For dessert

When I thought I couldn’t fit anything else in, they came with a dessert of rice pudding which was sweet, intricately spiced with raisins and roasted cashew nuts. 

This was a bit indulgent but welcoming after the curry and on a cold night. This warm pudding was soft and creamy though a tad watery but unsure if that was the intended texture.

The looseness did not affect the taste but I could have done with more crunchy nuts. This was a comforting hug in a bowl with textures of soft chunky rice in a sweetened spiced cream. I can see people scooping out the rice and drinking the delicious cream sauce. It was delicious and comforting but lacking the creaminess of traditional English rice pudding.

Yemi's verdict

Overall the meal was really good with generous portions, addictive breads and attentive service and I would definitely visit again. 

The diners on the next table were visiting from Cambridge and they gave it great marks and asked me to share their verdict. They promised to come back to Harrogate for another visit.