It was a sad day when Udit Sarkhel shut up shop at his rather good restaurant on Replingham Road SW18 and moved to Brighton in pursuit of a new life as a painter. In twenty years spent cheffing Sarkhel had an influential and lengthy spell in the kitchens of the Bombay Brasserie, before going on to set up his own place - Sarkhel’s – a restaurant where he proved once and for all that Indian cooking does not have to be dumbed down to do well in the suburbs.

Now he’s back. Hurrah! He’s a little more harassed than he used to be (smaller kitchen and much less help) but since the Autumn of 2007 he has returned to the stoves. This time it’s in the kitchen of a small neighbourhood restaurant in Sheen called Mango & Silk. Once again we are talking very sophisticated cooking and spicing but in pleasantly informal surroundings. It is a real treat to get food as good as this, (and at prices as reasonable as this) in what is a local restaurant.

Several of the starters are worthy of mention, the Hyderabadi Chicken Sixers is a long established Udit special. There’s a complicated and possibly spurious tale of cricket games and hitting sixes that is supposed to explain the name but this dish is made from chicken wings, trimmed so that when the meat shrinks it almost looks like a drumstick. The balance of meat to skin means that they taste very juicy and they come with a magnificent hot and sharp sauce. Simple stuff like the lamb samosas are very good indeed, crisp pastry, well spiced filling. Or there’s a stunning Goan prawn balchao - large prawns and a rich sauce served with bread. What impresses most about these dishes is the integrity of the spicing, they are not dumbed-down in any way and the "hot" dishes are gratifyingly hot. Mains continue the theme  there's jardaloo ma gosht - a Parsee dish of lamb and apricots; a wonderful prawn patia - king prawns in rich gravy with chunks of aubergine and red pumpkin; kozhi vartha kosambu - a South Indian chicken curry made with coconut. Or a Mangalorean fish curry – Udit is good with fish and seafood. The breads are particularly fresh and praiseworthy. Great food and reasonable prices (as a rule of thumb the starters don’t often exceed £6 and the mains stay around the £7 mark). Welcome back Mr Sarkhel.

Charles Campion

Bombay Brasserie, Courtfield Close,SW3 (020 7370 4040)

Mango & Silk, 199 Upper Richmond Road West, SW14 (020 8876 6220)