When I go to Southall for my regular Indian food fix, I make a point to stop into Ambala for some delicious savoury snacks. I first discovered the shop when I wandered round looking for a good place to buy some samosas to take home. Of all the sweet shops (most also sell savouries) on the Uxbridge road, this one consistently had a queue and a queue of locals is always a good sign.

Inside there’s a glass case full of colourful, milky Indian sweets and behind the counter, behind the men clad in white, there are even more sweets, but those are more difficult to see. They (the men) are very nice there and are always happy to answer your questions. But say you’re like me and these sweets don’t get your heart a-thumping – I much prefer the savoury, crunchy things all studded with lots of cumin.

Crunchy Crackers

At the far end of the counter are baskets full of freshly fried delights. Samosas and pakoras make their home there. Their samosas are some of the nicest I’ve had, mainly because of the delicious, flaky pastry encasing them. If I don’t feel like having a whole samosa, I buy these nimki, little diamonds of flour pastry, the same pastry used for their samosas.

Ambala Mix

Thanks to Planethalder, I’ve recently discovered their Ambala mix, a mixture of fried gram flour crunchies and raisins and nuts and fried peas and fried lentils and sugar and spice and all things nice. It’s very addictive. Very very additictive. It comes in both handy tubs or bags.

Of course, if you really like the sweets, they’re pretty well known for that too! But don’t take my word for it, look to the queue.

Ambala Foods
107 The Broadway
Southall
Middlesex UB1 1RP

There are branches across the UK and one in Paris.

Not food related but the salons in Southall do good and cheap eyebrow threading too – only £2.50 compared to the £17 charged at Blink.