A green-friendly ethos and even falafel burgers and hummus with naan... so what else is going on at Guglee? Proprietor Sachin Mulane tells all to Tandoori

Within the tradition of the great game of cricket, a googly is a ball that is bowled as if to break one way but which actually breaks in the opposite way. So, in other words, it's quite the unexpected. Just as ‘Guglee', the new casual dining Indian restaurant in north west London, is trying to be.

The thinking behind it, as proprietor Sachin Mulane notes, is that just as the googly is a special form of bowling, so is the restaurant.
"Only," as he admits, "I didn't want to give the restaurant exactly the same name, as that would have given the business too many cricket connotations. Better to be distinctive and have one's identity was important to me. Being different can translate in a number of ways. Our cooking is very good because we have a number of well- sourced chefs, who are producing excellent dishes, including ensuring that we have dishes for children too, but what's also quite special is that we care about the environment."

No surprise to learn then that Mulane was previously at the Marriott hotel in Marble Arch. The environmental achievements of Marriott-branded hotels in London and the UK, have been given three prestigious green certifications - Carbon Trust Standard, Audubon International Cooperative Sanctuary and Green Tourism, leading The Sunday Times to rank Marriott International, Inc. seventh out of 60 on their "Best Green Companies" list and "Best for Employee Environmental Engagement" on their specialty list.

"I was at the Marriott for two years," adds Mulane, "and I learnt so much there in terms of not just how to implement environment-friendly policies, but also how good they are for all of us. It 's incumbent on all of us in this day and age to be as green as possible. We ensure, for instance, that we use different bins that the local council has provided us for recycling.

‘Further, we donate all our leftover oil to a local charity. I felt there was no point in just putting oil in huge containers when it can be used for a good cause. So we give it away free to a local non-profit charity named One Way Theatre, which is a mobile independent green cinema and have their vans running on waste vegetable oil."

In addition, Guglee uses energy efficient bulbs in the restaurant. "Though it's still early days and we are still settling in," states Mulane, "what I'm planning to do is to have table cards made of recycled paper on which we can print all our information regarding our green policies with vegetable ink so that our customers become more aware of what we are doing. That way they can be supportive of what we are about and get to know us for more than just our fabulous cooking."

Sample Dishes - Guglee

Starters
-Spinach onion bhaji
Made with diced onions and spinach
-Lasooni murgh tikka
Chicken breast cubes lightly marinated in garlic and cream
-Crispy fried prawns
Tempura battered king prawns served with a sweet chilli dip

Mains
-Murgh xacutti
Chicken cooked with a fiery fusion of individually roasted spices and coconut and curry leaf
-Urban lamb chops masala
Tandoori lamb chops cooked with home ground masala
-Malai kofta
Cottage cheese and nut dumpling cooked with cream and cashew nut sauce

Desserts
-Phirni
Home-made rice pudding