I may have been stuck at home during a 14-day post-holiday quarantine, but last Tuesday evening my tastebuds went on a wonderful journey across India.

Tired of my own cooking and longing for a restaurant experience without breaking any rules, I ordered the family a takeaway from Vaasu, Atul Kochhar’s new venue in Marlow.

Due to open its doors soon on the site of the old Villa D’Este restaurant on Chapel Street, Vaasu has been running solely as a takeaway service since July and, as you would expect under the guidance of a twice-Michelin-starred chef, the food on offer is packed with originality and flavour.

The menu (thankfully shorter than many Indian restaurants where the choice can be overwhelming and ironically force us often to choose the same dishes each time) is inspired by Atul’s native home and travels across India using the best produce.

The ingredients are obviously quality produce but are also ethically sourced.

However, it’s the subtlety of flavours and skilful combinations that sets this apart from the run-of-the-mill local takeaway.

Our feast started with a light and refreshing Ajwaini Jhinga Chaat, a tandoori prawn and mango salad and a sublime tandoori-grilled salmon - grilled chunky pieces of perfectly flaky salmon with honey and kasundi mustard giving it a sticky delicious coating.

The salmon may be listed as a starter, but I’d certainly have this as a main with rice any day of the week.

Our mains included butter chicken, always a popular choice among those of us who love the flavours but fear the heat of some Indian dishes.

Tender, succulent and creamy it was one of the stars of the meal, mopped up with garlic naan.

Nawabi Murg Korma (chicken tikka) was sampled next.

This came with a little pot of cardamom korma sauce and packed a flavoursome punch as did the perfectly braised lamb sauteed with coconut and onions (Nariyal Gosht).

I’ve never been a great fan of Gobi Aloo, the spiced cauliflower and potato side dish, but the Vaasu version was again tasty without being overpowering.

The other side dish which surprised me was the black lentil Dal.

Almost Marmitey in its richness, I have no idea how they got so much flavour into a usually tasteless legume.

Another star of the show was the chicken biriyani, generous chunks of perfectly tender breast stir-fried with a spiced basmati rice with a tub of cucumber raita on the side.

Again the skills of the Vaasu chefs shone through as this was tasty without being overpowering and was a meal in itself. If you’re a fan of Indian cuisine, you’ll love the food from Vaasu. If you’re cautious about spicy food, I encourage you to try it as the flavours override the heat and many options are quitemild.

Atul Kochhar is undoubtedly the most famous Indian chef on these shores and his talents have seen him awarded two Michelin stars as well as a high profile as TV personality, cookbook author and, luckily for us, a restaurateur with two venues now in Marlow (Sindhu at The Complete Angler being the other) as well as Hawkyns at The Crown in Amersham.

I can’t wait to be out and about again and will be booking a visit to what promises to be a stunning restaurant when it opens its doors.

www.vaasurestaurant.co.uk (open Tuesday to Sunday evenings)