“I think it’s broken, Mummy,” my daughter wailed brandishing her arm at me in the playground.

In terms of bone breaking it wasn’t good – the proffered limb being her writing arm and it being 5pm on a Friday afternoon. “Quick then, we need to beat the drunks,” I muttered racing off to Banbury’s Horton to sit in the waiting room for nigh on five hours.

Why they don’t have a minor injuries clinic and an A&E running concurrently I don’t know, because quite rightly all the real emergencies get priority, while us subdued lot, who sat respectively waiting our turn, as the shifts changed and our hope waned, didn’t get a look in. By 8.30pm we cancelled our Oxford table reservations and with it our plans for a fun night out.

Her arm was broken as it turned out, bless her, and arriving home much later that night, my mood was only revived by the Jaan curry takeaway menu awaiting my return on the table. Our friends had very kindly caught the bus and come to see us instead and an Indian feast was going to be had.

It was a while since I tried Jaan, which is based in Woodstock, but they deliver far and wide and on Friday night I couldn’t have asked for more. Half an hour later, daughter safely tucked up in bed, we were perched around my kitchen table enjoying a fantastic mixture of dishes and tastes, which having not eaten since lunch time, was the best case scenario.

We tried a few new dishes, such as the lamb achar (cooked with sliced onions, ginger and ungrounded garam masala prepared with lime and pickled thick sauce, £12.50) – a new one on us, and a real find, because the Jaan menu is nothing if not ambitious and extensive, and we hadn’t held back on the order, also enjoying a sumptuous chicken shorishi (breast of chicken cooked with mustard seed leaves, coriander, green chilies and tomatoes £8.95), lamb madras (£6.50) and a vegetable jalfrezi (£8.35).

The universal conclusion, judging by the plates wiped clean, was one of enormous approval. Fragrant, juicy lamb, generous portions, zinging curries, fresh, crisp papadoms, just the right combination of heat and spices all disappeared in no time. By the time we’d finished, the world seemed a brighter place. So next time you need some comfort food on these cold nights, Jaan is a great option.

Jaan Indian Cuisine, 36 Oxford St, Woodstock, Oxfordshire OX20 1TT. 01993 815824. www.jaanwoodtsock.com

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