Desserts from Arya Indian Restaurant - carrot, halwa, mango kulfi and galub jamun. Picture: JO-ANNA ROBINSON Source: The Advertiser
ARYA at North Adelaide may be newish, but the family pedigree is impressive and the venue a welcome addition for Indian-food buffs.
Heat is a precious commodity in the midst of winter. Warming food in many guises does the trick to survive the cold - big roasts, hearty soups, gutsy braises - and one of the most exciting ways these can be consumed is with all the colour and drama of the spices of India.
We've noted before that Adelaide is well regarded in Indian cuisine's diaspora, with a huge number of restaurants from the market food court to the linen and uniformed-staff high end. We regularly win national restaurant industry awards for best Indian restaurant in Australia - Jasmin being the star. Others at the top end, such as Unley Rd's Tandoori Oven, The Village in Gouger St and British India in Morphett St, all add to the prestige of this style of dining.
Arya, in the newish North Adelaide Village development, has a back story that speaks from both ends of the spectrum.
Its owners, Vijay and Padma Rawat, used to run the busy Chapati House outlets at Black Forest and on Greenhill Rd, working mostly in in takeaway mode.
Proud as they are of the quality they developed at that level, Vijay was always his father's son when it came to the finer pleasures of Indian cuisine. He regards the late Mr Ranjit Singh Rawat as the inspiration for the flavours and style of Vijay's and his wife's Arya.
Father Rawat was a chef with 43 years' experience across the subcontinent, South-East Asia and in Adelaide at the kitchens of Jasmin and Tandoori Oven. His son has taken on the next-generation role away from the stoves.
Arya was one of the first establishments to go into the North Adelaide Village 18 months ago, and is one of three restaurants now on the first level, though lucky to have an O'Connell St entrance, which is a long and steep set of stairs. Older legs can take an escalator at the shopping village entrance, or there is a lift.
The dining room is all very understated in its interior design concepts with little artwork cluttering the walls, a small semi-private section behind a simple waterfall feature wall, a semi-open kitchen and a private dining room in one corner of the premises. It does feel, however, a bit like a totally controlled four-star hotel dining room, with muted tones, pleasant, traditional lighting and soft, dark-covered cushioned seating. Sometimes, you just feel like a bit more energy and funk in a venue where the kitchen thrives on the wild and exotic.
The level of attention matches the elite setup. Vijay Rawat manages the room with aplomb, full of enthusiasm for the menu and wine list, responding to queries with positive and encouraging suggestions about the kind of wine styles we might be interested in matching with dishes laced with spice and heat, often the enemy of a good wine experience.
This side of Arya's offering must be quite a challenge. A dozen good global and domestic beers cover first base, a fair selection of aromatic and fresh, crisp whites, such as riesling and sauvignon blanc from major labels, as well as family-owned medium brands doing the job on second. An intriguing set of reds that would do well in any modern Oz/contemporary Euro restaurant covering tempranillo, pinot noir, nebbiolo, a Spanish, an Italian and a few popular brands shore up the house wine and value-end of the list.
The wine choices suggest they have been tasted with the menu, with spicier and well-weighted medium-bodied wines leading the way.
The dishes work through a range of fried bhaji, samosa, then a series from the tandoor (clay-oven style), which includes a crossover king prawns pakora in a spiced coat, bright red and well managed so their flesh remains juicy.
Also from the traditional oven come lighter tandoori mushrooms covered in a creamy white spice mix, accompanying chutneys very impressive in colour and homemade flavour integrity, including excellent mint and the best sweet chilli sauce you can imagine. The menu then announces "superior" curries, a chapter of "authentic all-time favourites", as well as separate vegetarian and seafood choices.
Butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, rogan josh lamb and all the usual characters from northern and southern traditions, Madras and Chettinad included, are there.
A salmon and tamarind curry is coconut-milk-driven and mild in temperament, while a family signature lamb shank masala is more influenced by tomato and aromatic hard spices. A vindaloo beef, promising to please those who like it hot, is not as vicious as some might do it, the heat all up front in the mouth rather than carrying through to the throat.
All show distinctive flavourings and spice mixes, as well as a light touch on the chilli heat pedal, palatable and pleasurable to eat. Four rice and 11 bread options add to the mixing and matching game you can play here.
Desserts offer the often-seen gulab jamun milk sponge balls in a sweet spice syrup, here fortunately not drowning. A grated carrot halwa is colourful though unexciting, while a mango kulfi ice cream is comfortably redolent of preserved fruit.
Across the menu, Arya's kitchen does a refined job in picking its flavours and spicing levels to suit an educated, though conservative palate, but don't read that as bland. There's colour and excitement all the way, managed professionally and well delivered with family pride.
THE RESTAURANT
ARYA
30/81 Level 1,
North Adelaide Village,
O'Connell St, North Adelaide.
Phone 8267 6388.
www.aryas.com.au
Lunch: Noon-3pm, Wed-Sun.
Dinner: 5pm-late, seven days.
South Indian buffet: Sunday, 11.30am-2.30pm.
Seating: 120.
Wheelchair access (via lift) and facilities.
Owners: Vijay and Padma Rawat.
Chef: Kalam Singh.
THE VERDICT
THE BILL
Entrees: $6.50-$12.50.
Mains: $11.50-$23.50.
Desserts: $6.50-$7.50.
Corkage: $10/bottle.
SUMMARY
Comfortable if a little conservative fine-dining-level Indian, with well-defined spicing differentiation and tempered heat control. Friendly, professional and easy dining in exotic territory.
SCORE 14/20
Score guide: Below 10: Awful. 11-12: Fair. 13-14: Good. 15-16: Special. 17-18: Outstanding.
19: Brilliant. 20: Perfect.
