A steaming curry is the perfect antidote to a wintery Coast night. Curries and cold nights seem to complement one another. And as we sneak into winter, I think there will be one or two more warming curry nights to come. For my first such adventure of the season I visited Raj Indian restaurant on Noosaville’s popular Thomas St.

I chose to sit outside beside the brazier, soaking up the warmth and enjoying snippets of a Bollywood movie screening on the flatscreen inside. As I waited for my dining buddy to arrive I enjoyed munching on the complimentary pappadams. It was a cold night, so after perusing the list of entrees, the dal shorba, a soup with Indian lentils ($7), came across as a warm and inviting option. Both my dining buddy and I made the order. I really enjoyed the soup. It was more of a liquid broth than I would normally expect of a lentil soup, but it was spicy and flavoursome. The hints of coriander gave the soup a freshness that complemented its mild heat.

In between courses I sipped on a rose lassi ($7.50). Lassis are an Indian yoghurt-based beverage that are thick and smoothie-like. It was probably more suited for after the meal or as a dessert substitute, but I enjoyed it throughout my meal and it helped tone down the heat that seems to come with even the mildest Indian dish. I was divided over my choice of main for quite some time, simply because there were so many of them — kormas, vindaloos, rogan josh, butter chicken; all the traditional favourites and then some.

There was quite a large list of tandoori dishes as well, all of which were very tempting. Determined to try something different, I opted for the chef’s special of samundari khazana ($24), a combination of scallops, prawns, octopus and other ocean morsels in a coconut gravy. I also ordered saffron rice ($7), cucumber raita ($3.50) and cheese naan ($3.50) as sides to go with the additional pappadams that came between the courses. The seafood was lovely and fresh and Busthe coolness of the raita — a combination of cucumbers and yoghurt — enhanced the spiciness of a very tasty and texturous coconut gravy. The cheese naan, as expected, was nice and cheesy.

My dining buddy selected the prawn malabari ($20), which had a mild creamy onion and coconut gravy. Again it was lovely and fresh, with loads of flavour. Perhaps a little bit hot for my buddy’s milder palate, but enjoyed nevertheless. All in all the food was great and, to all appearances, traditional. A nice touch on the menu was a list of ingredients and their individual attributes, which made for interesting reading — I was quite enthralled there for a while. My only gripe was we were not offered a dessert menu. Shock. Horror.

We waited a little while and then decided the urge for more food had passed and decided to go home instead. But I would not like to say this was a reflection of the service, as it was, in fact, very attentive up until that point. Our host, while somewhat shy, was extremely helpful and friendly. In all fairness, I got the feeling the State of Origin rugby league match, which had taken the place of the Bollywood movie on the flatscreen, may have been the un-motivating factor there.

So while I reluctantly forfeited my dessert options, I preferred that to coming between a fan and the game — what was I doing dining out on State of Origin night anyway? Bad planning on my part I say. Raj Indian had a relaxing ambience, decked out with bamboo tables and chairs with Indian adornments, which made everything feel that little more authentic. It is a lovely dining space and if the cosy brazier does not warm you up, the traditional fare certainly will.

Petra Frieser’s visit was unannounced and she paid for her own meals and beverages.

Raj Indian Restaurant
1/14 Thomas St,
Noosaville
Ph: 5474 1411

FOOD FACTS
Open Seven days, lunch 11am-2.30pm, dinner 5pm-late
Cuisine Indian
Cost Entrees $7-$24, mains $15-$20, sides $2.50-$6
Verdict Flavoursome traditional Indian



Story: Petra Frieser, weekender Issue 630, June 10th, 2010.