British Raj Restaurant, along Henley Beach Road, is partaking in this year’s Festival of Food. For the festival, the restaurant is offering a Dinner special, comprising of a starter, entrée, main and dessert, all for $26 per person from Monday till Thursday and for $30 per person from Friday till Sunday.

Combining fine dining with lovely friendly and accommodating service, guests will experience authentic Indian cuisine, all for an affordable price.

When we arrived, delicious smells came from the kitchen, making our mouths water and our stomachs grumble. The smells alone made us excited to see what British Raj was bringing to the Festival of Food.

For starters, we were served Garlic Naan Bread. The bread was lovely, warm and soft. The garlic tang was not too overpowering, lovely and subtle to compliment the bread. The Naan was beautiful and buttery, with a slight crispness on the outer crust from the hot oven. This was a lovely texture balance with the soft centre of the bread. A delicious start to our tasting and is perfect either on its own or served with the mains to soak up the curry sauces.

The Entrée Tasting Plate consisted of: Chicken Tikka, Tandoori Mushroom and Fish Tikka. The Chicken Tikka pieces were marinated in various special spices and cooked in a tandoor oven. It was wonderfully cooked; the meat was soft and tender and the marinade contained lovely aromatic spices that sung in your mouth. There was a hint of heat but it definitely wasn’t too hot; with the spices adding to the overall flavour. The Tandoori Mushroom was coated in lovely fragrant and aromatic spices and grilled on a tandoor. The whole mushroom was soft with a slight delicate chewy texture that was perfect. A generous coating of curry spices covered the mushroom top, leaving your mouth warm but not too hot that leaves you reaching for the water. The mushroom itself was juicy and warm; a delicious winter snack. The Fish Tikka was made with tender barramundi pieces marinated in yoghurt, masala and baked in a tandoor oven. The fish was light and had a lively aroma from the various spices, but was not hot in flavour. The coating of the fish was delicious, with a lovely hit from the masala spices and the light tang from the yoghurt helped to balance.

The entrée tasting plate was served with a beautiful cool mint sauce that had traces of lime, coriander and other herbs. It was very refreshing and also helped to cool the palate from the spices. The fresh, crisp salad served on the side, also helped to cool and balance the richer, earthier flavours of the meats and mushroom.

The Main’s were served with steamed rice and raita yoghurt for no additional price.

The Lamb Korma contained lovely tender pieces, served in a cream of almond and cardamom. The lamb meat was cooked well, beautiful and tender that paired perfectly with the fragrant curry sauce. The sauce was packed full of flavour, containing various herbs and spices, which gave a lovely earthy tone, that wasn’t too rich and balanced well with the deeper flavours of the lamb itself. The sauce had a thicker consistency and was lovely and warm. Overall, the dish was a lovely, hearty meal that we think is perfect for the coming winter evenings.

The Butter Chicken was made from smoked and marinated chicken fillets in a gingered cream, tomato, capsicum and cardamom sauce. The smoky tones from the beautiful and tender chicken were a delicious balance to the more mild meat. The juicy pieces complimented the richer sauce that was creamy but light, with fresh herbs and fragrant spices to balance. The added ginger was not too overpowering but helped compliment the richer tones of the capsicum and the tomato that sung through and gave an overall warmth to the dish.

Both mains were generous in their serving sizes and also had a generous amount of meat in each dish.

British Raj also let guests choose their mains from their a la carte menu, if customers don’t fancy anything that is on the Festival of Food’s chosen menu. Banquet style options are also available for larger groups who wish to share multiple dishes between themselves.

For dessert we had the House Made Petit Fours, which were small bite size dark chocolate cups with a chocolate mousse centre. The dark chocolate was crisp and held a slight richer tang that balanced well with the softer and sweeter mousse inside. The balance of the darker and lighter chocolates was perfect; the cups were not too sweet or too bitter. The texture balance was also a lovely additive, with the outer shell having a lovely crunch that complimented the soft and smooth centre. A very delicious dessert that made me want to take a whole box of them home with me. Overall, the Petit Fours were a lovely way to finish our tasting of British Raj’s Festival of Food menu.

Along with British Raj’s delicious selections of authentic Indian cuisine, the helpful and friendly staff made the evening a spectacular experience; one we won’t forget.

To experience this great value fine dining for yourselves, come visit British Raj today and download the Festival of Food app. Available on iPhone and Android.

Words by Cyndal King

WHERE: 170 Henley Beach Rd, Torrensville