Kashi Indian Restaurant

All right, I know its been a long time and ever since I got onto Instagram, I do admit this blog has been a bit neglected. However, I write back today after ages, and purely inspired by this new restaurant we tried out.

Kashi Indian Restaurant , located at Annangrove. There is a bit of a history involved. In my initial years in Australia, in 2010, I had visited the BANSW Durga Puja, and I saw this poster of Kashi Restaurant back then. Over the years, whenever I was at BANSW Durga Puja, there was always some sort of advertisement. Anyways, this year- for some reason, we had Kashi on the radar. We knew it was being run by a Bengali couple, Arun and Sumi. However with lockdowns and also the fact that Kashi was about 35 odds kms drive, we somehow kept deferring it. We planned to go there – and signed up for the newsletter, and they sent a voucher for my wife's birthday- which was interesting and great marketing strategy. Our Marriage Anniversary was on the 10^th December and we decided to go to Kashi. While the drive was a bit, we finally reached there. As we entered, the entry area had a very rustic Indian feel, with Merchandise on sale. We had called in and made a reservation before we started driving. It was quite a busy when we reached there.

Tip: Make reservation before you head to the restaurant.

Tip: Get a seat in the main dining hall.

Lets come to the food, without any further delay. We ordered the Maach Bhaja or the Fish Fry for starters. We thought this would be the Kolkata Fish Fry. The fish fry was so good. It was delicious. A crispy crumb and gorgeous fresh flaky fish inside. It did had ajwain (carrom seeds) which made us think of this fish as a mix between the Kolkata Fish in terms of the Crumb, and Amritsari Fish with the carrom seeds. Served with a delicious green chutney. Loved it and Highly recommended. Four pieces of delicious fish actually increased our hunger and we then ordered the Tandoori Seekh Kabab.

The Tandoori Seekh Kabab- well, lets start with the highlight. Amazingly soft. Being a kabab connoisseur, I was impressed with the softness of this kabab. It was just melt in the mouth. I am not afraid to Say- this is probably the softest and best melt in the mouth Seekh kabab I have had in all my years in Australia. I have sampled seekh kababs over in India and Australia and I have seen how Seekh kabab gets abused in most Indian restaurants here in Australia. Kashi did the perfect justice. Initial bite, I did think it had a bit of the lamb fragrance a bit, but I soon forgot and loved the spices and the texture.

Highly Highly Highly recommended! Lets say- this is one of the dishes why I would drive 40kms to eat.

Next in the mains we ordered the Kosha Mangsho! The menu described it as “Grandmother’s Secret Recipe – Mutton Is Slow Cooked With Shorsher Tel (Virgin Mustard Oil), Fresh Herbs And Spices. Marinated For 24 Hours To Achieve Its Iconic Taste. Goat Meat (Known As Mutton In India) Is Lean And Tender.”

Now being a Bengali, we all rave and crave about Kosha Mangsho, and when we go to a place with Bengali owners, your expectations increase. What I expected was this really think, dark masala, with oil oozing out and soft meat falling off the bone. When it was served, I quickly dug in with my roti to get a taste of this one. Well, the goat meat was incredibly soft and perfectly cooked, falling of the bone. Goat meat – very few restaurant get the texture right. This place is one of them. Soft meat, perfectly and appropriately cooked. The curry however, was ok, but not what I expected. To me this was magsho’r Jhol, but not Kosha Mangsho. But nonetheless, it was good, and would love people to try this out. Personally, I would have liked to see the Kosha Mangsho more thicker curry or masala with oil and fats oozing out- like very rich. So slight disappointment, but not that it was bad or not delicious. Another thing to call out, the use of coriander and other spices in the curry were very good and you could get their favours in the curry!

Next we got the Golda Chingri Malai Curry. The menu stated “Jumbo SA Prawns, Cooked In A Silky Smooth, Creamy Yet Surprisingly Light Gravy, Flavoured With Freshly Grated Coconut, Cashews & Mustard. A Signature Bengali Recipe That Is A True Testament Of Our Rich Heritage And Culture.”

Well, this is the dish which I felt was true to the description and even more. Such a delicious and creamy curry, the prawns cooked just perfectly and in an optimum way, where the prawn meat texture is creamy. This was the dish which made my night and felt like that song by Bryan Adams, - thought Id died and gone to heaven. Topped with Almond flakes, this was such a rich and decadent curry, slight tinge of sweetness, just perfect with Rice. The portion of the curry had about 3 large prawns. We thought where the restaurant could have been more generous, for $36, 3 pieces of prawns- which are this delicious- you can only want more 😊.

What made the evening even more memorable was the live music- a Goan gentlemen who was singing out some great English retro hits.

Next we got the Matka Kulfi, which again was divine. Creamy and rich and not too overtly sweet- the kulfi had the right level of sweetness and flavours. Really amazing!

The prices of the dishes are in line with a Fine Dine restaurant. $15-$20 for non veg starters. Approx $30-35 for mains.

Overall, we loved our experience at Kashi and would love to visit again. Kashi and the staff put the due and right focus on food. They know that if the food is good, then everything else is secondary. They do really good justice to each dish which is served and I wouldn’t hesitate to say this is a great place to eat. I am actually waiting to visit next time and try out some other dishes.

My must have recommended dishes

Fish Fry
Tandoori Seekh Kebab
Golda Chingri Malai Curry.
Matka Kulfi

Suggestion for the Restaurant:

The brown plates for food- while they look rustic, but sometimes, the foods appearance and aesthetic is dubbed down due to the brown plates. I don’t think the brown plates accentuate the food look and feel. For instance a deep brown kosha mangsho, would look more appealing on white plates, rather than a brown plate. Likewise for the Fish Fry as well.

https://kashiindian.com.au/

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