GET THIS:Indian restaurants are going upmarket, and Ireland has some of the best, writes Hugo Arnold.
WHILE THE UK has a plethora of indentikit Indian restaurants, often run by Bangladeshi families buying generic sauces from national suppliers, we have largely escaped this phenomenon largely unsullied. To quote one Indian restaurateur: "The Irish have a curiously well-honed and sophisticated palate when it comes to Indian food." Why is this?
Since the mid-1990s, we have seen the development of both the Jaipur group and the growth of Bombay Pantry outlets. There is also Konkan on Clanbrassil Street in Dublin 8; Rasam in Glasthule, Co Dublin and, as of this month, Ananda in Dundrum Town Centre. In Clontarf, the Pakistani restaurant Kinara has excellent fare.
Cooking of the standard found in these establishments requires the skills inherent in somebody for whom the food is their native cuisine, and getting those people into Ireland is not easy, despite the proven track record of these restaurants in creating wealth and providing employment. Coincidentally, within the past few years the mighty men from Michelin, whose restaurant guide to the UK also covers Ireland, have increasingly taken Indian dining into consideration.
In London, Quilon has just won a star for cooking which is influenced by the west coast of India. Quilon joins the ranks of a growing legion of high-profile Indian restaurants including Amaya, Benares, Rasoi Vineet Bhatia and Tamarind. Only a few years ago there was not one Indian restaurant rated in the guide.
Ananda is owned by the Jaipur group, which in turn has a holding in Benares in London, where Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar reigns supreme. Sunil Ghai, who is to head up the Ananda kitchen, has been honing his skills with Kochhar over the past few months.
Asheesh Dewan, owner of Jaipur, opened on George's Street in 1997, two years after arriving in Ireland, and was determined to beat the image of the UK's corner curry houses. His first restaurant was called Zaffran and it had open windows, plain tables and a beautiful wooden floor. Diners disliked the simplicity, and Dewan had to cover the floor, use tablecloths and put blinds on the windows. The name also changed.
Jaipur restaurants have since been set up in various parts of the city, and it was a call from his friend Kochhar that cemented Dewan's stake in Benares, and has led to the opening of Ananda. What is promised is something of the excellence of Benares, but less expensive.
Fine dining is not an easy thing to define in any cuisine. Some of it is tied up with the room and service, materials used, and attitude. But most of the attention is reserved for the food, its structure and composition, the ingredients, how they are handled and presented. Nisheeth Tak of Rasam thinks that one of the major things that propelled higher-end Indian food into the minds of Michelin inspectors, and serious restaurant-goers, was the focus on presentation.
One of the first to recognise this was Namita Punjabi, who owns Amaya and Chutney Mary in London. It was at this latter restaurant at the end of the King's Road that European presentation was brought to bear on Indian food back in 1990. Order a curry at Chutney Mary today and it will come in a metal dish on a custom-made warmer. The philosophy behind this? If a chef is going to spend three hours making a complex dish, you need to spend time enjoying it and it has to be kept warm. Your rice comes in a matki, which with its restricted opening, stops the rice going cold.
Impressive, star-studded cooking needs this kind of forethought. We may not have star-studded Indian dining in Ireland yet, but what we have comes pretty close in several instances.
STYLISH SPICE
Ananda is due to open at the end of the month in Dundrum Town Centre. www.anandarestaurant.ie
Bombay Pantry, Clonskeagh, Fairview, Glenageary and Rathmines in Dublin. www.bombaypantry.com
Jaipur restaurants are in George's Street, Dalkey, Malahide, Greystones, and Ongar, near Clonee, Dublin 15. www.jaipur.ie
Konkan (01-4738252)
Rasam (01-2300600)
Kinara (01-8336759)
Quilon (00-44-20-78211899)
Amaya (00-44-20-78231166)
Benares (00-44-20-76298886)
Rasoi Vineet Bhatia (00-44-20-72251881)
Tamarind (00-44-20-76293561)
Chutney Mary (00-44-20-73513113)