Taj Indian Sweets & Restaurant

After my first visit... and then followed by many after that I can truly say the Indian cuisine is one of the few I'd have almost no troubles of switching to being a vegetarian.

My first visit back in the day was to sample the Indian restaurants in Harris Park (which I'd heard so much about).  I was shocked to find out I was eating vegetarian dishes and even more shocked to find out how I loved it. From that day on, this is our go to place. A good sign is the fact that we're always the only non-Indian customers in the restaurant.

We started off by sharing a plate of Pani Puri - wholemeal flour balls served with spicy tamarind water, chutney, boiled chickpeas and potatoes. It's a very popular authentic style appetiser sold almost all over India.

I always settle for my favourite... a Masala Dosa. Dosa is a fermented crepe made from rice batter and black lentils.

My sister and brother in law got the Chickpea Masala.

They also got Palak Paneer - a vegetarian North Indian dish consisting of spinach and paneer in a thick sauce made from pureed spinach and seasoned with garlic, garam masala and other spices.

Another common favourite would be the cheese naan.

The most interesting dish was the Bhelpuri which is a savoury Indian snack made out of puffed rice, vegetables and tangy taminrind sauce. It was an amazing combination of flavours and textures that left me curious. Recommendation is to eat it first as once the puff goes out of the puffed rice... the dish is too soggy to enjoy.

My wife always opts for the North Indian Thali - Four veg curries of the day with Rice, Naan, Salad, Raita, Pickle, Papad and Sweet Dish.

My uncle chose the South Indian Thali - Four South Indian curries of the day with Rice, Puri, Salad, Raita, Pickle, Papad and Sweet Dish.

I think the North won this round. Better overall flavours and the naan and papadum pairing was more preferred.

I highly recommend giving this a try on a street full of competing Indian restaurants... that or just go to Chatkaaz... you can't go wrong with authenticity...