By Mildred Jones

Treat yourself to the tantalising fare of Indian cuisine and savor the symphony of dishes created to romanticize your taste buds at The Curry Culture.

Discover the trove of finest ingredients, nestled at the back of cuppage terrace. The alfresco dining gives you an appreciation of a slower pace of life and the spacious settings is just right for another lazy afternoon lunch.

Cuisine

The favourite on the menu seems to be the tandoori platter (SG 36.00), served with chicken in two different curried styles, prawns and mutton with a slightly charred smokiness to it. The star dish in my opinion is the boneless Malabar fish (SG 19.00) originating from Kerala with scented coconut extraction and infused with spices of fennel, chillies and coriander. It is tender and tangy to the taste; it is thought that yogurt could very well have been added. 

Basmati, Kashmiri Pulao or fragrant Saffron rice are options for staple including the accompanying naan (SG4.00) or Khamiri is unleavened, oven baked flat bread that hails from North india and also has in origins from Persia. What is interesting to note is that this bread has Indo-European roots, otherwise known as ‘nog’. Beautiful in texture. It is elastic and almost pillowy with pop up bubbles and a melted slathering top with butter, herbs and coarse salt for the sprinkling. To serve a side dish, one could choose to have the Dhal Makhani, a lentil dish rich with tomatoes and spices.

The marriage of Portuguese and Indian curry is served as the Vindaloo Curry, otherwise known as de Vinha d’alhos (meat marinated wine, vinegar and garlic). Originally Franciscan priests made their own with palm wine which went over the meat, including spices like tamarind, black peppers, cinnamon and the famous Portuguese chile peppers (a legacy of the Portuguese empire). This made its way to India during the 15th century and have since become a favourite Goan dish, its presence spreading over East Asia and as far as Britain that celebrates it as among the curries eaten on the National Curry Week.

If pairing with a wine, is your sentiment for the day, that we suggest the Fratelli Pighin Pinot Grigio, the Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc or the Terrazas Reserva Chardonnay on the Curry Culture Wine list.

And if that does not cool the taste buds, the Riatas are for the taking. The Cucumber or the Boondhi Raita (consisting of chickpeas) are both immersed in yogurt. To wrap up the day, there is nothing better than having the traditional Ras Malai which is described as the hot ‘sinful cottage dumplings’, they are usually dipped in sweetened milk and topped with dried fruit. The best is yet to come as the restaurant also in-houses an assortment of beers, if you so prefer, from the Corona to the Heineken, to the definitive Asian larger, the malty Tiger Draught which dates back to 1932. For those who are a little more adventurous, we suggest you take on the Tiger Brewery Tour on, 459 Jalan Ahmad Ibrahim Road, to have samplings of The Anchor, The ABC and the Guinness Foreign Extra, to receive a complete tasting experience.

Photo acknowledgements: www.beafranciscan, www.tasteflavours, www.express.uk, https:/i.ting.com