Durban - What is Durban without some curry in one’s dining experience? After agonising over which restaurant would perhaps offer me the best curry on the waterfront, I popped into Jeera, on the lower ground floor of the Suncoast Towers hotel, and was immediately taken in by the restaurant’s Indian-inspired interior.
Even though I did not meet the restaurant’s sous chef, I concluded that Sandren Govender was definitely in a class of his own in the spices and sauces department, and could easily be described as a connoisseur of Indian cuisine.
Later I gathered that the secret to Jeera’s kitchen is the romance of combining old recipes, some dating back to the 1800s, with modern delectable dishes spiced up in jeera (cumin), black pepper, cinnamon, coriander and cloves, among others.
The end result is some exquisite recipes with stylish flavours, and any diner at this establishment will be spoilt for choice whether they decide on a mutton or fish curry.
But for starters I noticed that diners at this eatery are spoilt for choice when it comes to appetisers, with puri-patha served with lemon and coriander, haleem, pea dhal with lamb and poppy seed naan and bhajia salad, vegetable strips in garam flour batter, mixed greens and spiced cashew nuts.
Curry dishes include fish curry, filleted and marinated before being braised in spiced tomato chutney, three-bean-paneers, cheese and green mint chutney, and prawn and chicken curry.
One could also eat deboned lamb curry where the lamb cutlets are braised in spiced tomato chutney and served with either rice or roti.
Diners can also indulge in an array of Indian breads including alooparatha rolls, wheat bread stuffed with potatoes, curried fruit salad and dried mango yoghurt dressing.
And for dessert, guests have a choice of such treats as soji, wheat pudding served with cardamom cream and kheer, a rice pudding served with coconut cream.
With so much to choose from, I settled on a south Indian breyani.
The minute the meal arrived at my table, the aroma of the mutton dish was delectable, there was an appealing approach not only to the cooking but also to the food layout and I was genuinely impressed with the blend of spicing and approach to food preparation.
- Sunday Independent