The Logical Indian, Hutt St, Adelaide | SA Weekend restaurant review

A new Indian restaurant in the city is doing its best to shed the notion that the county’s cuisine is confined to butter chicken and beef vindaloo. So, how does it fare?

The Logical Indian owner Mervin Joshua at his Rundle Mall diner in 2019. Picture: Matt Turner

Indian food, Mervin Joshua declares, is more than the butter chicken and tikka masala, lamb rogan josh and beef vindaloo that have become the Aussie curry house standards.

There is a world of flavour we rarely experience. Joshua is on a mission to, in his words, “put the logic back into Indian food”.

That’s why his new Hutt St restaurant is called The Logical Indian.

Here you can find rarely seen items such as the steamed rice and lentil buns known as “idli”, discover the history of the famous Chicken 65 and experience a paint box of spices and herbs that work in a totally different spectrum – still punchy but with a freshness and verve that is reminiscent of other parts of Asia.

This is the food that Joshua grew up with in India’s southeastern region of Tamil Nadu, where the climate is more tropical and the long coastline a reliable source of seafood.

The dining room at The Logical Indian on Hutt St.

Idli with coconut and tomato chutneys and lentil sambar at The Logical Indian.

After training in an international hotel kitchen, he took his homeland’s repertoire to Malaysia, before coming to Adelaide in 2014.

The following year he opened the first version of The Logical Indian in the food hall below David Jones’s city store, before moving to flasher surrounds in the Rundle Mall Plaza, where he continues to trade.

For this more ambitious venture, he has chosen a prominent corner site on a strip with multiple dining options, taking over a space where the previous tenant did not last long.

The older style of the stone building might help bring a colonial vibe to the restaurant but, Joshua says, many other features required work before he opened six months ago.

A four-page menu, also displayed on a large placard outside, is crammed with interesting notes, including the history of India’s southeast, how it became known as the Coromandel Coast and its link to the Adelaide foothills suburb.

Keep turning to the “Tiffin” section and you will also discover that idli has been declared one of the world’s healthiest breakfasts – something to consider over your next bowl of muesli.

The chicken biryani.

Paneer 65, which references the year it was invented, at The Logical Indian.

The domed white cakes have little flavour of their own but act as a sponge to sop up a trio of accompaniments – a zingy coconut chutney, another tomato-based relish, and a bigger bowl of lentil-based soup (or sambar) full of root vegetables including carrot, turnip and radish.

Fresh curry leaves (how can one leaf produce such a dizzying aroma?), mustard seeds, bay and chilli all feature, making it a perfect reference point to the direction we are heading.

The number in Chicken 65, we also learn, refers to the year it was invented.

A vegetarian version using the firm cheese paneer goes through the same two-stage marination with garlic, chilli, ginger and then yoghurt, before being dusted in flour and deep fried.

A final sprinkle of Kashmiri chilli powder turns the paneer lipstick red and gives it an extra kick, but the coating could be crisper.

Steaming fish in a banana-leaf parcel is a traditional recipe from the neighbouring state of Kerala.

Cutlets of salmon are smeared in a complex masala including cinnamon, cardamom and clove as well as the usual aromatics, and partially cooked on the grill before wrapping.

While the flesh could have been a touch moister, the fattier parts beneath the skin partner with the spice mix in a dramatic tango.

Chunks of succulent goat leg are the treasure buried in a biryani likely to trigger discussion. The rice used is Tamil Nadu’s traditional shorter grain “seeraga samba”, which is brilliant for absorbing the spicy sauce but becomes like a heavy risotto compared to the fluffier basmati.

Each to their own, I reckon.

The adventure continues with a dessert recommended by the waiter.

Rasmalai are loosely formed dumplings made from a conglomeration of milk solids, similar to ricotta.

They bob about in a milky sauce finished with almonds, saffron and just the right amount of sweetness.

Joshua is pragmatic enough to also offer a selection of “Crowd Favourites” including the all-conquering butter chicken and tikka masala.

Have them if you must, though passing up this chance to be more adventurous doesn’t seem very logical.