Crocs, kangaroos add Aussie touch to Indian curries in Far North
Indian chef Daulat Singh Panwar has created a fusion of cultures and tastes with his croc and kangaroo curries in Cairns.
Cairns
Don't miss out on the headlines from Cairns. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Save on the airfare, Cairns delivers Mediterranean on a plate
- Pills, potions take back seat to healthy eats for Cairns chemist
- The FNQ fish and chippery Aussies love
- Blondes with brains: Cairns scientist takes top gong in China
SOME like it hot, others super mild. But Indian chef Daulat Singh Panwar is not embarrassed to admit he’s happy to have his curries somewhere in between.
“I don’t like it very hot. Medium is fine,” says the owner and head chef of popular Shields St eatery Spicy Bite.
Still, he grows a steady supply of super hot, small, green chillies to put the bite, when needed, into dozens of dishes that are a talking point on travel platforms Lonely Planet, TripAdvisor and TripGuru.
TripGuru recently catapulted Spicy Bite into the Top 12 Cairns restaurants.
“Stick with us … and your stomach will thank us later,” says TripGuru.
Word has spread about Daulat’s creative Indian fusion dishes like crocodile masala, kangaroo tikka masala, veg Manchurian and paneer chilli.
The paneer chilli is created from his own homemade cottage cheese, a favourite from the north of India where he grew up.
“We make 25 kilos every week,” he says.
Daulat’s career evolved as a child.
His father loved cooking and Daulat helped his mother in the kitchen from the age of eight.
“Actually, I love food. It’s my hobby,” he says.
He is surrounded by others who feel the same. Wife Vineeta Devi is a chef at Spicy Bite and his brother is a chef in Townsville.
“My home town is a tourist place, just like Cairns. Many people in my town work in hotels and a lot of my friends went overseas to work in places like Australia, New Zealand, England and Canada,” Daulat says.
Daulat arrived in Australia in 2008, working on the Gold Coast before opening a restaurant with his brother in Townsville.
He moved to Cairns in 2017 and now has two restaurants – Spicy Bite and 7 Spices. Spicy Bite is in the heart of tourism central, while 7 Spices caters for larger gatherings further afield in Sheridan St.
Daulat’s preference for milder curries is reflected in his temperament. If the heat comes on in the kitchen, he keeps his cool: “I love cooking and I just calm down. If you’re angry, you can’t make anything. If you cool down, you can make anything.”
Spicy Bite, Shop 6, 53 Esplanade, is open 11am-3pm Monday to Saturday and 5pm-10pm daily. Entry is from Shields St.
Originally published as Crocs, kangaroos add Aussie touch to Indian curries in Far North
Warm winter ahead for Far North
With rainy conditions hanging around Cairns well into April, a dry and warmer than average winter is forecast for Far North Queensland.
Innisfail meth supplier shared a digital ‘pin’ to half-ounce drop location, court told
An Innisfail meth supplier used his mum’s house for small-scale supplies and dropped a digital pin to a Babinda location for a larger drop, Cairns Supreme Court has been told.