AJs Indian Restaurant at Eastwood proves irresistable for some

SRIRAM Ramani enjoyed eating at his nearby Indian restaurant so much, he bought it.

Paneer 65 at AJs Indian Restaurant, Eastwood. Picture: Steven Deare

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SRIRAM Ramani enjoyed eating at his nearby Indian restaurant so much, he bought it.

The North Ryde resident and his business partner bought AJs Indian Restaurant at Eastwood from previous owner Sanjay Sood in late 2014.

Yet they were careful not to interfere with what they believed was a winning formula.

Most of the staff remain, and management has only this month introduced its biggest range of new dishes after trialling them as chefs specials.

We were guided to a table adorned with high back, cushioned chairs and wine glasses.

Traditional Indian murals flanked us across the wall.

We found the menu particularly helpful, with indicators for respective vegetarian and gluten free meals, as well as levels of spiciness.

Paneer Mirch Masala. Picture: Steven Deare

There are plenty of vegetarian choices. One of them is one of the new entrees we tried, Paneer 65 ($12.50).

This arrived beautifully presented, with slices of cucumber and capsicum arranged around the cheese pieces.

The paneer pieces bore the markings of having been carefully pan-fried, and tasted just as delicate.

Strips of onion and curry leaves rounded out the flavour.

Another new entree is garlic king prawns ($14.90).

Our prawns sat cradled with baby tomato, garlic, onion and red and green capsicum pieces in a lettuce leaf.

This arrangement ensured there was more to this dish than just the seafood.

The chef’s special sauce gave a distinct flavour throughout this dish, which we thoroughly enjoyed.

There are plenty of meatier options too.

We were impressed by the chicken nilgiri tikka ($8.20).

These two thigh fillets were marinated in mint and coriander and had a taste we had not encountered in previous Indian dining visits.

The new menu also has lamb, goat and seafood options.

The number of gluten free and vegetarian dishes available means there are few excuses for not trying a restaurant capable of a strong reputation.