Besides the obvious reason of being amazingly delicious, growth of our cuisine’s popularity also depended highly on the sizeable presence of the Indian community there. Indians have been present in Australia in big numbers from earlier years; the numbers only seem to grow bigger as time goes by. Recent census data reveal that Australia’s Indian population is 5,00,000 and is seen to have multiplied over the past six years, making us the fourth biggest community of migrants to Australia. 

Aussie culinary taste is seen to have been affected largely by trends set by popular cities such as New York, Los Angeles, Paris, London, and Madrid. The popularity of Indian food, not just in Australia, but the world-over is majorly due to the English’s interest and introduction of our dishes to the western world. This is what the world basically recognizes till date as “ Indian food”; over the years, however, people have developed more awareness of the variety of our dishes and realize that Indian cuisine is about more than just curry. 

Curtis Stone a celebrity Australian chef from reality TV show ‘Take Home Chef’ was quoted to have said, “Australian cuisine is very relaxed and has multicultural influence including that of Asia, Europe. Indian cuisine has complexity, and balance of spices, for particular dishes, particular regions are a major factor in India." 

Australia loves our dishes and finds Indian food delightfully colourful and intense. Australians understand that each region of India has its own flavours and style of cooking and here are a few of their favourites:

Chicken Vindaloo, tandoori chicken, potato bhaji, potato curry, chicken kebabs, egg plant curry,carrot halwa, cardamom chai, mango lassi, dosai, and  palak paneer!

Indian food is considered a bit heavier on the wallet in Australia than it would be, in places such as the UK. Don’t let that stop the foodie in you from finding your way to some of Australia’s best Indian restaurants. Bestrestaurants.com and Lonelyplanet point out a few top Indian restaurants: 

This fine restaurant is the right spot to stop by if you’re looking for some fancy high class Indian cuisine along with some fine local and international wines. Aki’s makes the best crab podimas and iddiappam; a must-order dish at Aki’s would have to be the Kerala chilli-beef!

It is highly advised that you book tables in advance if you’re looking to go to Annapurna which is  one of Hobart’s most favourite eateries. Annapurna offers both South Indian as well as North 

Indian dishes at top quality!

Zaaffran is located in Sydney, and is outstanding with its innovative and also authentic Indian curries. Not only is the food spectacular, so is the view of Sydney’s favourite entertainment destination, Darling Harbour, as you are served your meal. Order yourself some mouth watering prawn coconut curry and enjoy the view up in a balcony seat! 

Darwin’s most recently opened Indian restaurant, Saffrron, offers a promising dining experience that is not just contemporary but intimate. Its menu offers almost every Indian dish you could want, from Kerala lamb curry, butter chicken masala, through to  various Indian sweets like the famous Indian ice cream, kulfi.  

Flavour of India is Sydney’s “most awarded Indian restaurant” which has been offering top Indian dishes for over two decades. Its specialty is its chicken tikka masala and also offers some interestingly rare dishes such as tandoori prawns, and Taj chicken salad.  

These are just a few of the numerous options that wait to dazzle you with the flavour of home! You know what they say, the cream will always rise to the top; Indian food being its yummy self will always flourish wherever it lands! 

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