9 February 2008

Ruchi Belconnen Hyderabadi Shahi Machi Korma Vs ... well nothing

| Maelinar
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For those familiar with my rating style, I choose a dish that I personally think is exquisite, and then rate subsequent dishes on a sliding scale from that point.

Unfortunately I have not found anything similar to this commercially, so no rating scale – here’s a plug for a local dish that is absolutely superb !

The Hyderabadi Shahi Machi Korma is a tongue twisting named fish dish cooked; as per the menu, in exotic spices in cashew nut paste and creamy gravy for a measly sum of $17 with a bit of change. What you will get is a bit of a taste sensation, but be prepared to deal with generous slices of fish and ample lashings of sauce to blend with your rice. Ruchi Belconnen tend to bank on their sauces, which is their strength – their saucie~ is an extremely talented chef, I genuinely believe to be the best in Canberra I have encountered.

The sauce is sweet with a hint of tartness in the aftertaste, as you would expect if you ate about 100 cashew nuts in one mouthful. The fish – delightfully white on the inside, with the expectable staining from the curry seeping down where it can get in.

I would match this dish with their Butter Chicken, which is also done in a cashew/gravy sauce delightfully – the best in Canberra. The subtle differences between the two dishes will surely strike through, although I would expect most diners will return for future sittings after their first visit, with either of the two featuring again.

In summary – a break from the conventional order (vindaloo, butter chicken, chicken korma) has unearthed a hidden treasure hiding right here in Canberra. I thoroughly recommend a visit to Ruchi, especially if your intention is to impress your dining partner. Until something similar comes on the market in Canberra, the Hyderabadi Shahi Machi Korma is a genuine 10/10 dish to be compared to.

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On a different theme (the excellence of Ramas and Indian Affair notwithstanding) my current 10/10 benchmark dish is Spicy Shantung Lamb from The Chairman and Yip… drool…

besides the butter chicken at Taj Agra, my favourite dish is the Navratten Korma at The Indian Affair in Phillip. It’s vegetarian but its superb. haven’t tried the butter chicken there strangely enough and it supposedly is there speciality!!!

Why would anyone prefer a thigh over a breast ???

P.S ate at Rama’s tonight… was ok.. But I’m not a big Curry fan.

I agree – Rama’s is a great venue, unfortunately a bit far out of my range to do frequent stops, or critiques.

Kennardly – I’ve had the Taj Agra butter chicken, but was a bit disappointed with it so decided not to do a report in the hope that the next time I went down I would see a marked improvement – unfortunately, I haven’t seen the need to go back in recent times.

When I lived on the northside about 100 years ago, Ruchi’s Kerala chicken was about my favourite dish in the world.
Since I moved south, I’ve converted to Rama’s at Pearce. Geez that’s good kai, as my old papa would have said.

My palate is not refined enough to recommend any particular dishes, but i’ve never had a bad meal at the Indian restaurant in Swinger Hill (not sure of the name) and I love the truly tasteless decor of the Greater Indian and International restaurant in Curtin – sit by the gaudy bar and enjoy complimentary papadums with your Tiger beer.

Thigh is far superior for curries. It doesn’t dry out as much as breast, and is much tastier.

For us, the butter chicken from Taj Agra belconnen is unrivalled by any other (uses chicken breast). The butter chicken from Ruchi uses chicken thigh which to us is not as nice(although I have been told that some people prefer chicken thigh to breast).

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