A taste of south India in Blenheim
The foodies of Blenheim will soon get to try the tastes of south India.
In a country of more than a billion people, no curry was the same and the owners of The Tamarind (not related to Tamarind Restaurant in Christchurch), hoped that Marlburians would get to appreciate the difference in south Indian food.
The owners, the husband and wife team of Denny Yeldo and Priyanka Jose aimed to open the restaurant by February 1, at the old MIA Dining & Wine Cellar on Scott St.
When they came to Marlborough five years ago, the couple were determined to bring authentic southern dishes to Marlborough.
‘‘We’re real foodies, so we went around and tried [Indian food], and all we could get is like butter chicken and other curries which are enriched in creams, mostly north Indian food.
‘‘So when we talk about north Indian and south Indian food it’s important to remember that India is a big country and there are heaps of cultures and heaps of different food, everything has got its own particular taste,’’ Jose said.
Diners at The Tamarind would be able to notice the difference in taste between north and south Indian food.
‘‘In north India, the staple food is wheat and the curries are a bit more creamy, they use a lot of dairy. In south India, our food is more light and fresh, we use more coconut based curries and our staple food is rice,’’ Jose said.
Yeldo also promised a richer taste in their curries.
‘‘In the masalas that we make, we use around 18 to 20 different variety of spices. When we also talk about spiciness, a lot of people think that it means heat, but it is not. Spiciness is having a blend of spices and you’ll be able to taste the different spices,’’ he said.
The couple initially started a home based business while they were both nurses at Wairau Hospital and saw this as the next step in their business.
‘‘Initially we got a very good response from the hospital staff and a lot of our loyal customers [from the home based kitchen] were nurses, house officers and doctors. They just came and bought food from us.
‘‘Then we started a Facebook page and we advertised through that. So I was cooking once a week on my day off and I took only 20 orders and that’s how much we could manage,’’ Yeldo said.
But when there baby son arrived, it was time to look beyond the kitchen at home.
‘‘We had a baby six months ago, so we can’t go on with the home business because there is so much going on at home,’’ Jose said.