Bringing familiar Indian flavours to Limassol

Restaurant review: Aroma of India, LimassolI will be honest, this particular review did not go exactly to plan. Not because of anything the restaurant did but rather because my treasonous immune system chose to let me down at a very inopportune time. The original intention was to visit Aroma of India, conveniently situated along Limassol’s Makarios avenue, and dine in. However, it would be both selfish and challenging to do so while nursing a cold. So, at the very last minute we decided to take the food and eat it at home. For what it’s worth, this modestly-sized restaurant has a handful of tables so perhaps it’s best to call ahead if you want to sit down. Indian cuisine offers an almost endless variety of flavours, textures and cooking techniques. There is plenty to explore, even before getting into the regional differences that make the cuisine so diverse. Despite that, our latest visit offered a little bit of everything, but leaned towards familiar Indian favourites. We opted for the butter chicken, chicken biryani, a Mysore masala dosa, and the obligatory accompaniments of naan and rice. We also ordered a mango lassi to wash everything down, which turned out to be a particularly fitting choice. Rich curries and fragrant rice Let’s start with the butter chicken. I know some of you will laugh as it’s both one of the most recognisable dishes, at least in Europe, and one highly preferred by people who can’t handle their spice. Myself? My capacity for heat can be described as ‘not too bad’ for European standards and perhaps as cowardly by South Asian ones. Knowledge of self and all of that. The dish entails grilled chicken simmered with butter, onions, ginger and tomatoes, and finished with fresh cream. The sauce was rich, creamy and quite layered in flavour, with the butter and cream providing a nice consistency, while the onions, ginger and tomatoes contribute a more complex savoury character. It is mildly spicy (I’ve had the same dish from other places where there is precisely zero heat), so there is enough warmth to keep things interesting without overpowering the other flavours. The chicken itself is well incorporated into the sauce, making this a particularly comforting dish. The chicken biryani, meanwhile, offered a different experience. It involves chicken layered with fluffy long-grain basmati rice, fragrant spices and fried onions. It is an aromatic dish that makes an impression before you even get to the first mouthful. The portion is generous, with identifiable pieces of chicken distributed throughout the rice. The meat is marinated and pleasantly soft, while the rice carries the fragrance of the spices without becoming overwhelming. The Aroma of India In terms of heat, the biryani is moderately spicy, sitting just a little higher on the scale than the butter chicken. It also comes with a yoghurt-based sauce, which provides a welcome cooling contrast to the spices. This is particularly useful when alternating between the biryani and the butter chicken, as it helps refresh the palate. The butter naan is another essential addition to the table. Indian flatbread is one of those things that can easily be taken for granted, but a good naan makes a considerable difference to the overall experience. Its soft texture and buttery flavour make it ideal for scooping up the curry sauce, and it is difficult to imagine ordering butter chicken without one. A South Indian speciality Our departure from the familiar curries was the Mysore masala dosa, a South Indian speciality that offers something quite different from the other dishes. For anyone unfamiliar with dosa, it is essentially a thin crepe made from fermented rice and lentil batter. The fermentation gives it a distinctive tanginess, somewhat reminiscent of sourdough, while the exterior develops a pleasant texture when cooked. The Mysore version takes things a step further by spreading a mixture of garlic and red chilli chutney inside the crepe, before adding a filling of mildly spiced potato. The contrast between the components is what makes the dish particularly enjoyable. The garlic and chilli paste delivers a more pronounced, savoury kick, while the potato filling is comparatively mild, providing a softer counterbalance. Indeed, the restaurant left a very good impression and I will certainly be dining from there again in the future. Perhaps while being able to sit down for a change. VITAL STATISTICS SPECIALTY Indian food WHERE Aroma of India, Makarios III Avenue 4A-No 4, Limassol WHEN Wednesday-Monday: 12-10pm, Sunday: 11:30am-10pm, Tuesday: closed CONTACT 99-678507 HOW MUCH €12.50 for the butter chicken, €13.50 for the chicken Biriyani