Haldi

Located within the hustle and bustle of Puckle Street, Haldi serves up hearty Indian dishes, packed with flavour, cooked in traditional methods, but served with modern flair.

The kitchen is headed up head chef, Atar Singh, who has previously trained with master chefs in India, including the one of the masterminds behind butter chicken (Sanjeev Kapoor). He then headed to Japan where he was a TV Chef for five years, but more recently he was head chef at Atta Restaurant in Albert Park.

Haldi has just launched a new 'Winter Warmers' special: 3 x entrees, 3 x curries with rice, naan and raita, plus dessert for $55 per person. We loved visiting Haldi to taste our way through the delicious menu.

To start the Sunhare prawns were delightful. Beautifully fresh and marinated with

hung yoghurt, carom seed, haldi, ginger and garlic, they were cooked to perfection.

Haldi’s take on the samosa was similarly delicious. We loved the buttery triangular crisp puff pastry encasing spiced potato and peas and finished with chickpea curry.

A visit to Haldi would of course be incomplete without trying their extremely popular Chicken vindaloo tikka. This dish exceeded our expectations. Wonderfully succulent and bursting with flavour having benefited from 12 hrs of marinating in red wine vinegar, fenugreek seeds and cassia sticks and cooked carefully in the tandoor.

As expected of any great Indian restaurant, Haldi’s curries impress. The Awadhi lamb korma was absolutely stunning. Tender diced lamb in a creamy curry of cashew, green cardamom, bay leaves, cloves and cinnamon bark. Together with fluffy naan and aromatic basmati, this was comfort food at its best.

Seafood lovers will be blown away by the Chef Special fish curry. An absolute must try, this curry had us fighting over the last morsel.

The palak paneer was yet another winner. An elegant take on the classic, this blanch spinach and cottage cheese curry was luscious and boasted just the perfect level of spice.

Dessert time showcased the kitchen’s versatility. A cheeky Indian version of a rich cheesecake with a deconstructed Oreo crust and pistachio kulfi.

The cheese component is substituted with the most beautifully textured Ras Malai. Just yum. For something more traditional, the Gajar Ka Hawla had us in love. Bright orange and absolutely decadent, we loved the balance of creaminess, sweetness and aromatic cardamom.

Haldi is brings together classic dishes from all corners of India, but with a twist of modern creativity that is designed to delight.

Location: 30 Puckle Street, Moonee Ponds

Phone: 03 93704822

Link: https://www.haldi.com.au/