Fast Indian food in Toronto's financial district

By Mike Deibert

TORONTO—When Sonal Sharma and his wife Tarini went looking for curry in the underground PATH system of downtown Toronto on a cold damp day, they found sushi, satay and a variety of other ethnic offerings, but no Indian food. That’s when the couple had their “aha!” moment.

“We wanted to bridge the gap between fine dining Indian restaurants and small curry shops in hard to reach pockets,” says Sonal, in a release.

The result of their efforts was Tamarind the Indian Kitchen, which opened in March in the concourse-level food court in Brookfield Place, at Wellington and Bay Streets.

“Tamarind aims to serve Indian flavours in a stylish and contemporary quick service atmosphere with moderate prices” says Sharma.

The name they chose is that of a tree that produces a sweet, tangy fruit used in much of India’s cuisine.

They hired two chefs with more than 20 years combined cooking experience. N. Babu spent 15 years in the hotel industry working for chains such as Radisson, the Taj Group and Four Points Sheraton in India and Dubai. Gopan Pun worked seven years cooking Indian cuisine in restaurants in the United Arab Emirates.

The Sharmas had Hirschberg Design Group of Toronto put together the look of their kiosk which contains Indian touches such as the lace-like decorative partition between the menu board and food preparation area, called a jali wall. In the Hindustani language this means net, and hundreds of years ago such walls were used to separate spaces while allowing people to see what was happening on the other side.

The two partners in life and work know the hospitality business. Each have degrees in hotel administration and have worked in food and hospitality industries in India and the Middle East.

Their plan is that the new restaurant will be the start of a chain, and they are already looking at other locations.

The Tamarind menu has the Portuguese, English and Persian influences that are typically found in Indian food, and serves the dishes of several regions, such as butter chicken and Goan vindaloo from the west and Hyderabadi biryani from the south.

The menu has basically four sections. There are combos with chicken, lamb and vegetarian items served with rice and salad. Prices are $5.99, $6.99 and $7.99 for various combinations. There is biryani, a casserole of rice and meat which originated as a treat for royalty, for $7.49.

A tandoori meal is cooked in the traditional clay oven called a tandoor. Skewered meat is served with freshly made naan bread. Chicken costs $6.99 and lamb $7.49.

The seafood section of the menu features shrimp or fish cooked in a traditional fisherman’s manner. Price is $8.99.

The restaurant also has a breakfast menu which includes egg dishes, and also a catering menu.

Tamarind is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and offers special snacks mid-morning and mid-afternoon.