WITH covid hitting the house for six, we were in takeaway mode.

It’s been a rough couple of weeks and as my wife remarked, the only upside of covid is that she can no longer smell our dog’s farts. 

But, I must say, God bless technology.

Choosing from umpteen varieties of cuisine and getting food delivered to your doorstep by pressing a few icons on your phone is like being a character in The Jetsons.

Remember the old days when you would phone for a pizza, wait eons for a stoned drongo to answer, then have it delivered hours later by a guy on probation in a souped-up Commodore, only to find it was stone cold with the wrong toppings. Ah, the memories.

I decided to ordered a curry from Divine Indian Restaurant in Alfred Cove, just down from KFC on the corner of North Lake Road and the Canning Highway.

The menu was reasonably priced and had a nice range of chicken, lamb, beef, seafood and vegetarian dishes.

I liked how they offered slightly less mainstream dishes like dhansak (a lentil-based curry) and an extensive variety of tandoori breads (aloo kulcha, keema naan) and rice (jeera pulao, chicken biryani).

Most ruby murries were under $20 which is pretty good value these days.

To kick off the Indian feast, we all shared a Maharaja Indian Platter ($24.90).

Highlights included the fish pakora, which were actually fillets in a tikka batter instead of minced balls.

I normally steer clear of fish in Indian restaurants, but this was good quality with a subtle heat; a nice light start to the meal.

The vegetable pakora were equally impressive: very tasty with a medley of fresh vegetables.

Things tapered off with the seekh kebab, which had fragrant spices but was a bit tough, and the malai chicken tikka had a weird smoky aftertaste.

Rounding things off were two prodigious samosas, which were tasty and very filling.

Overall the shared entree was good value, but a bit hit-and-miss.

After a quick drink of water, Bamm-Bamm and Pebbles were getting tore into their chicken korma ($19.95).

There were no cries for milk or water, so it was relatively tame and suitable for younger kids.

I had a taste and the tender chicken was submerged in a nice thick, creamy sauce. A tasty and comforting korma.

My chicken dhansak ($19.95) tasted lovely with heaps of lentils and a rich viscous sauce. 

Only one problem – I had ordered the lamb version. 

Remember what I said about technology, I take it all back.

It was so nice I just kept going and really enjoyed the accompanying peas pulao rice ($8.90 serves two) which had a fragrant blend of shiny peas and spices.

Did Divine Indian Restaurant banish our covid blues and take us to foodie heaven?

Not quite, but the curries were definitely great value and very tasty, and some of the starters hit the heights too.

As I basked in my post-curry glow, I shovelled the left-over samosas into our dog’s bowl.

Well, it’s a cheap alternative to my wife taking a RAT…

Divine Indian Restaurant
575 Canning Highway, Alfred Cove
divineindian.com.au

by STEPHEN POLLOCK