Paradise Biryani House, North Strathfield

Paradise Biryani House is just across the street from where we live and we have done a lot of Biryani take aways from this joint. We have a friday night tradition of having biryani at home and then cuddle up and watch a movie. After a busy week we really look forward to unwinding at home with delicious biryani. We indulged in our friday nigh tradition and on saturday my brother had come over, we had planned to go to another restaurant but seeing the traffic on Parramatta Rd we decided to walk across to George St which is studded with a variety of restaurants. Paradise is one of the first few restaurants in the precinct and my brother really wanted to try it. So we decided to actually have a sit down dinner here and we are glad we did.

Paradise Biryani is a namesake of another Biryani Restaurant in Hyderbad , India which is world famous ( it really is!) People from the Middle Eastern countries get food packed and take it overseas with them. I have been lucky enough to try the Biryani and mirchi ka salan from there and it was one of the best I have ever had. So for this restaurant to use their name had a lot to live up to.

The menu has a good selection of vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. We ordered two entrees, pappadums, three mains with breads and one Biryani. 

Entree: Papdi Chat

Crispy fried dough wafers made from refined white flour and oil (Papris). Papris are served with boiled potatoes, boiled chick peas, chilis, yoghurt and tamarind chutney and topped with chaat masala and ‘sev’

($6.90)

What a perfect way to start a meal. Papdi chat is a popular street food in India and is one of my favourite snacks. The papdi (flour crisps) was crispy, flaky and delicious. The tamarind chutney packed a punch and had a delicious sweet and sour flavour. It just tingled our taste buds and left us wanting more.

Entree: Seek Kebab

Lamb mince flavored with spices, fresh coriander and pistachio powder and Cooked in tandoor.

($8.90)

The Seekh Kebabs were flavourful and cooked very well. The chutney was a tasty accompaniment.

Main: Paneer Butter Masala

Cubes of homemade cottage cheese cooked with tomato and thickened cream to perfection.

($11.9)

This is the vegetarian equivalent of Butter Chicken and it certainly did not disappoint. All three of us love paneer and this was cooked beautifully. The gravy was creamy and delicious without being too sweet.

Main: Saag Chicken

Turmeric flavored thigh fillets with spinach and spiced with coriander, fenugreek and ginger.

($14.9)

Saag chicken was another hit dish of the night. The boys loved it and there was nothing left at the end of the night, which says it all.

Main: Gutthi vankai (House Specialty)

Whole baby eggplant (brinjal), stuffed with ground paste of cashew nuts, peanuts and sesame seeds and coconut, cooked to perfection in hyderabadi style

($11.9)

This was an interesting dish as neither of us had tried it before. This was a house specialty and a regional Andhra recipe so we were all keen to try. The gravy was nutty and really flavourful and spicy but lacked the coconut flavour promised in the menu description. The eggplant itself was a bit bland and mushy but with the gravy it worked well. 

Breads: The Naans and Garlic naans were fluffy, soft and delicious.

($2.90)

Rice: Mutton Biryani

Basmati rice cooked with pieces of mutton in a traditional dum method, served with mirchi ka salan and raita.

($12.90)

We have tried the biryani from here many times and it's always been good. I usually have vegetable biryani and hubby likes the mutton biryani which is what the boys ordered. It was spicy and the meat was cooked well and was enjoyed thoroughly by them. The South Indian version of Biryani is a lot more spicy compared to the Lucknowi and Delhi versions, I personally prefer the Hyderabadi Dum Biryani over the other variations. 

The service was good but there was a big delay with the biryani. Apart from that the food was enjoyable and we had a great evening. I definitely recommend this joint, great food at a very affordable price.

Service 6/10

Food 8/10

Ambience 6/10