Jervis Bay Weekend caught up with Aaron and Emily from Taj Indian Restaurant after their recent trip to Sri Lanka and India to find out about the highlights of their travels and the influence it’s had on their family restaurant.
When living in Sydney, one of my favourite spots for Indian food was Harris Park, proudly known as Little India and very hard to beat for authentic, high-quality food.
We recently dined at our local Taj Indian Restaurant in Huskisson, where the food is always exceptional, except this time it was elevated to another level and just as good as our favourite spot in Sydney.
It’s no wonder their dishes tasted so good given that owners, Aaron Singh and partner Emily Stevenson recently spent five indulgent weeks on a culinary exploration of Sri Lanka and India. During their trip, they gathered family recipes and picked up some new tips and tricks to bring back to their kitchen, sharing their discoveries with their diners.
We chatted with the couple about their travels, and the influence on their family restaurant.
N: You recently had a culinary adventure in Sri Lanka and India. Could you share some highlights, particularly any inspiration you found cooking that inspired your new recipes?
A+E: Our trip to Sri Lanka and India was an incredible journey of flavours and traditions.
One of the highlights was experiencing the street food culture bursting with bold spices and fresh ingredients. We spent time with families in their homes who taught us some family recipes that have been passed down through generations.
In Sri Lanka, we got to see it through the eyes of a local legend and a brilliant chef, so we picked up a few tips and tricks along the way, we were able to pick the brains of culinary legend Peter Kuruvita and our tour guide from Stemish travels, Jeremy Claasz who were packed full of knowledge.
(Editor’s Note: Peter Kuruvita is an internationally renowned chef, restaurateur, television presenter and author. His career in food has been influenced by his Sri Lankan grandmother and father, and Austrian mother.)
N: Your new menu sounds amazing! What inspired the changes, and can you give our readers a sneak peek at a couple of standout dishes?
A+E: I wanted to take Taj Indian in a more modern direction while still honouring our traditional North Indian roots. The new menu reflects my journey as a chef—it’s fresh, bold and creative. We really wanted to simplify the menu so we could put all our love and attention into dishes that we personally love to eat. We will start doing a lot of great specials as well so stay tuned!
Some of the standout dishes are:
- Tandoori Lamb Cutlets, which are marinated for 48 hours to achieve incredible depth of flavour.
- Butter chicken bombs were such a popular special, so we put them on our menu permanently, little crispy shells packed with flavour. What’s not to love?
- The Delhi style butter chicken or paneer, which is a more traditional style so less sweet and more full-bodied spices.
- Okra fries with our home-made masala ketchup.
N: Taj has been a part of the Huskisson community for 23 years, can you share a little about its history?
A+E: Taj Indian has always been a family restaurant—my father started it 23 years ago with the vision of bringing authentic North Indian cuisine to Huskisson. Growing up, I was always involved, working in every role from washing dishes to running the floor to being the tandoori chef to curry chef.
Six years ago, I officially took over the restaurant, and it’s been an incredible journey of growth and learning. While we’ve kept many of our cherished traditional recipes, like our beloved Butter Chicken, I’ve also introduced a more contemporary menu and dining space to reflect the evolving tastes of our customers.
Balancing tradition and innovation have been both challenging and rewarding, and I’m so grateful for the support of the community that’s embraced us for all these years. I wouldn’t be able to do it without my partner out the front spear heading customer service for over 10 years.
My father can now relax after working for more than 40 years in the restaurant business. He now comes and talks to people and still gives us priceless advice and knowledge.
N: With Christmas around the corner, do you have any festive plans or offers that our community should know about?
A+E: The restaurant will be open on Christmas day for lunch and dinner as we usually are. We also offer gift vouchers for anyone who wants them. Great gift idea for family or friends who love coming in.
We will mainly be focusing on the new menu and slowly introducing some exciting specials. We are also working on doing cocktails soon and we have some exciting flavour concepts.
Nelly Recommends
We tried last week and highly recommend the Butter Chicken Bombs – delightful bite sized crispy shells filled with creamy butter chicken and a little hit of chilli giving them a playful twist on the classic pani puri. We loved that you could interact with this dish by pouring a little butter sauce into the top of the shell, soaking the chicken pieces before taking a bite – their butter sauce is a 40-year-old special family recipe. We also tried from the new menu the Tandoori Lamb cutlets which were another stand out with the perfect amount of balanced spices and herbs marinated in yoghurt and cooked to perfection in a tandoori oven.
You can make a reservation any time by calling (02) 4441 7775 during their opening hours. Emily recommends booking by phone and speaking to their booking staff ensure your experience is perfect.
