Desi Turka Indian Cuisine: Chicken Vindaloo and Lamb Curry

Along 6th Street, near the Burnaby-New Westminster border, a rather unassuming restaurant named Desi Turka Indian Cuisine serves up some fairly good East Indian fare. If it wasn’t for the aroma of Indian spices emanating from restaurant, you’d hardly know that it was there.

Inside the smallish restaurant (about 28-30 seats), the decor is sparse yet well maintained. On all of my visits during the weekday lunch hour, it was hardly busy and I was usually the only one there. They’ve mentioned that it gets busier during the evening and that they have a fairly robust take-out business.

On my first visit, I opted for their Lamb Curry Lunch Special ($8.95) which comes with rice, naan, dal, raita, and a slightly sweet rice pudding. I thought that the rice was a bit on the dry side but the lamb was quite good with tender chunks in a medium spicy sauce. The naan was also quite good with a crispness to the exterior while the inside parts were soft and fluffy. Personally, I’m not a big fan of raita – the cold, milky-like yoghurt never really caught on with me.

On my next visit, I decided to try something from their regular menu and picked the Chicken Vindaloo ($12.75). I have a soft spot for vindaloo from watching countless hours of Red Dwarf. You can pick your level of spiciness and I’ve found that their “medium” isn’t overly spicy. The chicken thigh meat had a nice bit of charring on the outside of some of the pieces.

Since the dish is served à la carte, I ordered a side of Pulau Rice ($4.25) to accompany it. The Basmati rice is cooked in onions, spices and green peas and works perfectly in sopping up the tasty curry sauce.

7807 6th Street
Burnaby, BC

www.desiturka.ca

Advertisement