IN Toronto magazine

Hemant Bhagwani and Derek Valleau kicked off their mission to take Indian food to a new level in Canada in 2007 when the former sommeliers opened the upscale Amaya Indian Room, on Bayview south of Eglinton. Since then, they’ve rolled out Amaya Bread Bar and a litter of take-out and delivery joints called Amaya Express, in addition to creating Amaya jarred sauces for sale in groceries. Has all this expansion diluted the original? We wanted to find out.

Amaya Indian Room is warm and well-appointed, low-lit with a rainbow of candles and large black mesh globe fixtures reminiscent of silly string. Indian patterned wallpaper hung with photos of the homeland offsets dark wood floors and white tablecloths.
The service is excellent. Just as we were getting settled, our waiter ensured that the elephant statuette beside us was facing out, based on an Indian belief that an elephant facing the door brings luck. And luck we had.

We began with a chef’s signature, the perfectly cooked Amaya prawns in green mango curry.  Seafood is of particular note — the Malai halibut is moist and delicious in a creamy lemon-scented coconut broth.

The selection of wine and alcohol is limited but impressive, as befits a pair of sommeliers. There was praise around the table for the gin martini, the McLaren Vale shiraz, and the deftly poured Kingfisher, a UK-brewed Indian-style lager.

Amaya is known for their sauces. Enter Parsi ribs, falling-off-the-bone tender beef short ribs in a red wine, garlic, ginger and black cumin curry. Pair these with the dal makhani, 12-hour cooked lentils in a tomato and butter sauce, hearty with an intense but subtle mix of flavours.  Another must is the Lamb Lollipops, lamb chops served in an irresistible mint, fenugreek and white wine reduction.

Finish your meal with the drenched-in-sweetness gulab jamun, India’s answer to Timbits. Served with Greg’s vanilla ice cream, the dessert was voted by members of my party “most likely to give you a heart attack” and “a dish every child would love.” Thank the elephant.