Nithik's Kitchen

Good news, citizens of the Inner West, your lives just got even tastier. Bellingen gelato recently swung open its doors to the sounds of the '50s and the taste of Persian dates.Just across the road from this icy newbie,Nithik’s is cranking out the dosa, the paratha and some incredibly fragrant curries. That’s two compelling reasons to hop the 433, or swing a leg over your pushy.

Vikram Arumugam and his wife Preeti Elamaran are so excited by their menu they’ll explain each dish in minute detail. Which can be heavy going if you’re really just here to eat dinner. But if you’re curious about Indian festival dishes, it’s worth listening in.

A lot of the food here is inspired by the celebration dishes and street food served in southern India. A masala dosa is a light, thin spiderweb of rice and lentil pancake, here served with a slightly spicy potato curry and a coconut and gunpowder chutney. They also do a version with a sort of hand-pounded lamb relish.

The room is modest, but we’d argue that you’re here for what's on the plate and not what’s under it, like a delicate curry of chicken, potato, peas, poppy seeds, cashew and green chilli cooked in coconut milk. A mild nine-vegetable curry is tamarind-tangy. A dry curry of lamb perked up with aniseed, chilli and fresh curry leaves is fragrant and heady. Scoop it up with something from the staggeringly large bread list, or order an extra dosa.

For dessert, cool down with a whole orange filled with a slightly savoury orange-flavoured Indian ice cream.

Rozelle just got a little spicier. And we want more.