Kahaani means “story” in Hindi and this place has plenty. There’s the one about a goat curry that owner-chef Aseem Sood ate as a child in Punjab:onions cooking in ghee,the smell of black cardamom and bay leaves floating through the kitchen. He makes that same dish here as part of a menu organised around a map of India.

There’s smoked chicken curry from Himachal Pradesh in the north and coconut prawns from Kerala in the south. A chaat of fried kale makes for a crunchy cacophony. And the Shikanji is a gin and citrus cocktail riffing on nimbu pani,the spiced lemonade.

The wine list favours minimal-intervention independent producers. Kahaani is one of a number of exciting modern Indian restaurants in the area,as redolent with story as it is with spices.

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Melbourne’s Northern Suburbs

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