With its exotic ingredients, unfamiliar dishes, and tongue-tingling spicy, sour, sweet, and hot flavours, Indian cuisine can be exciting and intimidating.

On my quest to find the best of Indian cuisine in Kigali, I came across Khana Khazana. Located in the heart of the upmarket Nyarutarama area, the villa and boutique hotel specialises in authentic Indian vegetarian and non-vegetarian cuisine.

Intimate tables set in cosy confines with orange linen tablecloths and dark gray chairs fill the dining area. Ceiling fans cooled the air, and Indian art decorated the walls. Soft Indian music played in the background. Attendants dressed in sarees welcomed us warmly as we walked in for lunch.

After about five minutes skimming through the menu, I settled for a chicken tikka masala served with Subzi pilao (vegetable rice) with butter naan.

The order took quite some time to be served but was well worth the wait. We were served hors d’oeuvres of cucumber, carrot and coleslaw salad, and chilli onion with various sauces.

Khana Kazana’s vegetable rice was made of yellow pilau rice with french beans, peas, carrot, beetroot and eggs. The vegetables and the eggs combined well with the chicken cooked in Tandoori, onions, tomato and masala to form a thick fine curry.

The spice on the food was medium, and did not leave us sweating profusely as we did while eating the chilli onion appetiser.

Khana Khazana’s extensive menu features classic Indian dishes, such as meats, seafood and vegetables in long-simmered sauces such as korma, curry, tikka masala, vindaloo, along with tandoori dishes, biryanis, chutneys and naan.

The price of meals ranges from Rwf2,000 ($2.32) to Rwf19,000 ($22).

The restaurant also has a bar with a wide choice of beverages from soft drinks to whiskeys.

Khana Khazana offers a wide variety of services such as dine-ins, take-outs, parties, banqueting and catering. The spices are adjusted to your preferred taste.

Khana Khazana has villas and doubles up as a boutique hotel. It has ample parking space enough to accommodate a large number of people.