There was a time when any mention of dining in Rwanda conjured up images of Matooke (steamed green bananas), Isombe (mashed cassava leaves), Ubugali (a paste made from cassava flour and water).

All that has changed. Nowadays, the country offers a glorious choice of dining options, from French haute cuisine, Italian, Mexican to Indian cuisine.

Perhaps no cuisine is as exciting as Indian cuisine, one of the world’s greatest culinary traditions full of variety and exotic flavours. It therefore does not come as a surprise that Indian restaurants have found a new home in Kigali.

The latest entrant into this gastronomic playfield is Kurry Kingdom, a fine-dining Indian restaurant, bar and café which opened its doors a few weeks ago.

Walking into Kurry Kingdom, one is hit by a sensory overload. Its vaulted cathedral-esque ceiling, makuti-thatched roof, royalty tones and golden detailing bring a classic and luxurious feel to the space. After soaking in the ambience, I proceeded to take my order. I settled for the vegetable biryani, tandoori chicken, palak paneer and butter naan.

The vegetable biryani was flavourful with aromatic basmati rice enriched with golden raisins and crunchy nuts. The succulent red-stained tandoori chicken was delectable and fork tender. The nicely charred butter naan had a pleasing texture that went well with the creamy palak paneer and fresh green spinach.

On my second visit, I decided to try the vegetable fried rice, butter chicken masala, paneer butter masala with cheese naan and I was not disappointed. All in all, the Kurry Kingdom is a must visit. It is a great addition to Kigali’s culinary landscape and has taken fine dining Indian cuisine up a notch.