Abyssinia's resurgence 

Located on Marian Street, Abyssinia International Restaurant and Bar recently recruited a new chef who has taken the reigns and created a popular new menu.

Malaysian born Monang Sitinjak has spent the past 27 years in Auckland New Zealand, focusing his career on Mediterranean and European cuisines.

On a whim, he decided to move to Australia, and is now happily living in Mount Isa.

Mr Sitinjak said with his cooking experience firmly based within European cuisine, taking the helm of a restaurant with a reputation for Indian and Ethiopian curry is a challenging, yet rewarding experience.

Abyssinia has the self-proclaimed "best curry in the city" and Mr Sitinjak said he is working hard to maintain this reputation.

"My training is based in Mediterranean cooking, and European styles, so learning about traditional curries is exciting and quite complex," he said.

"It is challenging, there are lots of ingredients that make up the indian style of curries and because I am used to European style I had to learn how to translate that to a European palate."

Mr Sitinjak said his goal is to ensure the curry menu was suitable for western palates. "I use my experience to adjust the flavours so the curries suit most people," he said. "When people ask for hot, you give them hot, but most people want something milder. "Vindaloo and Ethiopian are the hottest, if you want medium you go for rendang and if you want mild you go for butter chicken or chicken korma."

Mr Sitinjak said the most popular menu items are undoubtedly the curries and asian inspired entrees, but he was happy to add some modern Australian cuisine to the menu to satisfy all diners including fish and chips, a selection of steaks and various pasta dishes. Mr Sitinjak said the key to providing good food was using the freshest ingredients, and consistency.

"I make everything from scratch, I chose the best ingredients so everything is authentic, including indian spices," he said. "Mount Isa can be challenging to get all the ingredients that you want, but people want to know they are getting what they came here for. If you come in today, it is going to taste the same as when you come in tomorrow or the next year, it will be consistent."

Mr Sitinjak said he has heard the rumours that his curries are the best in Mount Isa and his aim is to build a bigger and better reputation for the restaurant and encourage people to visit Abyssinia.

"People say they are the best curries in town and my aim is not to disappoint," he said.

"I consider myself lucky to prepare food that people enjoy and I thank god that he gave me a passion for food and cooking and I want to make people happy."

ONION BHAJI

Ingredients:

100g (4oz) chickpea flour

1tsp garaam masala

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

25g fresh coriander, finely chopped

Cold water, to mix

Vegetable oil, for deep frying

Method:

Sift the flour, garaam masala, chilli, turmeric, cumin, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped coriander, onions and chillies and mix well.

Preheat the deep fat fryer to 180C.

Gradually add enough water to the flour mixture to form a thick batter, mixing very well so the onions are well coated.

Very carefully drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the hot oil and fry until golden brown. Drain well on paper towels. Keep warm while you cook the remaining bhajis. Serve hot with sweet chilli sauce or mango chutney.