Tiffin Box fuses Indian and Aussie takeaway favourites in Melbourne’s south-east, using masalas roasted in-house.
Of all the tasks you might imagine on the kitchen prep list of a burger joint, lovingly roasting spices is probably not among them. But depending on when you arrive at Tiffin Box, a simple Aussie-Indian takeaway and restaurant in the south-east, that’s precisely what you’ll find owner Moni Choudhury doing. She roasts, grinds and mixes different spice masalas for her butter chicken and biryani, all while also setting up to sell cheeseburgers and chips.
Tiffin Box opened a year ago, explicitly crafted as a place to build connection. Choudhury noticed that her kids often wanted to drive through the Golden Arches while her husband hankered for biryani. Some uni students might want chai and vada pav (a potato patty roll), others are on a mission for a cappuccino and chicken mayo sandwich. She also hoped people might find a pathway to trying Indian food via an accessible and extremely delicious butter chicken burger. How about a place that caters to all?
The butter chicken burger is the hero. Chicken thighs are marinated overnight in a bespoke mix that includes cinnamon, cardamom, cloves and mace, mixed with yoghurt to help tenderise the meat. The chook is then grilled and piled into a bun with tomato and lettuce: so far, so nice. A generous dollop of spiced tomato gravy is the kicker.
Laced with cashews and raisins, the sauce is flavoursome enough to make you stop speaking in sheer wonder, but so carefully reduced that it stays on your burger and doesn’t run down your forearm. If you’re a butter chicken lover, you need to add this one to your collection. If you’re a curry sceptic, this is your gateway. (You should also know that the gravy is drizzled over the HSP here.)
Kathi rolls are a street food classic from Choudhury’s home city of Kolkata – check out the mural depicting stallholders and their wares. Traditional kathi rolls are small tight paratha packages with meat or paneer; here, they’re cleverly beefed up with salad to make them a more broadly relatable souvlaki-style wrap.
I was blown away by the quality of the goat biryani. Tender, spiced meat on the bone is mixed through rice and seasoned with ghee, a Hyderabadi-style layered delight.
Amritsari fish fry originates in India’s far north-west, but this tumble of golden nuggets is beloved all over the country and also here in Clayton South, where it’s crisp, light and chilli-hot, served with mint and coriander chutney.
Choudhury brings varied experience to her small business. Her grandmother Anita and mother Konika taught her to cook during her childhood in Kolkata. She gleaned skills and knowledge in an Indian restaurant in Perth, then worked around the country as a barista for BP, learning quick service and endless coffee variances, before running an aged care cafe and gaining experience in management.
The keenest, deepest motivation was to fulfil a long-held hope of her mum and late mother-in-law Renuka, who had hoped to open an eatery in their retirement. “Now it’s time to chase their dreams,” Moni told me.
In India, a tiffin is a multi-decker meal box packed at home for a working lunch, and delivered around cities and towns by vendors. Common tiffin ingredients are rice, dal, curry and chutneys. The concept doesn’t quite play out here, but Choudhury draws a link between tiffins and Aussie meal deals with keen pricing.
Tiffin Box looks like a normal takeaway, with grill, cash register and menu board on one side, wipe-down tables and a drinks fridge on the other. You might not sense how special this little place is from the get-go, but Moni Choudhury’s warmth, endeavour and facility with spices ensure it’s a suburban star.
Three more burger spots to try
The Resistance
Once tucked inside an arcade, this friendly hangout has brought its burgers onto a main road where they belong. The biggest point of difference is that all the buns are house-made, as are the veggie patties. Try them both in a “Veggie Warfare” with American cheddar and caramelised onions (also available in a vegan version).
412 Burwood Road, Hawthorn, theresistance.net.au
Bam Bams
Generous serves and consistent quality keep regulars coming back. The onion rings are crisp, the fries are golden and the burgers range from classic to happily overloaded. Make mine an “Old Mate” with egg and beetroot.
24 Johnson Street, Reservoir, instagram.com/bambams3073
LA Smash Burgers
Sometimes you want a fat beef patty, sometimes you want one of these LA-style smash patties squished between a bun. Or maybe you want it HSP-style: a mess of fries topped with beef, cheese, onion and jalapenos.
2/210 Toorak Road, South Yarra, lasmashburgers.au
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