Orillia residents can now enjoy authentic, homemade Indian Punjabi food.
Five Rivers Restaurant, located on 1035 Mississaga St. W., opened in November. The Chahal family, which sold their restaurant in Brampton, bought the plaza, which houses the restaurant, a variety store, a U-Haul store, and Rack ‘em Jack.
The new owners took over the space previously home to Aladdin Indian Cuisine & Banquet Hall, whose owner retired and moved to the States to be with family.
“My dad decided that people should know what real Indian food tastes like,” said Kuljit Chahal. “There is no good authentic Punjabi food in Orillia.”
And it’s not just authentic Indian Punjabi food, but it’s flavour of an authentic Punjabi home, he added.
“It tastes like what we cook at home,” said Chahal. “When we cook at home, we don't put in any artificial flavours. Some restaurants add other stuff to make it taste more suitable for the western population.”
It’s not typically oily and spicy like other restaurants, added his brother, Baljit Chahal. “You can eat every day, you won't have an upset stomach. It's not oily or really spicy,” he added.
“We make it fresh, so the customer can have it mild, medium, or spicy,” Baljit said.
Foodies can find signature dishes varying from vegetarian to non-vegetarian options, such as butter chicken, goat curry, saag, and potato and cauliflower, among other dishes.
“We use separate cooking stations and oils and utensils for cooking veg and non-veg food, so there's no cross contamination,” said Kuljit.
“We also make our spices fresh,” he said. “We grind them fresh in the kitchen.”
And you can’t replicate this taste by using a boxed recipe off the grocery store shelf, said Kuljit, adding the spices used in Indian Punjabi food are not used in everyday Western cooking.
“We use different types of spices, like cumin, turmeric, coriander, curry leaves, and cinnamon,” said Kuljit. “This is fresh food. We cook it just for you, so there's a huge difference from what you will get in the box at the store.”
And just as at home, the whole family pitches in to make the food at the restaurant.
“My dad cooks the food, my mom and sisters make the chapatis (flatbread) and parathas (fried flatbread),” said Kuljit, adding they pick out fresh vegetables, just as they would for their family.
As part of the extensive renovation, the Chahals built a bar into the establishment.
“We had room here so we decided to include a bar here,” said Kuljit. “We know the non-Indian community likes to have alcohol with meals.”
The meal can be tied off with traditional Indian desserts, such as kheer (rice pudding), gulab jamun, gajrela (carrot pudding).
“We guarantee that nobody in town or even down to Brampton will provide the same quality of food we do,” said Kuljit. “It's clean and cooked fresh. If anyone wants to try real Indian homemade food, this is the place to come.”
Since they opened in November, he said, it's getting busier every day.
“It's by word-of-mouth right now,” said Kuljit. “Everybody who has come here to eat, they've recommended it to their friends.”
The restaurant is currently open six days a week, from Thursday to Tuesday, from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. and offers takeaway and catering.
“We're thinking about extended hours during summer. A lot of Indian and non-Indian people from south come up here for camping, so we want to give them this option,” said Kuljit.
For more information, visit 5riversrestaurant.com.
