Babu Ji owners open Piquancy Indian restaurant in Hawthorn

Cousins Mani Waraich and Ranjit Singh have drawn on family recipes for the menu at their new Hawthorn restaurant Piquancy.

The pair, who also own St Kilda eatery Babu Ji, chose the name to help shift the usual curry-and-rice perception, enticing diners to experience all the elements of a contemporary Indian meal.

Waraich, who describes himself as a chef by heart but not by trade, spent much of his childhood in his grandmother's kitchen, and it's her recipes that dominate the menu.

Along with well-known dishes such as butter chicken and palak paneer (spinach with fresh white cheese), they're cooking Punjabi street foods such as chole tikki (chickpea croquettes) and beetroot-marinated paneer charred in the tandoor.

They also have food intolerances covered, with most of the menu gluten-free, and quinoa biryani and cauliflower rice offered alongside rice. The wine list emphasises local wines or you can grab a craft beer from the fridge.

The 50-seater is bright and airy, with a cushioned banquette running along one whitewashed wall, timber floors and tables and dark bistro chairs. And keeping an eye on the dining room is a large image of a turban-wearing man with an impressive hipster-worthy moustache.

Open Wed-Mon 11am-3pm, 6pm-10pm.

123 Auburn Road, Hawthorn, 03 9813 5160, thepiquancy.com.au