Halal Indian food in the Jewellery Quarter: what to order at Aara

Looking for Indian food made with halal meat in Birmingham's Jewellery Quarter? At Aara, we use halal meat in our meat dishes, and the menu runs from tandoor tikkas and dum biryanis to Andhra and Telangana specialities, North Indian classics such as butter chicken, and a full set of vegetarian plates.

This guide walks through the menu section by section and suggests how to build a table that works for everyone, whether you grew up on tandoori chicken or on fiery Andhra curries.

Halal at Aara: what we can tell you

We use halal meat in our meat dishes. If you have a specific question about a dish, please ask a member of the team when you book or when you arrive, and we will talk you through it.

The same goes for allergies. If you have an allergy or intolerance, please speak to a member of staff before ordering. We cannot guarantee any dish is completely free of allergen traces.

Start with the tandoor

The tandoor is the heart of the kitchen and the easiest place to begin. In the words of our menu, our tikkas are "marinated overnight in a specially curated blend of aromatic spices, then chargrilled in the traditional tandoor to create tender, succulent pieces with a delicious smoky flavour."

From the Crafted Tikkas section:

• Chicken tikka and malai chicken tikka
• Chicken tandoori, served as a half or a full bird
• Lamb sheek kebab and lamb chops
• Tandoori prawns

If you cannot decide, the Tikka platter brings most of the section to the table at once: two paneer tikka, one soya malai tikka, a quarter chicken tandoori, one chicken tikka, one sheek kebab and tandoori prawns. It suits a group that wants to try a little of everything.

The biryanis

Our Signature Biryanis are sealed and slow-cooked in the dum style. The menu describes them as "slow-cooked to beautifully infuse the flavours, using fragrant basmati rice, fresh ingredients, spices, ginger, garlic, herbs and saffron", and every biryani comes with traditional salan and refreshing raita.

There are five on the everyday menu, each in a regular or large size:

• Chicken dum biryani
• Lamb dum biryani, marked as a chef's speciality
• Chicken tikka biryani, which brings the tandoor into the pot
• King prawn biryani
• Vegetable dum biryani

One allergen note, straight from the menu: all biryanis are marinated in yoghurt, so they contain dairy, and the salan contains peanuts and sesame. Ask for the salan to be left off if you need to.

Until 22 November, our Diwali Non-Veg Specials set menu also includes two biryanis you will not find on the everyday menu: Chicken Lollipop Biryani and Lamb Kheema Biryani. The Diwali menus are dine-in only, so book a table if you want to try them. Every course is listed on our Diwali page.

Andhra, Telangana and the South Indian plates

This is the part of the menu our kitchen is proudest of, and several of these dishes carry the chef's speciality mark.

• Andhra chicken fry: "fiery Andhra-style chicken with bone, roasted with a house blend of spices, curry leaves and fresh coriander for a bold and aromatic finish." It is one of the hotter dishes on the menu.
• Telangana mutton curry: "slow-cooked mutton with onions, tomatoes, ginger and garlic, enriched with roasted poppy seeds and dry coconut for a rich, aromatic and deeply flavoured curry."
• Bagara rice, a chef's speciality and the rice we would pair with either of the above.
• Poori, also a chef's speciality, if you would rather have bread.

Among the starters, look for Chicken 65 (chicken "tempered in spices, ginger, garlic and curry leaves"), Apollo fish, coriander chicken, Malabar chicken in a coconut-based sauce, and cracked pepper fry with mutton or prawn. For a main, the South Indian fish masala is cooked with onions, tamarind, curry leaves, ginger and garlic.

The North Indian classics

If you came for the dishes you already love, they are here too.

• Butter chicken: "tender pieces of chargrilled chicken simmered in a creamy tomato and butter gravy."
• Chicken tikka masala: grilled chicken "simmered in a rich, creamy tomato-based masala."
• Bhuna masala, with chicken or lamb, slow-cooked into a rich, reduced sauce.
• Kheema masala, minced lamb, available with or without green peas.
• Chicken korma, a creamy coconut gravy that the menu describes as mildly spiced.

Curries are served on their own, so choose rice or bread alongside. From the tandoor, there is tandoori naan (butter or garlic) and tandoori butter roti.

Vegetarian at the same table

Vegetarian dishes are marked V on the menu, and there are enough of them for a vegetarian guest to eat a full meal without compromise.

From the tandoor there is paneer tikka, soya chaap tikka and soya chaap malai tikka. Among the starters, tawa tossed paneer and the street-style chilli sauté (paneer), tossed in a bold, spicy Indo-Chinese dressing, are both vegetarian. For mains, try paneer tikka masala, dal tadka, palak dal, chana masala, saag aloo, veg korma or vegetable kadai masala, with a vegetable dum biryani if you want rice at the centre of the table.

How to order on your first visit

A simple plan that covers the whole menu:

1. One starter from the tandoor, such as chicken tikka or paneer tikka, or the tikka platter for a group.
2. One South Indian plate, such as Andhra chicken fry or Telangana mutton curry, with bagara rice.
3. One North Indian classic, such as butter chicken or paneer tikka masala, with naan or roti.
4. A biryani to share, if the table is hungry.

Finish with kulfi (pistachio, kesar or cream) or our Apricot delight, a chef's speciality the menu describes as "an adaptation of the traditional Qubani ka Meetha". A Masala chai or a mango lassi rounds things off.

Book, call or order

Aara is at 108-109 Icknield Street, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham B18 6RZ. We are open from 12:00 every day, until 22:00 Sunday to Thursday and 23:00 on Friday and Saturday, with the all-day menu served throughout.

There are three free parking spaces in front of the restaurant, free parking on the left side of Pope Street around the clock, and ample free parking on Carver Street and Pope Street after 6pm Monday to Saturday and all day Sunday.

• Book a table
• Call 0121 389 9882
• Order for collection

See every dish on the full menu.