IT’S the fragrance I love most about Indian cuisine. And the vibrant colours of the dishes. And the intriguing flavours.

Yogi’s Kitchen, relatively new to Barton, is a home-style, cheap and cheerful place that dishes up all this and more.

It was a freezing evening and so escaping the bitter wind and cold to dig into some tummy warming chef’s specials, was the perfect end to the day for four of us.

Yogi’s Kitchen specialises in Indian and halal food and everything is made fresh daily – nothing pulled out of the freezer and reheated.

One of my all-time fave Indian dishes is the Palak Paneer. I love the chewy cubes of fresh cottage cheese cooked in a thick spinach puree and tomatoes. Yogi’s take on this dish is addicting ($15.90).

The chicken Chettinad is a spicy treat ($17.90). This classic curry also comes with goat, lamb, beef, fish or prawns. It’s a secret recipe and an inspiring mix of spices, with a slightly sweet taste to top the dish off. The chicken was super tender and it’s a generous dish – perfect for sharing.

We’re massive dal fans and were directed to the Dal Takna ($14), with garlic, dry red chilli and mustard seeds. It was amazing. Next time we’ll experiment with the Dal Makhni, a traditional Punjabi black dal ($14.90). And I have my eye on the beef coconut fry, a medium-spiced dish of diced beef that is flavoured with desiccated coconut and curry ($17.90).

We also dug into another classic curry… the goat Saagwala, which Yogi’s Kitchen says is Punjabi’s favourite dish. It’s made with spinach puree (loaded with goodness), spices and a touch of cream ($17.90). We love goat and gave the dish a big round of applause.

The décor at Yogi’s Kitchen is basic, by design, and a bit eclectic. There is a mix of bench and chair seating, with some of the rather ornate chairs more comfortable than others (like me, short people will prefer the benches because, when seated in the chairs, short customers are quite low to the table).

Lunch box specials are available ($9 or $10 for vegetarian and $11 or $12 for non-vegetarian). Yogi’s Kitchen is byo or fully licensed. Vegetarians are well catered for with more than a dozen dishes on offer.

As the name suggests, eating at Yogi’s is very much like dining at home in a heart-warming kitchen. It’s well worth a visit.

Shop 5, 48 Macquarie Street, Barton. Open Monday to Saturday. Takeaway and delivery to set suburbs in the inner south.