New Indian restaurant lights up Auckland

AUCKLAND: Two brothers from Mumbai have set up an Indian restaurant, offering a wide choice of traditional cuisine to New Zealanders.

Rangoli, meaning the art of painting, opened in Auckland's Ti Rakau Drive last week and has become an instant hit. The owners are Parsi brothers Boman and Najmi Rustom.

The two first came to New Zealand seven years ago, their interest sparked by an uncle who always said that if they had to emigrate anywhere it should be New Zealand.

"We decided to take a look at Australia but 12 months in Perth was enough for us to decide New Zealand was the place for us," they said.

"On our return, we started planning for a new restaurant and Rangoli is the result. The good news is we have managed to employ two highly experienced Indian chefs who worked first for us in back in India."

According to the 2006 census, Asian ethnic groups grew the fastest in New Zealand, increasing from 238,176 in 2001 to reach 354,552 in 2006, a rise of almost 50 percent. The number of people identifying with the Asian ethnic groups has doubled since 1996, when it was 173,502.