First Look Amara: Indian food which raises the bar

Posted on 4 September, 2024

For all of us who love Indian, but who love it even more when it is a touch sophisticated and expertly cooked, Amara is your new go-to.

Located in Civic’s historic Melbourne Building, across the road from  Verity Lane, Amara offers the reasonable prices and breadth of menu items which makes Indian such an agreeable option.

With two chefs manning the kitchen who have more than 50 years of combined cooking experience behind them, be prepared for a masterful mix of spice and technique which elevates Amara above a quick rice and curry place.

If this is what eating the rainbow is all about then we are in…

To that end, the menu is not overwhelmingly large, with Amara focusing on providing the “best” versions of much-loved dishes.

For instance, you may not have tasted the staple dish of dosa to its full potential until you have eaten one made here. Using a mix of ground lentils and rice flour, this flat pancake is wrapped around spicey potatoes and, or,  spiced ground lamb.

It comes out as a large (enormous in fact, although you can opt for a small version) golden roll which you pull apart to dip in the dipping sauces.

The texture is crisp, the dough has a slightly fermented tang (like sourdough) and it is so light and moreish that somehow, before you even know it, you have consumed the entire thing.

Does my Dosa look big?

Everything at Amara is made on site, all spices are hand mixed, there is a tandoor oven cranking out crispy naan and all those succulent meats.

Entrees include a mix of vegetarian options including a Spinach Chaat, which is a cold yoghurt-based dish featuring fried battered spinach leaves, Cauliflower Pakoras, and Onion Bhaji, and for the meat lovers there is Chicken Tikka, lamb cutlets marinated and grilled and Seekh kebabs which come out looking like little skinless sausages and are succulent and spicy (according to the carnivores).  A platter of marinated and grilled Pepper Prawns is delicious and we also try some Himalayan MoMo dumplings.

Amara is fully licenced and has a small but succinct wine list as well as a sub-continental-inspired cocktail list to accompany the dishes. Cocktails include the Bombay Spice Margarita (mango, tequila, triple sec, fresh lime and a touch of masala) or the Indian Heritage (Indian whisky with aromatic bitters and a hint of citrus).

At this point we realise we have probably not left enough room for dinner…

Palak Paneer with fresh ginger.

But the HerCanberra team is nothing if not food-centric and dogged in their determination to try as much on the menu as possible.

We choose a range of curries, rice and naan to suit every tastebud, from a sweet and fragrant Butter Chicken to a creamy Palak Paneer (spinach and cubes of fresh cheese and a family favourite) to a Beef Vindaloo. Each dish is refined, fragrant, and the vindaloo packs heat without slaughtering the senses.

The surprise hit is the Goan Fish Curry in which tender pieces of fish float in a coconut cream base with a hit of lime. This is definitely a dish we intend going back for.

And, of course, we always find room for Daal, which is India’s gift to the stomach.

We soak up everything with a crispy and light naan bread crackling from the oven and sizzling with fresh chopped garlic and herbs and wash it all down with a mango lassi (addictive) and an Indian Pale Ale.

Fresh chopped garlic on naan bread just seconds out of the tandoor oven.

Desserts include a mango or pistachio Kulfi (the Indian equivalent of icrecream), a Carrot Halwa and Gulab Jamun, which is a sweet dumpling soaked in golden syrup.

The décor is pared back; white, wood, and brass feature lights with those beautiful Melbourne Building arches to stare out through at the passers-by, and service from Shiva is always attentive.

Amara is a lovely place to sit and unwind in just about the most central location in Canberra with a range of banquets available for dinner and lunch, but it also does take-aways and a Tiffin Express Lunch Box, for those who want to eat and run.