Nirankar Indian Fine Food

Mietta's Eating & Drinking in Melbourne 2000

Contributors' Choice
Page 114

Where would one find "eternal bliss" in the city on Queen Street? At the bottom end of the street you can, if you take your eyes off the huge Fletcher Jones sign and seek out Nirankar, etched in gold. Nirankar is one of Melbourne’s newer Indian restaurants. It does live up to its promise of eternal bliss. That’s what its name proclaims, in Farsi. The warm greeting of "naamaste", from owner and staff, the soothing glow of the candles, soft Indian music in the background, set the mood. White starched tablecloths and napkins provide a striking contrast to the lemon yellow walls with colourful tapestry and scarves hanging tastefully on one side. Busy though the staff may be, the service is attentive.

Nirankar’s mission is to serve traditional Indian food the way it is meant to be. The cuisine is mixed. There is Mughlai, with its Northern Indian heritage, Balti - a fusion of flavours from Kashmir and Tibet - and Southern Indian hot and spicy dishes guaranteed to bring perspiration to the brow. The entrée platter ($7.50) offers a foretaste of various styles of Indian cuisine. On it are crispy onion bhajias (onions fried crisp in a chick-pea batter), succulent pieces of chicken tikka, well flavoured kebabs with a touch of fresh coriander, and meat samosas. The Malabari fish curry will challenge your tolerance to spice. This is fish fillets simmered in a tamarind-flavoured, pungent curry sauce with coconut and dried chillies, sprinkled with mustard seeds. A serve of raita on the side will soothe the palate.

7 Queen Street
Melbourne
Indian Cuisine
Melways reference 1A:H9
Phone: 9629 2683
Opening hours: Lunch: Mon-Fri 12 noon-3pm, Dinner: Tues- Sat 5.30-10.30pm
Licensed
Accepts credit cards
Seats Inside: 100
Closed: All public holidays
Features: Kids encouraged, bar, private rooms seat 40 and 60
Favourites: Garlic chilli prawn $12.50, Balti chilli chicken $10.50, Calcutta fish curry $11.50

*An updated review can be found in Mietta's Eating & Drinking in Australia 2000 pg86, published by Black Inc., 2000, Vic