Not that I'm trying. Just briefly and I wouldn't necessarily recommend it, but over-indulging is a technique I have long used to rid myself of bad habits, starting with an unfortunate uni addiction to Mars Bars. Can't stand the sight of them.

This is not the case with dal makhni ($18), which is a major comfort food and no matter how many times you consume it, and manages to feel both virtuous and luxurious at the same time. In fact, I use Venkatesh Ramachandran's recipe to make this dish at home regularly as well, so I can tell you what's in it: ginger, garlic, tomatoes, fenugreek, coriander, chillies and black lentils. Plus, improbable quantities of butter. Excellent.

This place is now Indian Accent. Since returning from a brief relocation to Brisbane, Ramachandran has bought back the Melbourne Building restaurant that he used to own, and here he is, running the floor with all of the panache that something like 30 years in the game will give you. He veritably floats around this room. The set up is old-style, carpeted, muted, white tablecloths, some nods to India in the artwork. The chairs are super comfortable and I'm suddenly thinking, when did that become an issue? There's plenty of space between tables so we're not feeling COVID anxious. And here we are, choosing between many of the dishes we have chosen between over so many years, first upstairs in Manuka where the politicians played, and now here in the city.

But wait. Three little pots have arrived and we're being offered a taste test. With the emphasis on test. What are the flavours, Ramachandran asks, insisting that given how much I eat, I will be able to play this game. Of course, I fail miserably, suggesting cassava for the dish of plantain (green banana), and pineapple for the "easy" guess, a mix of mango dried and fresh, with mustard seeds. The third is a dish of winter melon, red bean and coconut. These are samples of a takeaway offering that Ramachandran is now doing for regular customers. He cooks these dishes himself; they're all vegetarian, easily vegan, and based on home cooking. He says he consults his mother, who turned 90 in Bombay this year, to check on recipes and details for South Indian dishes. So we're on the list and anticipating our first tiffin set this weekend. What a great way to eat.

These dishes are not what you find on the restaurant menu, which lists much more familiar and richer Indian curries. Rich is the key word. The gravies are thick, the flavours are intense and the luxury and mouthfeel is dialled up high.

Butter chicken ($20.90) is an easy favourite, big chunks of chicken, in a sweet tomato sauce. We always order one of the goat dishes for the rugged dark meat and the heat to match. On this occasion, it's a Ragistani lal maas curry with goat ($22.90). Depth, heat and dark spices carry this one.

Bagara baingan ($19.90) is a dish of three baby eggplants sitting in a gravy of peanuts, poppy seeds, sesame and coconut. They're pretty and the silky flesh is a counter to the thick, intense gravy.

A favourite dish is the palak papdi chaat ($14.90), with which we start. The spinach leaves, described as "fritters", are lightly battered and deep fried. They are crisp and light on top of a creamy cold potato salad, then dotted with a sweet date and tamarind chutney, with yoghurt for creaminess, and fried chickpeas for more crunch. There's a lot going on here to rather riotous visual impact, but the lasting taste impact is freshness.

The naan breads are so good, fresh and fluffy, that we routinely order takeaway breads if we're making Indian curries at home.

In the dessert of rose petal gulab jamun ($9), rose-petal preserve is served with the dumplings. Preserve is a nice idea, but I always find dishes that use rose petals very much like eating perfume, romantic but odd and disconsonant. The pistachio kulfi is easier to love, fresh and cold with the crunch of pistachios in the ice cream.

So it's old-school Indian with a respectful menu that offers good ingredients in an indulgent and quite luxurious set of curries. We're pleased to be back, and even happier to have got our number on the weekly text list to order home-cooked vegetarian takeaway. This week: Bisi bela bath (I think lentils and rice); potato saagu; vandakai pacchadi (okra and tomatoes); and vermicelli kheer. Count us in.

Address: 24 West Row, Melbourne Building, City, Canberra

Phone: 6162 1845

Website: indianaccentrestaurant.com.au

Hours: Lunch, Monday to Friday. Dinner, Monday to Saturday.

Owner: Venkatesh Ramachandran

Chef: Venkatesh Ramachandran

Vegetarian: Yes, very good

Noise: No problem

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: