Karara – The Indian Takeout

Very good food and they have my favourite appetizer (which is not available at most Indian Restauratns in Ottawa) — Aloo Tikka (you MUST try this potato with chick peas/​tamarind sauce appetizer). It’s to die for.

This was my first visit to Karara. I ordered an All-​Day Combo with chicken curry, aloo mattar, rice, naan and a gulab jamun (like a plain Timbit in a super-​sweet sauce). I also had a mango lassi (a yoghurt drink). I ordered medium heat, which turned out to be a good spice level for me, but a tiny bit spicier would have been better.
I’ve been to India 3 times — Bangalore, Delhi, all through Rajasthan and most recently Ladakh (very northern part of India), so I have a pretty good idea what authentic Indian food tastes like.
The best I can say is that the naan was excellent, warm and fresh. The chicken curry and the aloo mattar were alright, but not exceptional. Rice is rice. I’m afraid the gulab jamun was not good, with an almost burnt aftertaste to it.
The chicken was boneless, which was nice (in India it would be served chopped up with bones), but the pieces were too large to eat in one bite, and there were only 3 pieces of chicken. Because the pieces were so large, the sauce didn’t reach the centre portions of the chicken. If the same amount of chicken was cut up into bite-​sized pieces it would have been much better. The curry was alright, but didn’t live up to the curries I’ve eaten in India.
The aloo mattar (peas & potatoes in sauce) was spicier than the chicken curry, which wasn’t a surprise — veggie dishes in India are commonly spicier then the non-​veggie. Again, it was alright but no where near as good as I’ve had in India.
Maybe comparing a North American take-​out Indian restaurant to actually being in India isn’t fair, but it’s hard not to when authentic Indian food is so good. I guess my expectations were just too high for my first visit.

The most recent addition to the menu is Ginger Chicken Wings. These are a MUST TRY whether or not not you’re a chicken fanatic like me!

Overall I would say this is great Indian takeout. Food was delicious, especially the butter chicken. The naan bread was large and very fresh. Decent pricing as well. We will definitely order here again in the near future.