Cajun chicken on couscous, coconut beef, lamb kofta and Thai beef noodle salad are among some of the dinner menu items on offer at Canberra's jail.

Prisoners at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC), which describes itself as a "human rights compliant" jail, are provided seasonal menus with meat and vegetarian options.

While some days feature more boring staples like mac and cheese or corned silverside, other days offer somewhat more exotic dishes like "jerked chicken", zucchini fritters or ratatouille and grilled haloumi.

Dessert is offered only a few days a week, ranging from yoghurt to a summer berry pudding to chocolate and vanilla marble cake.

The menus for spring, summer and winter 2017 were obtained by the ABC under freedom of information laws.

The variety on the menu is perhaps at odds with the popular perception of prison — that prisoners are offered dull, tasteless and repetitive meals.

But a spokesman for the ACT Justice and Community Service Directorate said plenty of thought went into what prisoners were fed.

"The menu, which changes seasonally, has been designed with input from a qualified nutritionist, and presents simple and nutritious options for detainees," he said.

"The menu focuses on seasonal dishes, and aims to provide detainees with an assortment of vegetables, and an appropriate balance of carbohydrates, fats and proteins."

He said vegan and halal options were also offered and medical dietary requirements were catered to.

But the menu items are not the only food on offer to AMC detainees — grocery items are also available for some prisoners to purchase, along with food from the prison canteen.

No-one likes a food fight

The popular image of prisons serving bland — and sometimes terrible — food has some historical grounding in reality.

A royal commission held into NSW prisons in the 1970s detailed a riot breaking out in the then Bathurst Gaol, partly over the state of the food on offer.

"Particular complaint was made that the sausages were often green, and had a smell," it reported.

"Curries and stew were regularly served to camouflage, it was said, the state the meat when it had been too long in the cool room.

"Many prisoners said they suffered from diarrhoea after eating the sausages, which appeared to be a regular on what was described as a monotonous diet."

In the 1970s prisoners in Bathurst Gaol rioted, in part, over green sausages. ( freeimages.com: ziptrivia )

Criminologist Lorana Bartels from the University of Canberra said the modern approach to dispensing food and justice was very different.

But she said a varied and nutritious diet did not take away from the many other obvious hardships of prison.

"We have hopefully an understanding that people are sent to prison as punishment, not for punishment," she said.

"There's a lot of restrictions on your life in prison. They don't get a lot of choice in what they eat — they don't much choice in when they eat.

"If you're locked up in your cell, and you're eating your meal in your cell, that means you're eating often in the same room as your toilet.

"I don't think we need to exacerbate that deprivation by serving poor quality food."

A better diet can lead to a life away from crime

The menu on offer in the AMC is fairly restrictive — only certain meals are offered each day, and prisoners cannot choose to eat poorly.

Professor Bartels said many prisoners came into jail with fairly poor diets and time spent in custody could be used to improve that.

And she said it could help in leading people out of crime.

A balanced diet can help prisoners avoid reoffending. ( Flickr: Kirti Poddar )

"Many people that are involved in the criminal justice system don't have adequate resources, they are homeless or in unstable housing, they may have mental illness or substance abuse issues," she said.

"All of those things are associated both with poorer physical and mental health and with criminal behaviours.

"I'm not saying you feed someone a nice bowl of veggies and everything will be fine.

"But there's often a whole range of behaviours that are problematic, and if while people [are] in prison they can be taught to have healthier behaviours around food and nutrition, then that may contribute to them functioning better back in the community."