India’s Restaurant

FOOD

The tandoor does some of the most important work at India’s. Chicken is marinated overnight in yogurt and freshly ground spices, then skewered and cooked over a live flame in the charcoal-fired clay oven. It’s a natural place to begin if you enjoy Indian cooking beyond the curry pan: spiced chicken from the grill, with fresh naan close at hand.

That same oven bakes the naan served with lunch. The plain naan is made with fine flour and has a soft, fluffy body beneath its baked surface. Tear off a piece for the chicken, or save it for the creamy tomato sauce in the makhani. Freshly baked bread makes a buffet meal feel a little more personal, especially when there is still curry to finish.

Butter chicken makes another use of the tandoor. India’s prepares its chicken makhani with strips of tandoori chicken in a creamy tomato sauce. The creamy sauce clings to the chicken, making the tomato gravy as much a part of a forkful as the meat. Boneless chicken tikka, marinated and cooked in the tandoor, can also appear among the lunch choices. If chicken is the reason you came, there is more than one preparation worth trying.

The onion salad is particularly welcome beside the chicken. Sliced onions, green chilies and tomatoes bring a raw crunch and chili bite to a meal rich in cooked sauces. Thin crisp bread with red and green dipping sauces, fruit and other Indian salads also belong to the buffet tradition here. A little crisp bread and sauce make an easy beginning, but the onion salad is worth keeping in mind once the grilled chicken is on the table.

Daal is a quieter favorite: creamed lentils seasoned with aromatic spices, soft enough to spoon alongside rice. Lamb has also been part of the buffet’s cooking, though the particular curry changes. Its stronger meat flavor makes a different mouthful from chicken makhani, especially beside the mild lentils. Vegetable dishes complete this part of the lunch selection. Basmati is part of the kitchen’s rice cooking, with saffron and a touch of spices in its house preparation. Lentils, vegetables and rice belong comfortably together in this North Indian lunch.

Kheer brings the meal to a gently sweet finish. India’s serves its basmati rice pudding chilled, with almonds and pistachio adding texture through the milk-based dessert. The cool pudding and the nuts make a pleasing last spoonful after the spices and warm bread. A small bowl and a few more minutes at the table would suit it well.