Taaj Indian Cuisine’s dishes spice up the neighborhood

If you are not familiar with Indian food, the number of dishes on the menu at Taaj Indian Cuisine might make your head spin. The menu contains roughly 100 items, including spicy curries, savory chutneys, grilled meats, flatbreads and sweet desserts.

The best introduction to the delights that owner Gurmeet Gill and his cooks have to offer is to start with the lunch buffet ($9.99). Gill rotates 20 to 25 items, featuring dishes from his home state of Punjab in Northern India.

“If you come every day, you won’t get bored,” he says.

Taaj is the third Indian restaurant to occupy the diner-style space downtown next to the Days Inn hotel. Gill is confident that Taaj’s home-style cooking sets it apart.

“This is like my home kitchen, like we are cooking for ourselves,” says Gill, who is often at the restaurant, greeting customers with a friendly smile and taking orders himself.

The buffet features popular dishes like the tender, smoky-red tandoori chicken; creamy dal makhani lentils; and saag paneer (cheese cooked with spinach), all mildly spiced.

You’ll also find a few more unusual items, like bhindi masala, lightly fried okra with ginger, tomatoes and cilantro; or goat curry, chunks of bone-in meat with a surprisingly delicate flavor.

The impressive thing about the buffet is the number of similar-looking dishes, each with a unique flavor, from the bright yellow, citrusy curry pakora with a hint of coriander to the mild, tender chicken curry.

The food is fresh, hot and carefully seasoned. Cloves, cinnamon, garlic, cardamom, cumin and ginger are just a few of the ingredients that give depth of flavor to the dishes.

“The secret is that every item has different spices,” says Gill.

There is minimal oil and butter in the dishes, he says, relying instead on ground nuts, yogurt and coconut powder to add richness.

Gill employs two Indian chefs. One is in charge of the curry dishes and the other specializes in cooking breads, meat and seafood in a clay oven called a tandoor.

One of the highlights of Taaj is the condiments. The chunky mint and cilantro chutney is cool and salty; the tamarind sauce is sweet, tangy and spicy; the raita is a soothing yogurt and cucumber sauce.

You’ll find all of these on the buffet along with naan (tandoori baked bread) for dipping and mopping up the sauces.

Once you’ve tried the buffet, you’ll want to come back and tackle the full menu. I suggest bringing a few friends and ordering family style, choosing the degree of spiciness you prefer for each dish. Ordering medium provides a little heat, but won’t make your eyes water.

While you’re waiting, snack on some pappad (lentil crackers) or try the crispy, cumin-spiced vegetable pakoras ($3.50), which are delicious dipped in tamarind sauce. The seekh kabab appetizer ($7.95) had good flavor but was a little dry.

Shrimp fans will love the succulent shrimp tandoori masala ($13.95) in a garlicky tomato sauce. Equally rich and flavorful is the chicken tikka masala ($12.95), tender chunks of chicken marinated in yogurt and spices.

I tried several excellent vegetarian dishes, including baingan bharta ($9.95), chunky grilled eggplant in a spicy tomato sauce; and chana masala ($8.95), a satisfying, hearty dish of garbanzo beans with ginger and garlic.

A note of caution to vegetarians: The nav ratan shahi korma ($9.95), vegetables in a creamy, cashew sauce, contained a few pieces of lamb. Check with your server before ordering vegetarian dishes.

Taaj offers five kinds of bread, all of which are great for making sure you don’t miss a drop of the flavorful sauces. The naan, made from white flour and cooked in the tandoor, is light in texture, while the whole-wheat chapatti is pleasantly chewy.

A tall Kingfisher or Taj Mahal Indian beer goes really well with the highly spiced dishes; wine is available also.

Plenty of desserts ($2.95) satisfy that sweet craving that often comes after a spicy meal. The kheer, a cool rice pudding flavored with nuts and cardamom, is the perfect palate cleanser.

Taaj is Indian food as it should be: tender meats; highly aromatic, carefully spiced sauces; and warm, fluffy, clay oven-baked naan to mop it all up.