Nan too good

Chef of India offers the best in a spicy world

by Margaret LeRoux

Chef of India 97 Boston Turnpike Road Shrewsbury (508) 793-9888 Hours Lunch 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Dinner 3-10:30 p.m. Major credit cards Full bar Handicap accessible

Last week I praised Worcester's ethnic-restaurant options. This week I crossed the border into Shrewsbury for another cross-cultural culinary experience. My friends and I enjoyed the cuisine of India's Punjab region presented by the stylish Chef of India in Quinsigamond Plaza.

Just walking into the restaurant is a multi-sensory experience. The gleaming copper serving trays of the buffet table catch your eye as the perfume of curry and the delicate stringed sounds of Indian music waft through the air. The dining room is spacious with enough distance between tables that we hardly noticed a big party in the center of the room until several women dressed in colorful saris passed us. The wait staff is polite and low-key; in the past, they've been helpful with explanations of unfamiliar dishes. I admit to several visits to Chef of India; on each one, I've been pleased with the quality of the entire experience.

You could make a meal of the appetizers, as long as you're not worried about cholesterol. My favorites are the vegetable or chicken pakoras ($3.95 for veggie; $5.95 for chicken) fried in chickpea batter, though I'm usually tempted by vegetable or meat samosas ($2.50 veggie; $2.95 meat), small turnovers stuffed with either diced potatoes and peas or ground lamb. Cheese pakoras ($4.95) offer India's mild cheese, the texture of feta with a much lighter flavor. One of my friend's recommendations for a hot-weather meal is tikka hara bhara ($7.95), a melodic name for chicken breast marinated in yogurt, then barbecued.

Tonight the three of us shared the chef platter ($7.95), which features just about everything on the appetizer list along with a couple slices of papadam, the spicy, cracker-like bread, with small dishes of tangy mint chutney and sweet tamarind sauce for dipping. I especially liked the samples of chicken, which were very tender and delicately seasoned. We sampled Maharaja, an Indian beer, and a delightfully dry Indian blanc de blanc (both $4.95) along with many glasses of ice water served in heavy copper mugs. It was too hot for soup. But in the past we've enjoyed coconut ($2.50), a spicy mixture of shredded coconut and ground almonds and cashews, as well as mulligatawny ($2.95), a curry vegetable soup.

Chef of India's menu is extensive, you'll enjoy sampling a variety of lamb, chicken, seafood, and vegetable curries served in cute little copper pots. Chicken korma ($9.95) here is made with ground almonds in a creamy sauce, while chicken vindaloo ($8.95) is a fiery mixture of spices laced with ground chili pepper. Kashmiri rogan josh ($10.95) is another favorite, cubed lamb simmered in clarified butter with onions, ginger, and garlic served with yogurt. Fresh fish of the day is offered in the style of Goa ($10.95), which means spicy hot, or in a milder lemon sauce ($10.95).

Unique to Indian cooking are wood-fired tandoori ovens made of brick and clay used to bake bread and meat. The heat is so intense, everything is cooked in minutes: breads tend to have the distinctive black blisters; meats can be dry unless, as is done at Chef of India, they're marinated and watched carefully. The Chef's menu offers several tandoori-baked items marinated in yogurt. There are half-chicken ($8.95); jumbo shrimp ($12.95); and seekh kebab ($10.95), chopped lamb mixed with onions and spices.

The tandoori ovens also produce delicious breads. This visit, we sampled badami nan, ($2.95), a puffy slice toped with toasted almonds, poppy seeds, and cantaloupe seeds, and chapati, the traditional Indian flat bread ($1.50).

For an entree I had a new item, shrimp methi ($12.95). This dish features jumbo shrimp and quartered mushrooms in a medium-spicy sauce flavored with fenugreek (the Indian word for this nutty flavored herb is methi). Try this if you're up for an unusual flavor; it doesn't have the typical curry taste. I added some of this delicious sauce to the basmati rice served as an accompaniment.

One of my friends opted for barra kebab ($12.95), described as tender lamb chops marinated in a special sauce for three days, then cooked on skewers in the tandoori oven. We all got to sample this winning dish. There were five good-size lamb chops, and we agreed it was the best lamb we've encountered in a long time. Fork-tender and not at all overdone, the lamb was enhanced, not masked by the spices -- we thought we could detect cumin, allspice, and ginger. This winner was served on a platter with lots of onions, tomatoes, and a grilled, sliced cucumber,

The third member of our group chose vegetable biryani ($8.95), a combination of broccoli, onions, cauliflower, and almonds in hot-pepper, curried rice. This dish is deceiving; at first taste it's not that hot, but the spiciness grows with each bite. Soon we were all helping ourselves to the bowl of raita (yogurt sauce with cucumbers) served alongside.

We ate so well there was no room for dessert, though in the past we've enjoyed mango ice cream ($3.95). Our bill, not including tip, was $60.