Taj India

Along the corridor between Central and Kendall Squares sits six-year-old Taj India, a narrow, 45-seat restaurant frequented by the high-tech crowd around MIT and by locals in the know. Tranquil recordings of the sitar and tabla play in a room decorated with authentic wall hangings. The cuisine is North Indian, primarily from the Punjab. A 12-item lunch buffet, priced at $5.95, offers a variety of freshly made meat and vegetarian dishes every day from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. There are no labels to describe the buffet items, but the waitstaff will happily explain what you're about to eat. The selections change daily but might include nan, cucumber and lettuce salad, rice, tandoori chicken, alu gobhi (a curry of cauliflower and potatoes), chicken jalfrezi (chicken sautéed in tomatoes, onions, and bell peppers), or ferni (a rice-and-cream desert).

Taj India, located at 781 Main Street, in Cambridge, is open daily from 11 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Call (617) 354-4984.

-- Nancy Kalajian