Tanjore

Are we seeing the first local inklings of Indian regional cooking? Let's hope so.

Dining Out by Robert Nadeau

18 Eliot Street (Harvard Square), Cambridge
(617) 868-1900
Open daily, 11:30 a.m.
to 11 p.m.; buffet lunch 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
AE, Di, MC, Visa
Beer and wine
Sidewalk-level access

It's good to be heard. I've been whining for years about all Indian restaurants serving the same essentially Northern Indian menu, and the Majumdar family finally noticed. At their first restaurant, Bombay Bistro, they had a couple of unusual Bombay dishes because they happen actually to be from Bombay. At their second restaurant, Rangoli, they emphasized a short menu of Southern Indian specialties of the sort I had specifically mentioned in several of my whines. Now, with Tanjore, they have announced a regional menu drawing from all parts of India.

(At this point, I should pause and confess that my knowledge of Indian food has never been tested by an actual visit to the subcontinent, and indeed includes only a short -- but extremely persuasive -- stay in London. What I know about Indian regional dishes I know by cooking them out of Indian regional cookbooks, as a 19th-century Nebraskan might have known about Mozart string quartets by fiddling through the parts and reading the Eastern newspapers.)

There is a bit of marketing in Tanjore's claim to regionalism: almost half the menu is still Northern Indian, and there are only token dishes from the eastern and central provinces. The typical restaurant menu is here divided into Punjab and Kasmir (provinces), Northern India (which includes said provinces), Mughlai (a Muslim civilization widespread in the same provinces), and Delhi (the melting-pot city of the north). Although the vindaloo is attributed correctly to Goa, the actual lamb vindaloo ($11.50) is the version off the typical menu (with Punjabi spices and tomato sauce), rather than the original Indo-Portuguese fusion dish with vinegar, whole spices, and pork.

However, there are about a dozen dishes from Western India (Bombay, Gujarat, Goa, Maharashtra, Sindh) that will be new to most Bostonians, and the Southern Indian food is considerably improved over what was initially offered at Rangoli.

The most unusual appetizer is one of those Gujarati novelties, "dhokla & patra" ($3), and it does bring to mind those old jokes about which were the bagels and which were the lox. For the record, the patra is dark leaves rolled in layers around ground legumes and sliced elegantly, topped with sesame seeds for a flavor intriguingly reminiscent of a Japanese seaweed appetizer. The dhokla is/are airy squares of steamed chickpea bread that look like cornbread but taste of a sweet-hot marinade. Sweet-hot is also the theme of other Western Indian dishes, such as my favorite from Rangoli, bhel ($4.50), a Bombay mélange of fried goodies here assigned to the "Nashta" menu of small plates (or Indian tapas).

Unfortunately, neither of those appetizers is on the "Tanjore tiffen" ($8.75), a combination of traditional Northern-style appetizers which are good enough, but similar to each other -- the onion bhaji may be from Bombay (further north it would be called a "pakora") and the samosa may be from Delhi, but both are spiced predominantly with cumin. Attributing the mashed-potato patties to Punjab doesn't make them any more exotic than usual, although the spicing with kali jeera (black cumin) does. The most impressive thing on the tiffen plate was the mint chutney.

Fajeta ($3.75), a hot yogurt soup from Gujarat, will make some friends, once they learn to ignore the menu references to "refreshing" and "mango" and accept a hot, sour, saffron-flavored soup. Interestingly enough, Shrikand ($3.75, $4.25 with side poori), a yogurt dessert from Maharashtra, is quite similar. As served here, shrikand has the consistency of mayonnaise, a stronger saffron flavor, and a topping of almonds and pistachios. I'd recommend the optional poori, as the fried bread makes an agreeable contrast, like the flaky crust of a good apple pie.

One of the most successful entrées was the lone Bengali dish: gofhi char chari ($9.50), which was the familiar combination of cauliflower and potatoes, but done up in a typically Bengali mix of fennel seeds and the unusual kalonji seeds (here called "onion seeds"). Masala dosa ($6), one of my favorite Southern dishes at Rangoli, has been greatly improved. The crucial dosa pancakes are lighter and crisper than I remember them, rolled into a long cylinder with a tasty filling of spiced potatoes. But a more striking improvement is in the accompanying cup of sambhar, a lentil-vegetable soup now featuring the uniquely Southern, slightly bitter flavor of fried black pulses.

Balti chicken ($10.50) is Boston's introduction to a style of Anglo-Kashmiri-Pakistani cooking that is now all the rage in England. However, Tanjore's menu cites only the whole spices used, and the dish does not show much of the reported qualities of balti, whose name refers to the wok-like cooking vessel and quick stir-fry technique. Our balti chicken was boneless chunks in a mild, pleasant sauce with whole spices, including slices of ginger. Fresh tomatoes worked well in this dish.

Shrimp no paatio ($12.50), a Bombay dish with the mild sweetness of many Western Indian cuisines, seemed to depend mainly on onions to form a sauce that picked up the seafood flavor. The widely known aloo chole ($9.50) is here attached to Sindhi Muslim cooking; this dish of chickpeas and potatoes always reminds me of chili because it has a thick gravy and seems comforting and spicy at the same time. Mixed vegetable korma ($9.50) also has a gravy-like curry, this time with yogurt and cashew butter, for a richness vegetarians will savor.

All entrées at Tanjore are enhanced by truly superior rice, fragrant basmati with just a few cumin seeds and a handsome topping of caramelized onion. Breads are also a strength, judging by the perfectly puffed poori ($1.75) and subtle peshawari naan ($2.75) -- the one stuffed with ground nuts and raisins. The restaurant has assembled a list of snacks as either tapas or "high tea." I'd certainly recommend the tea, real Indian brews served loose-leaf in a china pot, with a filter and caddy. Chai comes in the familiar cardamom form ("Bombay") or Badshah ($2.75), which tastes more of black tea, with an undertone of clove, and without the scalded-milk taste you find in some chai or masala tea. Lassi -- thinned yogurt -- is comparatively creamy here, very good with spicy dishes, and there are four ales on draft. If you are having your spices mild, wines in bottles and by the glass are selected to have a fighting chance.

Tanjore is not overly decorated, but the walls are sponged chartreuse and the carved and lacquered wood doors hang nicely. Our waiters were eager to explain the novel dishes, and their advice was good. The default spicing is rather mild, so be sure to order at least medium -- and don't be afraid of "spicy."

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