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Restaurant offers a taste of India

The India Oven does not need to advertise. Each time someone opens the restaurant door, the scents of spices tumble over each other into the street. If the scent doesn't entice you, you either have a cold or don't like Indian food.

Hidden in an old Masonic Lodge on Hawthorne and 39th Street, the India Oven offers a variety of dishes from North India. The owner, Karanjeet Samra, is a Sikh from Punjab, India. His family works in the kitchen. Mr. Samra opened the restaurant two-and-a-half years ago.

The India Oven is a single room behind an inconspicuous glass door of the Lodge's main entrance. The high ceiling and white walls are reminiscent of many old buildings on the Indian subcontinent. Simple, unpretentious furnishings and decoration contribute to the relaxed environment.

Village scenes, such as women preparing meals and men working in the fields, provide the only color on the white walls. Small tables fill the room. In the center of each one, a square of painted and embroidered material depicts historical Indian art typical of the Moghul period.

The India Oven's dishes contain no preservatives. The menu offers no beef, a forbidden meat for Hindus. Neither does the restaurant offer pork, a forbidden meat for Muslims.

Instead, you may choose from vegetarian entrees and chicken or lamb curries. Each comes with white rice and flat bread. The prices for entrees range from $8.95 to $10.95.

For a delicious entree, try chicken jalfrezi -- chicken in a spicy tomato and green pepper sauce. Or if you prefer rice, try a lamb biryani, consisting of pieces of tender lamb in spicy saffron rice. For the vegetarian, the creamed spinach curry is a treat.

The India Oven bakes its bread in a tandoor, a clay oven heated by burning coals. Unfortunately, the bread does not arrive on the table straight from the tandoor. Instead, it is cut in fourths and brought in a small basket. By this time, the once hot, crisp-bubbled bread is warm and flattened.

The waiters are from Nepal, members of the Sherpa tribes who have a reputation as trekking guides in the Himalayas. When you order, they ask you how spicy you want your dishes. The spicy dishes make your mouth burn slowly without masking the flavors. A yogurt side dish called raita will tone down the spices.

At 9:30 every morning, India Oven cooks begin preparing the food. The spices are fresh.

Green cardamom lends a lovely flavor to chai, Indian tea that is boiled with milk. To complete your meal, choose a cup of this steaming, fragrant beverage. If you have a sweet tooth, order some gulab jamin, a dessert of brown sticky-sweet balls.

The relaxed atmosphere and cultural element have a wide appeal. Although the tables fill up with young couples and small groups of friends, families and older couples have also discovered the delights of the India Oven. Mr. Samra mentioned that many Indian taxi and limousine drivers often eat lunch at the India Oven.

India Oven is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and for dinner from 5 p.m. through 10 p.m. The restaurant serves a buffet lunch for $6.95, Monday through Friday.