If variety is the spice of life, try some spice for variety in your next dining choice. Cumin, coriander, cloves. Cinnamon, cardamom, pepper. Ginger, tumeric, garlic. Just thinking about the exciting flavors coaxed by blending these spices together transports you to another place — another place called Aangan, Fine Indian Cuisine.

White tablecloths, formal service and an extensive wine list are not superlatives regularly used in describing Indian cuisine. But, at Aangan, Indian dining is brought up a grade. Sage green walls hold lampposts and decorations from India. A long bar graces one side of the single dining room. Ask for a seat near the glassed-in kitchen and watch as your naan is prepared. Although I am not one to usually enjoy live music while dining, the soft and tranquil sounds of live sitar music (on weekends) adds to the dining experience.

Start with the Chef’s Assorted Platter ($7.95), and you get the best of traditional Indian appetizers. Vegetable Pakoras (chick pea batter fried vegetable fritters), Samosa (flaky turnovers stuffed with seasoned potatoes and peas), Chicken Tikka (spice-marinated chicken baked in the tandoor, clay oven) and Seekh Kabob (lamb kabob). This dazzling array of Indian tidbits is served on raised platters with lit candles underneath to keep the selections warm while you graze.

Papad ($2.95) — listed on the menu under accompaniments — makes a good appetizer, as crispy, golden lentils are topped with onion and tomatoes. Mulligatawny Soup ($2.50), a traditional South Indian lentil curry soup with fresh herbs, is rich and potent.

Baked-to-order bread comes from the walls of the tandoor oven to the table warm and blistered, steamy within. The Bread Basket ($5.95) allows you to try a variety of Indian breads, Naan and Garlic Naan (leavened white flour bread), Paratha (whole wheat flour bread) and Onion Kulcha (leavened bread stuffed with seasoned onions). These breads were so good they didn’t last long enough to help scoop up the sauce of the main course.

It is difficult not to be satisfied with what comes from the tandoori. What is your protein of choice? Can’t decide? The generous Tandoori Mixed Grill ($16.95) provides you with a sampling of spice-marinated, slow cooked, orange-tinged chicken and chicken tikka, lamb and salmon, all presented off a sizzling plate.

Go from the oven to the frying pan with a vegetarian dish of Chana Pindi ($8.50), sautéed chick peas cooked with tomatoes and mild spices. Baingan Bharta ($8.40), another vegetarian dish, has its roots in North India, as does the chef/owner. In this traditional dish, velvety baked eggplant puree is cooked with onions, green peas and tomatoes, and resembles mush in its copper serving vessel.

Curry lovers in our party had to ask about the curry of the day. The spice and sweetness of both the chicken curry and the salmon curry satisfied both diners, with the savory heat bringing a sweat to the upper lip. The pleasant heat lingers. Basmati rice with cumin saffron and cooked peas are a family-style side.

The fieriest morsels of the night were braved in the Lamb Vindaloo ($12.50), where vinegar-marinated chunks of lamb in freshly ground spices are cooked in a piquant sauce. For those never experiencing a complex Vindaloo before, heed the asterisk on the menu that indicates a hot dish. Vidaloo dishes may attempt to balance their components of hot and sour, but the heat just doesn’t let up.

Cool down with a side salad composition of iceberg lettuce, tomato, cucumber and carrot shavings, laced in a light lemon dressing, or Raita, churned yogurt and cucumbers providing a refreshing crunch. Beer and lassi aid in the cooling process, too. If beer is your preference, you might as well order an Indian import from the start. After being told they were out of each domestic variety we attempted to order, we were talked into the Kingfisher, a fine lager imported from India.

Instead of drinking a massi, a homemade beverage made with mango and yogurt — a drink you can partake in before, during or after dinner — we opted for a dessert of rich mango ice cream ($2.50). After-dinner specialty coffees, cognacs and scotches are offered as well as traditional Indian desserts that include Gulab Jamun ($2.50), milk puffs with a sugar syrup, and Rasmalai ($2.95) — a sort of Indian cheesecake — cream cheese patties prepared in sweetened milk, topped with pistachio — flavored with rose water.

Location
Easy to find

Parking
Lot beside building

Handicapped Access
Accessible

Exterior Appearance
Modest

Initial Interior
Dining room

Reservations Necessary
On weekends

Preferred Dining Attire
Clean and neat

Wait (to be seated)
None

Wait (for service)
None

Lighting
Subtle

Meal-time Music
Live sitar music

Dining Area Appearance
Contemporary Indian

Noise
Fine

Climate
Fine

Tables
White linen covered

Chairs
Black lacquer bent wood

Booths
N/A

Table setting
Full

Your meal
Very good

Automatically served
Salad

Cocktails
Kingfisher Beer

Soups
Mulligatawny

Salads
Iceberg lettuce with lemon dressing

Main Course
Tandoori Mixed Grill

Desserts
Mango ice cream

Coffees/Teas
Specialty coffee

Staff Attitude
Formal

Staff Appearance
Formal

Hospitality
Welcoming

Cleanliness
Very clean

Wash Rooms
Very clean

Crowd (Qty)
Full

Crowd (attitude)
Enjoying dinner

Food (portions)
Large

Overall Service
Excellent