Since 2002, India Raj Tandoori Restaurant owner Shahi Choudhury and staff have been serving home-style Indian meals to enthusiastic diners at the Monroe establishment in Clock Tower Square, off Route 25. With more than 18 years in the business, beginning with his first restaurant in Rhinebeck, N.Y., Mr Choudhury is skilled in providing an authentic Indian dining experience to his customers.

“We try to represent not just the Indian cuisine of the north and south, but of smaller regions in India, as well,” said Mr Choudhury. “The food of one single region does not represent all of India,” he said.

Guests at the 50-seat restaurant enter into a casually elegant space decorated to enhance the feeling of having stepped over the threshold into India itself. Walls painted a deep yellow brighten the small bar area and serve as a backdrop for decorative Indian art plates and colorful prints. In the dining room, one wall is dominated by an oil on cotton painting from Japur, India, of an Indian wedding procession. Four large wall hangings, also from Japur, are hung about the room, inviting a closer look.

Small, brilliantly colored squares of material are stitched together, each section embellished with handsewn beadwork. In shades of yellow, blue, and red, they stand out against the deep rose-colored walls. Three colorful fabric lanterns hung at the back of the dining room repeat the theme of bright colors found throughout the restaurant. Creating an atmosphere of warmth is the reflection of the gold and burgundy table settings in the mirrors that border one wall, while the rich scents wafting from the kitchen hint at the delights to come.

The lunch menu features a combo selection where diners can choose an appetizer, main dish, and a bread, all for one price, starting at $7.95. Prices will vary depending on which entrée is selected.

The restaurant specializes in tandoori dishes of chicken, fish, or lamb marinated in yogurt and spices and slow cooked in special tandoori ovens. Seven tandoori entrees are on the menu at India Raj, including chicken, mixed grill, and salmon. Naan, a flavorful flat bread, is grilled in the tandoor, as well, and is always baked fresh to order.

Tandoori dishes are among the mildest in Indian cuisine. Other delicately spiced dishes are the chicken korma, which is prepared with cream and almonds, and the slightly spicier korai delights, entrees cooked with onion, tomato, green pepper, and ginger and served in a hot pot. Spices can be adjusted for taste.

For those who enjoy the fiery end of the heat spectrum, Mr Choudhury recommends chicken vindaloo or the chili chicken, cooked in an exotic Indian sauce with green chilies. “Indian food does not mean only that it is hot, though,” pointed out Mr Choudhury. “Indian spices can be flavorful without being hot. For the best flavors, we have a lot of different sauces,” he explained.

Chicken, lamb, and seafood are all available in a variety of preparations, from tomato and green pepper-based sauces to silky coconut sauces infused with garlic and ginger to the tandoori-style barbeque. tikka masala dishes, with chicken tikka masala being among the most popular, are created by the addition of cream and almonds to tandoori cooked chicken, lamb, or seafood.

Jumbo tiger shrimp cooked in a mildly spiced coconut sauce combine to make another popular dish at India Raj, shrimp Malabar.

A broad repertoire of vegan and vegetarian entrées of both mild and zesty dishes includes tarka dal (lentils cooked with garlic sauce), matar sag (peas and spinach cooked with onions), paneer makhni (homemade fried cheese with tomatoes and cream sauce), and malai kofta (mixed vegetable balls with nut and coconut cream sauce). Many other flavorsome vegetarian specials are created in the India Raj kitchen each week.

An updated dinner menu offers chicken naan roll, consisting of grilled chicken, onions, green peppers, and a specially seasoned sauce, garnished with fresh coriander, and rolled inside soft, freshly baked naan bread. Light eaters will appreciate the chicken tikka salad with warm, tandoori grilled chicken (white meat only) topping an array of fresh greens.

The India Raj Sabji platter relieves diners of having to choose just one of the more than 12 appetizers on the dinner menu, with the sampling of crispy samosas, onion fritters, eggplant, potatoes, cauliflower pakora, and wafer-thin papadam cracker bread. The kitchen turns out more than 11 specialty breads baked on premises. Joining the long list of favorite breads this year is paneer paratha, a multilayered bread stuffed with fresh Indian cheese, onions, green peppers, and spices. Many traditional Indian side dishes round out the experience of Indian dining. All entrees are served with a basmati rice pilaf.

Mr Choudhury noted that the generous portions are presented to customers as they would be served in India. “We don’t ‘Americanize’ the cuisine,” he said.

A light appetite will be satisfied with the fresh vegetable soup or mulligatawny lentil soup, or the green salad enlivened with chickpeas and cilantro.

The restaurant has a full bar service, as well as a small but complementary wine list, including wines from Washington State, Australia, and California. Other wines highlighted at India Raj are Black Opal Chardonnay, Liberty School Chardonnay, Fitzer Valley Oaks Cabernet, and Meridian Pinot Noir. Wines from the Stone Cellar winery are available by the glass. Beers from around the world, including Indian beer, are available, as well.

Alcohol-free thirst quenchers such as tea, chai, Perrier water, juice, soda, and the popular yogurt lassi drink are on the menu at India Raj.

The restaurant is open 11:30 am to 2:30 pm for lunch and from 4:30 to 10 pm for dinner, seven days a week. Lunch specials are offered Monday to Friday. The all-you-can-eat dinner buffet, Wednesday evenings from 5 to 9:30, features a menu that changes weekly with choices of six appetizers, more than half a dozen entrees, dessert, and tea or coffee to keep customers coming back for more.

All menu items are available for takeout by calling 203-261-1898 or 203-261-5573, with 20 minutes advance notice, and India Raj offers catering services.

India Raj is at 477 Main Street (Route 25, in the Clock Tower Square), Monroe, 203-261-1898 or 203-261-5573. For more information about the restaurant and special coupons, visit indiarajmonroe.com.