WILLIAMSBURG - Unusual sounds and smells greet you at the door when you enter the Nawab Indian Cuisine restaurant.
Delicate Indian-style music quietly plays in the background. And the aroma of exotic spices lets you know immediately that this won't be your typical meat-and-potatoes meal..
The restaurant was busy when we arrived one recent Friday night. Two large groups of more than 10 diners waited for tables both in the cramped area near the door and outside in their cars. The atmosphere was brightly lit and pleasant, with an attractive mural of an Indian-style building painted on one wall..
We were seated after a short - albeit confusing - wait spent eyeing the several vacant tables and wondering when a host or hostess would appear to put our names on a list..
The Williamsburg location opened in July. It is India-native Ashok Arora's fifth site and his sole dining spot on the Peninsula. It's one of fewer than a handful of restaurants in the area serving the flavors and textures typical of Indian food..
We started our meal with a complimentary serving of papadum, a thin chip-like wafer made with lentil flour and black peppers, and mango chutney. The papadum itself almost melted on your tongue, and the chutney provided a cooling relief from the kick of the black peppercorns speckling the papadum..
As an appetizer, we tried the palak kulcha, a thin Indian bread stuffed with sauteed spinach and herbs ($2.95). I must admit, this was a repeat performance for us. And it was just as good as the last time..
I ordered the saag gosht ($10.95), another repeat performance for me. Like all the restaurant's meats, the lamb was marinated overnight and broiled in a traditional Indian tandoor clay pit oven fueled with wood charcoal..
The lamb chunks quite honestly didn't look very pretty swimming in a brownish-greenish sauce of spinach and herbs. But the lamb was so tender it practically fell apart, and it smelled and tasted exquisite..
The saag gosht, like all the entrees, was served with long grain basmati rice, which has a thinner body than the more-familiar white rice and an almost nutty flavor and aroma..
Since the menu says "an Indian meal isn't complete without bread," I ordered a side dish of naan ($1.75). This light and almost flaky flat bread seems to melt in your mouth. I enjoyed it so much that after trying it the first time, I searched the Internet for a recipe. (Bad news is, the only recipe I found says it's very hard to make without a tandoor oven. And I don't have one of those.).
My husband tried the Nawab special ($14.95), which included soup, Tandoori chicken, boti (lamb) kabab, lamb curry, vegetable korma and bread. It was a wonderful chance to try an array of small tastes of many different Indian dishes. We finished the meal with a serving of firni, a custard pudding topped with pistachios and almonds ($1.95). It was a perfect light finish to a wonderful and somewhat unusual meal..