A Window (or Several) on Indian Cuisine

A Window (or Several) on Indian Cuisine

A Review of Zaroka, in New Haven

Lisa Wiltse for The New York Times

Zaroka, in New Haven, is lavishly decorated.

In a corner of the entryway of Zaroka Bar and Restaurant in New Haven stands an Indian treasure box, gorgeously inlaid with bits of shiny colored glass. The treasure is revealed to be a profusion of Indian spices â€" green cardamom, coriander, peppercorns, cumin and black cardamom, to name a few. It is a fitting introduction to an Indian restaurant that offers good food in a stunning setting.

Tandoori chicken.

Zaroka is a phonetic spelling of jharokha, which means intricately carved windows.

According to Ram Shrestha, who has owned the restaurant with Ram Bhandari since 2005, Zaroka is a phonetic spelling of jharokha, which means intricately carved windows. And the restaurant is full of them, imported from India, in a lavish display of styles, shapes and colors by Zaroka’s original owner.

At my first meal, we were seated a few steps up from the second-floor dining room, in a small, loft-like space designed to look like an outdoor veranda. The area is decorated with a nearly lifelike tamarind tree and one of those window frames, carved from dark wood and stretching from floor to ceiling. The open sides of the “veranda” are edged with low banquettes, strewn with pillows â€" a setting that conveys languor and luxury; the India of dreams.

The menu is predominantly northern Indian, with some regional variations and a few dishes from Nepal, home country to the restaurant’s owners and chef. Mr. Shrestha explained that, particularly in the south, Nepalese cuisine shares a host of flavors and spices with neighboring India, while northern Nepalese cuisine is closer to that of Tibet. Zaroka offers a standard platter of northern Indian vegetarian appetizers, a combination of pakoras, samosas, aloo tikki and bataka wada (two versions of potato patties coated in chickpea flour and deep fried), which were crisp and well cooked but in no way surprising. More interesting were whole jalapeños coated in a lentil batter and deep fried; they ought to have been crisper but the flavor was wonderful and not too spicy.

Dahi papri, a dish of flatbread chips layered with chickpeas, diced cucumber, tomato and potato, topped with yogurt and tamarind chutney was a lively jumble of contrasting textures and flavors. Crisp and saucy, it was a perfect mix of sweet, sour and nutty.

Deep-fried cauliflower florets in Gobi Manchurian, an Indochinese appetizer, were a bit soft under their tomato coating, but the pleasantly spicy sauce offered another successful balance of sweet and sour. Chicken momo (steamed Nepalese dumplings) were seasoned with onion, turmeric, coriander and enough ginger to give them a satisfying kick.

Among entrees, tandoori chicken, a dish that is almost always dry, was an unexpected favorite. The red-tinted meat (colored with paprika and red-bell-pepper juice), cooked in a traditional charcoal-fired clay tandoor, was exceptionally moist and tender. We liked it better than the unusual tandoori vegetarian seekh kebab, a spicy, bready-textured mix of mashed cooked vegetables pressed to remove the liquid before shaping and skewering. Still, Zaroka is clearly a place to enjoy tandoori selections; we wished we had ordered more.

We consoled ourselves with a tender lamb achari, a delicious Punjabi stew flavored with sour Indian pickles that offset the richness of the lamb. Shrimp Malabar were nicely cooked in a preparation from Kerala; the thick sauce was rich and almost sweet with coconut, spiced with curry leaves and black mustard seeds.

Shrimp biryani was only slightly less successful; though the flavors were agreeable (if a little flat), the rice was undercooked in places while too soft in others.

Zaroka’s breads were better prepared. Naan was puffy and tender and aloo paratha was crisp and buttery.

For dessert, we preferred the warm, sweet gulab jamun to kulfi, a bland rice pudding, and to a ras malai made with unsweetened cheese dumplings.

You can find comparable Indian cuisine elsewhere in the area. But Zaroka’s cooking is good (often very good), its service is thoughtful, its prices are reasonable and its décor is out of this world.

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Zaroka

148 York Street
New Haven
(203) 776-8644

zaroka.com

VERY GOOD

THE SPACE A 98-seat restaurant on two floors. Rough-textured walls, inlaid with glass coins, are exquisitely decorated with Indian art. A “veranda” loft seats 10 comfortably and would be perfect for a small gathering. Lunch buffet on the first floor. Eight outdoor seats in season.

THE CROWD Youthful, casually dressed couples and groups.

THE BAR Full bar and international wine list. All bottles under $40.

THE BILL Appetizers, $3.95 to $11.95; entrees, $12.95 to $21.95; South Indian specialties, $8.95 to $10.95; breads, $2.50 to $9.95 for mixed basket. Lunch buffet, $8.95 weekdays, $10.95 Sundays. All credit cards accepted.

WHAT WE LIKE Mirch pakora, vegetarian platter, dahi papri, chicken momo dumplings, Gobi Manchurian; tandoori chicken, lamb achari, shrimp Malabar; naan, peshwari naan, aloo paratha; gulab jamun.

IF YOU GO Lunch: Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.; Sunday 12 to 3 p.m. Dinner: Sunday through Thursday, 5 to 10:30 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m. Reservations recommended. Metered parking on street or in lot next door.

RATINGS Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor.

A version of this review appeared in print on February 24, 2013, on page CT8 of the New York edition with the headline: A Window (or Several) on Indian Cuisine.